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Summary: The definitive guide to PHP/MySQL web development
Review: I bought this book based on the recommendations of the previous reviews you see here. Admittedly I found the setup section somewhat confusing for those wanting to setup their php and mysql on Windows XP, eventually I sought advice from various forums and now run php as an ISAPI module in IIS, which works beautifully. To be fair the packages used in the setup are on the books CD's, but are now somewhat dated.However the book is still one of the best I have read and covers a large scope of work for the beginner to the advanced php + mysql backend applications, with extremely well structured examples and references that will get you up to speed with the more challenging mainstream applications later in the book. The sections on MySQL is very comprehensive but well researched and presented. Other topics include OpenSSL, GD support for Image manipulation and PDF file generation.
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Summary: PHP from A to Z
Review: Tired of writing boring static websites? Then PHP is your answer and "PHP and MySQL Web Development" is your book. PHP is much more powerful than Javascript, faster than Perl, it's free unlike ColdFusion, and much easier to learn than JSP or ASP. Everything you need to know about writing PHP/MySQL is in this great book. Very well written and very easy to understand. Whether you're new to programming in general or you're a seasoned pro....this book is for you. If want to get a few more books (which I recommend) to compliment this book, I'd get a PHP reference book like "PHP Functions Essential Reference" from New Riders. I'd also get a book on MySQL, don't get "Core MySQL". I'd also pick up a book with a ton of PHP exmaples and projects like, "Instant PHP 4". And for the advanced PHPer, pick up "PHP 4 Multimedia" from Wrox Press.
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Summary: This book touched me.
Review: I always borrow computer books from library and buy some from bookstores. This book is one of few that really touched me and make me "love" it. I can't put it in my bookshelf, I must put in a touchable place on my working brench as I always like to refer from it.
Its structure is good, wordings are simple and straight forward, examples are clear and step by step. Before I read it, I know nothing from PHP and mySQL. After reading it, I have confidence and skill to develop any complicated web application as this book does not only make you know "what to do" but it also explains to you "why and how to do".
After reading some chapters of it, I started to eager to read all pages of this book. It is really a computer book that makes me so excited while keep on reading it and following it to do my coding. And I love its real application examples too, they gave me lot of ideas of how to make a real-life application. I promised myself I must write a review in Amazon.com to let others to know how good is this book. So I suggest if you really want to do some PHP web application, buy this book before it is out of stock. I tried to help my friend to get 1 in local bookstore but already failed.
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Summary: One of the most thorough computer books I've ever read
Review: This book is God. I've ordered a lot of books from Amazon over years about everything from Flash animation to Unix system administration and this book is seriously fantastic. It starts off with some theory explaining PHP and MySQL basics (all brand new for me), then gets right into hands on tutorials with PHP for about 100 pages, followed by about 50 pages of SQL tutorials, then puts them together with excellent tutorials for the next 500 pages or so. I feel like someone should give me a diploma, or a really high paying job. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants to jump in the deep end with database driven web application programming. I wish more computer books were organized this way.
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Summary: Over-rated
Review: Even something like PHP Developer's Cookbook is much better. This uses three words for every one required, almost like it's trying to pad the book out to make it look as if it's worth more. The best choice is probably Programming PHP by Lerdorf and Tatroe - much more concise, and much more authoritative. I'm taking my copy of this book back for a refund!
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Summary: Sams vs. O'Reilly PHP & MySQL books: Which one to buy?
Review: I have just started learning some PHP & MySQL development using "PHP & MySQL Web Development" published by Sams and "Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL" from O'Reilly. Prospective readers might be wondering the difference between the two in deciding which one to buy, so I hope to shed some light on the issue. Sams: The Welling and Thomson book is more "hands-on" in that it takes the reader step-by-step in developing an e-commerce website. The chapters are organized in a goal-oriented manner: PHP, MySQL, the basics of e-commerce, security, and design of the site. O'Reilly: The Williams and Lane book is structured in a similar way by showing readers PHP and then MySQL. Examples to reinforce concepts are also provided. While the O'Reilly book also tries to take the reader in developing an e-commerce site, it is a bit more theoretical. Also, there are some differences in focus: the O'Reilly book has a section on using JavaScript while the Sams book has a final chapter on creating PDF files using PHP. If I had to choose just one book, I would go with the Sams book due to its more gentle learning curve. However, I believe that the O'Reilly book is no slouch, and I will probably come to appreciate it more once I gain more experience in PHP and MySQL development. One last word about my programming background: I knew a bit of Perl, Java, HTML, and JavaScript before tackling PHP and MySQL. I consider myself to be an "advanced beginner" (an oxymoron, of course). To get the most out of these two books, you should know HTML well enough to read it (you should at least recognize some tags) and it would definitely be helpful if you have some programming experience. You could very well make PHP your first programming language, but I would advise against it. Start with something like Perl (whose syntax is very similar to PHP's). I highly recommend both books to prospective PHP and MySQL developers who are willing to spend some time and effort.
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Summary: Best of Class
Review: I have a pretty good collection of books on PHP. This is the best of the group. It covers both PHP and MySQL in a manner that a novice (who understands HTML) can gather but covers the subjects in a reasonable depth. I particulary like that the authors have managed to make the book both a reference and a tutorial and have done a good job of both. It's not the end all of books on the subject but it is probably the best single volume reference out there.
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Summary: Great Book for Beginners!
Review: This book is amazing. I came to it with intermediate html skills and zero knowledge about perl, C or any other programming language. In a week I was able to write an entire php/mySQL based site, using complex database queries to organize and present information. I'm still awed at the site I was able to create. I did this with the information in the first 11 chapters -- I haven't even gotten to Chapters 12-30 yet. The book had me confused in a few places, but with careful rereading I was able to puzzle everything out. The examples are very helpful and great starting places for your own code. This book combined with a little online research at the php.net forums is all anyone should need to create a complex database driven website.
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Summary: A gem. One of the very best in over 300 tech books I've read
Review: This is an excellent book. Well, that's not much of a review, so let me explain what makes it so excellent. I was not a programmer when I read it, but I can now confidently code fairly interesting things. I had an objective in mind, but I didn't know how to create it. Now I do, so I saved a few thousand dollars on hiring someone else. I knew what object-oriented programming was, but didn't know what power it hid inside. Now I can harness the power of PEAR and phpclasses.org. Accessor functions was quite an eye opener for me. Please don't laugh :-). I had a faint understanding of C, but this book introduces you to the concepts gradually and smoothly. Before you know it, you start thinking like a C programmer. Yet the beauty of PHP is that you don't have to worry about memory allocations, variable definitions (although something like Options Explicit would be welcome), or variable types. If you are an absolute beginner to programming and databases, you will probably be a little lost along the way. Just read it a few times and it will start to make sense, I promise. As for me, I was an IT person who had a mission to do. At first I wrote a simple application using Dreamweaver MX, which is the absolute best software to use for this purpose, and ran out of built in options to do what I wanted to do. The next logical thing was to read an appropriate book. I've spent a few hours choosing, and finally settled on this one as most promising to teach me exactly what I needed to know. Corporate electronic libraries have their perks. The book progresses smoothly to gently introduce the reader to the main string operations functions, variables, variable operations, classes, functions, and then it goes in-depth on specific integration issues of php, mySQL, and specific applications that are commonly necessary. You will learn sessions, error handling, how to implement secure transactions and so on. Believe me, you can build an application that you can charge thousands for after reading this. I've done just that as a result because I no longer had to hire a contractor to get my work implemented exactly as it was specified in my design documents. If you have a real world problem, you need real world solutions, not the "Hello world!" examples. This book is exactly what you want to read. I've read well over 300 computer books in general, and this one is really one of the very best I've ever read. If you are a smart person who was given a mission impossible to implement in PHP with mySQL, this book will get you to at least intermediate level fast. Enjoy your trip, Leonid
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Summary: Quickly Start Coding PHP
Review: I found this book to be very well put together. It starts out with a crash course that quickly moves you along the syntax of the language and opens your eyes to possible applications of the language at the same time. As the book progresses, what you learn becomes much more applicable to something you may want to develop. The book assumes, as it should if your picking up a book on PHP, that you are already familiar with HTML and have some programming background. This book doesn't try to go through each PHP function and tell you what it is and it's prototype. Nor is it a first programming book that teaches you how to program with PHP as your first language. It doesn't, however, require you to know much about a xnix, Win32 or HTTP server. It does teaches you much of Ph P's functionality through a some well written applications that are very practical and probably end up using. As far as MySQL goes, it teaches you what you need to know in order to use it with PHP. It doesn't teach database design, ER Diagramming or everything about SQL queries. It covers the basics and then some of MySQL and basic queries in a few chapters. I found the examples to be very well explained. Each bit of code is gone through throughly. It takes you practically line by line of what is going on and what everything is used for. The hardest thing I had to do with this book is install PHP, MySQL and Apache. After that everything is good to go and you will be flying through the material.
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