Rating: 
Summary: Depends on what you want...
Review: If you are a beginner to programming languages this book is very good. If you are a proffesional this is a book that you would breeze through in a night, maybe two to get an overview of the language. The book is good for a beginner because you cannot get more detailed about the small topic chunks they covered at any given time. The books assumes you know nothing or virtually nothing of programming languages or server side scripting. The book is only a wet your lips kind of thing for a proffessional. It will not give you everything you need to really write good production sites. You need another book for that. Even though it only wets your lips, this book is a good book even for the proffesional because it is a very quick read for someone who knows other programming languages.
Rating: 
Summary: Best PHP book I've seen yet!
Review: In less than 300 pages, this book manages to explain the simpler concepts while not omitting the more advanced topics of PHP programming that aren't covered adequately in other books with over 1000 pages. If a PHP book gets into things like object oriented PHP, using multiple tables in your PHP/database projects, session management and even frequently overlooked things like foreach conditional statements, then it is worth considering. This book covers all that without being annoyingly verbose like so many other books. Topics that take 30 pages of excessive rambling in some books are concisely covered in several pages with diagrams of code to illustrate. I have over a half dozen books on PHP/MySQL and I find that this is the most useful and easy to understand and can be used as a tutorial and quick reference. This book is useful for both beginners and experienced programmers and really does lives up to its motto "Read Less, Learn More".
Rating:
Summary: This book needs improvement.
Review: It does a good job of explaining basic programming functions... But once you get into anything somewhat advanced your left in the dark.. confused.. The section on database use with php is excellent. I wouldnt reccomend this book if your starting out with programming.
Rating:
Summary: The best tech book I have ever read.
Review: It is a book for begginer with a great paper design.
Rating:
Summary: The best "non-bible like" php book
Review: It took me only about 15 minutes to size this book up and it's a winner. It's concise, complete, and extremely well organized. It's a heck of a good reference when you're programming and just can't remember something. And unlike most of the programming books I've used, it's large titles (every two pages are a "module" discussing an important concept) make it EASY to find exactly what you're looking for. IT'S UNIQUE, AND IT'S ACTUALLY INTELLIGENTLY WRITTEN ------------------------------------------------------------
What's unique about this book is that the information is presents is very easily digestable. I own 4 php books including this one, and none of them are as useful to me on a day to day basis, because finding information in them is so much work--I usually just end up looking on google. Most of the books I own (and I do own quite a few), well, they.... um.... suck. Especially after you realized they're index is not good for looking things up or they're written like the hobbit (actually, we have a theory about that... you see... how do hobbits make money after all...). Additionally, the format seems to appeal to different kinds of learners. I am more brainy in the way that I learn, but my more corporeal "hands-on" programmer friend (who learns by doing) took one look at this thing and insisted I order him a copy (which is the reason I'm writing reviews, don't you know ;-). I think the format will appeal to a wide variety of learners. WHAT'S REALLY REALLY GOOD
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* Awesome format
* Complete index
* easy to find information
* clear writing
* well laid out information
* introductions to more advanced material (like how to set up a mysql database)
* the entire book is on PDF on the CD, which is SO COMPLETELY AWESOME IT SOLD THE BOOK (publisher if you read this, it's the reason I bought a copy of your book -- keep it up). No more wishing you had a copy of the book with you at work when you need it -- now you don't have to own 2 copies to have a decent reference!!!
* It's CHEAP. I'm buying a number of this series because it's almost like two for one on Amazon.
* lots of pictures and screen shots (that make sense for once!)
* an example on the same page as almost every category
* it's the same format most folks learn in -- do and then see what happens, then do this and see what happens, etc... WHAT'S NOT GOOD, OR COULD BE IMPROVED
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* Could use a little more in depth information
* Could use a keyed index (in other words, put the page number of the page the stuff you're talking about is referenced in the reference section -- a minor, but useful, tune up)
* Index of functions, while useful, it pretty slim on explination
* Missing more comprehensive examples -- how do you put it all together kind of material. Kind of a mixed blessing.
* It has a few typos. And as you know BOOKS are not supposed to be like web pages.
* I'll bet you one of the examples is broken somehow. All computer books have a broken example in them. It's like, a cyber-rule. Really. So go find it. Go on. Email me and I'll put it in the review (I couldn't find anything that looks obviously messed up straight off).
* A map of the php world would rock. I love books that give me nice big fold-out "reminescent of National Geographic" maps of programming languages. <sniff>
* This book could be improved if it was packaged with $100 dollars of cold hard cash. That's a joke. WHAT I REALLY THINK (REALLY!)
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In short, this book won't help you write better programs or give you a really good framework for understanding and developing applications (and don't be fooled, most books that claim to suck continuiously for 500 pages before boring you into submission). It will get you productive in php and teach you what you need to know. And the pdf version of the book on cd makes this the benchmark computer book format (it's like it's, NOOO!!! It's from the future!!! Oh my god, another publisher realized that releasing computer books in pdf won't hurt sales, and in fact encourages users to buy more of their books! <nod o'reilly> THE BOTTOM LINE
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If you're a beginner/intermediate, or even just want something to use as a reference or occasionally brush up, this should be in your library.
Rating:
Summary: You've read the othe reviews. Now BUY IT
Review: Straight to the point is the best way to describe this book. If your new to programming, the sections on arrays, strings and program flow will give you a solid foundation on which to build your skills. BUY IT!
Rating: 
Summary: Killer Content - Must have PHP reference
Review: This book is a must have reference to PHP programming. It's a bit difficult to read, but it's great to have around. If you are an absoulte beginer looking to learn PHP, this isn't your book right away...wait a couple of months and then buy it.
Rating:
Summary: The Best for beginer-intermediate
Review: This is not the book to be used for developing an e-commerce site (security issues left out)nor is it for advanced PHP features nor is it reference of all the PHP features. Its a book for someone who has had some little exposure to some other programming language and would like to develop a web site in PHP. This book takes from you from beginning through intermediate level and it does it very well and very clearly without confusing you with endless options and parameters and permutations of every PHP function. It covers the most usefull and basic fucntions and does a very good job. I have three books on PHP, this is the one I start with to learn a concept because it is quick, clear, and to the point. As I want to learn more advanced features I consult other books later or php.net
Rating:
Summary: Good on the eyes
Review: This must the easiest PHP text. The layout is simple, and allows to step thru each section very fast. There are enough examples, to explain how each function works. This book is a good read for those who need a fast and easy stepping thru to PHP. From there on you can buy more advanced books to build up on your knowledge and get your hands dirty.
Rating:
Summary: Written for humans
Review: This PHP book is an excellent choice for both the beginner and the skilled coder looking to pick up PHP quickly. The information is presented with step by step coding examples and results inline on the page. It is rare to find a "computer book" so visually well organized. This book has a quality index, and comprehensive API Appendix organized by catagory and THEN alphabetically in the catagory. Some API categories are "DOM XML Functions", "Filesystem Functions", "PostgreSQL Functions", "Oracle 8 Functions", "String Functions" etc... I am going to keep my eye out for more books in this series.
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