Rating: 
Summary: Great Buy
Review: I recommend this book to every serious PHP programmer - Professional,Beginner or Intermediate.The Information presented in it will never fade!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not impressed: they don't know who their audience is
Review: In reading this book, it's clear to me that the authors don't have a clear focus on who their audience is supposed to be and what they are trying to accomplish.They sprinkle the book with trivial examples that don't give any "meat", concentrate on the details of what low-level functions are available, and gloss over completely how to make the best use of the features. This book contains a lot of information, but it is not organized to get an experienced developer up to speed on a new language, nor is it geared towards a beginning programmer who might need basic concepts explained. I don't know who would find this book at the "right level", but I wish I hadn't spent my money on it. I've gotten more out of the website than I got out of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great PHP Book
Review: In simple words - a great book. If you are looking to dive into some serious developing with PHP, this book could definitely help you find a path. Pros:
- ammount of code as example
- in depth real world case studies
- the presentation of the book
- programmer to programmer approach Could have:
- more about XML and PHP but you could buy 'Professional PHP4 XML'.
- more about the PHP's multimedia capabilities but again the book 'Professional PHP4 Multimedia Programming' is present. I am not promoting Wrox Press but they did a great job on this PHP thing. I would expect them to present something with in depth coverage of PHP and Databases.
Rating: 
Summary: Great information, but poorly written
Review: Ok, so you have read PHP Programming for the Mentally Challanged, or Learn PHP in 23.5 minutes, or some other similar tome that seems to regurgitate itself every week or two... Now you are thinking, "What should I do to take the next step?"
Answer: Read this book. While this book has its share of typos, errors and other "burps" it is quite well presented, and if you take the time to use it, and truely study it, the errors will be easily fixed. I have been working with PHP for all too long now, and I have given this book to a number of collegues to get them up to speed, and I have not been disappointed yet.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on PHP4
Review: Professional PHP4 is by and far the best book for both beginners and experienced programmers. It not only introduces you to PHP4 - syntax,structures and control flow, but also demonstrates the functionality with Databases with good examples. I loved the chapter on acessing SQL Server and access(I never knew it could be done). The material is presented such that it helps you understand the topic at hand, and also serves as a great reference later. This book, combined with the Beginning PHP4 from Wrox provides a very solid foundation in classic PHP and will help you get on your way.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent PHP Book
Review: Professional PHP4 Programming is the newer version after "Professional PHP" by Wrox. A lot of information regarding sessions and some on security. I would have liked more case examples, such as this book's previous version used. Granted, most examples are not adequate as full-blown applications, but they give you a good idea on how to structure your programs. NOT for the beginning PHP programmer; if you're unfamiliar with PHP, look for "PHP Fast & Easy Web Development" by J. Meloni, as it has a lot of simple applications to get you started. In all, this is an excellent book; it's also very useful as a reference on the subject. I'm giving it four stars instead of five because, as stated, some example apps. would have been helpful.
Rating:
Summary: Too many cooks spoil the broth
Review: There are a lot of good concepts here but many of them are poorly explained. This book has about a dozen authors and you never are able to settle down and feel comfortable with the way any of the chapters are written. Check out Programming PHP as an alternate.
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