Rating: 
Summary: I'm so glad this is the book I chose
Review: Plain and simple - THE guide to use to start programming PHP. Half way through, I was dying to get finished so I could start developing my own projects. PHP is a great language for Web programmers!
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the computer impared
Review: The code in the descriptions is so small that it has to be read with a magnifying glass. The quality of print is not such that all of the characters can be recconized even with the magnifying glass. The companion web site does not exhist per Premier Press. Generally, this book is worthless once you have php, and mysql loaded and that can be done with much better quality publications.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Many Code Errors!!!
Review: The first one-third of the book is pretty good. But beginning Chapter 12, you will begin to find too many codes which simply do not work. I guess the authors did not bother to test the codes even once. If you have any doubt about what I wrote, please go to a local bookstore and check the codes on pages 181-191 (files: "show_createtable. html," :do_showfielddef.php," and "do_createtable.php." I cannot understand why this book got such a good feedback. I regret buying this book a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Too Many Codes Which Do Not Work!
Review: The first one-third of this book contains information which a beginner like me may quickly but too hastily find very grateful. But the feeling of being grateful will soon give way to a feeling of disappointment and anger as inaccurate code begin to show up one after another, which will make you waste countless hours. If you buy this book and have to go through the same horrible time of frustration as I have, you will agree that the authors have not tested the codes, which may sound quite incredible to you. I do not understand how this book has gotten that many positive feedbacks. I sent e-mails to the publishers to inquire about the codes in the book which did not function. But I haven't heard yet.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing Book!
Review: This book has too many codes that do not function. If you do not want to waste time trying to figure out the wrong codes, do not buy this horrible book. In all appearances, the authors did not test the codes even once.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for beginners, but brief
Review: This book is a very good starting point for anyone who wishes to begin programming in PHP.I picked this book up in hopes of getting somewhat of a grasp of PHP. The book was very successful in presenting appropriate concepts for beginners such as: varibables, arrays and operators. The book also had a few chapters on using MySQL, which is very helpful for anyone who wishes to create full-blown web applications such as shopping carts, forums and news services on their websites. However, the book was somewhat vague in the amount of content presented. The book is like a giant PHP coding tutorial, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, if you're not a beginner. For a complete introduction to PHP/MySQL I would suggest buying this book AND PHP/MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling and Laura Thompson. With these two books, a beginner will be on the right path down the complicated road of online applications.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Intro to PHP for MySQL Projects
Review: This book is an essential pre-requisite for those who want to learn PHP script for database project development. It goes over the basics and gives examples, however somewhat limit, to enhance the learning experience. I recommend this book for those with little programming background who want to learn to use PHP to interface with a MySQL database. Once you finish this book and practice a little, you will want to move on to a more intermediate reading such as PHP and MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling and Laura Thompson and/or Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL by Hugh E. Williams, David Lane. This book gives you the essential background. The only down-side is the authors use screen shots to illustrate the code example which can be a little hard to read. All of the source code is however provided on the accompanying CD.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of money, out of date
Review: This book is out of date. The code in it WILL NOT WORK with the current version of php. I have spent more time trying to find out why things are wrong. There are also quite a few typo's, and the book company apparently has gone out of business (all the websites for help are gone). Again, buy a more recent book, also the directions for setting up mysql are incorrect, and the versions of everything on the CD are out of date and insecure.
Rating:
Summary: Great on PHP, short on SQL
Review: This book sits right here on my shelf next to my PC along with my Photoshop, UNIX, and C++ books. It's a great resource for things PHP related.
The step-by-stel method works well with this book and it explains things in clear, plain english. This is a PHP book for someone who loves HTML, but has never ventured into PHP before. It will be of limited use for someone who uses PHP all the time, save for the refrence section, which is like a shortened and easily explained version of www.php.net
The biggest problem I had with this was that it tries to show you PHP/SQL applications without really teaching you mySQL. So you'll get the jist of the database workings (They even throw in a section on normalization!), but no real sense of the database itself.
If you're going to buy this book, buy an easy SQL book and go through that first so you understand how to make databases, tables, etc. It'll make this one a lot easier once you hit the DB part of it.
Just come prepared, and this book will be worth it.
Rating:
Summary: A Must have for those who are just learning PHP
Review: This book was fantastic as I just began learning PHP. It did a great job at providing sample applications on USER Authentication as well as setting up other Administrative functions. Once you learn how these sample applications work, it's not too tough to figure out the rest, and that was a major help as I put together many other programs from there on out. Great book, and a must have for anyone getting started!
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