Rating: 
Summary: PHP Essentials is excellently written!
Review: I have only read the first few chapters in this book. However, I was so impressed with the author's simple and concise manner for explaining the basics of HTML, Database Structure, SQL and of course, PHP, I did an author search to see what other tech books Ms. Maloni has out. Unfortuneatley, she only has one other, on Flash.. and I don't need it. But if she ever puts out any other books on topics which I am learning about.. hers will be the first I buy.
Rating:
Summary: Marvellous!
Review: PHP is something that is a real heavy-weight stuff. Perhaps one of the most powerful server side scripting languages. But the way Julie Meloni has written it, it looks something very light in weight, maybe something as light as HTML.A perfect book for everyone!
Rating: 
Summary: PHP Essentials A Good Start
Review: I purchased this book after reading several reviews that described it as too light for a seasoned programmer. This is usually a good sign for someone like me and it turns out that I was correct. The book initiates new PHP programmers with a very fundamental and broad "step-by-step" approach that will help you build a PHP ap very quickly. If you are a serious or professional programmer, you will still need the Wrox (or comparable) book which is a very detailed reference book. If you are like me, you will end of with several books on any specific topic anyway. I'm glad I purchased this book first since I would still be digging in the Wrox book to put it all together. The book doesn't cover all PHP functions and capabilities but it doesn't pretend to be a reference book. Perl programmers are going to love PHP.
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Summary: PHP Essentials - Good for Beginners
Review: I'm a Linux newbie, MySQL newbie, and PHP newbie, but I'm currently learning all three. PHP Essentials has been the most helpful resource I've bought, because it's written in an accessible, friendly manner that doesn't assume I know more than I actually do. I'm sure that to be a PHP stud I'll have to get into it more, and maybe buy some more books, but this was the right place to start for me.
Rating: 
Summary: A well written but beginner book
Review: Very basic but well written. Not many other alternatives out there yet. Was it worth the money - yes, I guess so but it leaves a lot to learn. Also, I'm not a SQL Server fan, but the Author makes the silly claim that MySQL is more powerful than SQLServer.
Rating:
Summary: Not for Programmers, Fast Read
Review: This is not a book for programmers. Quotes like "Commenting your code is a good habit to have," (pg.33) bring chills to a professional programmer (of course you comment your code!). The book is a one-hour read for anyone ever to write in a scripting language and covers, lightly, many topics in php programming including authentication and encryption. To write "production" PHP you'll need a meatier reference book. Overpriced for a cursory introduction to php.
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Summary: This book should be called "PHP and Databases"
Review: Seeing as there is a lack of decent books to begin with on this subject, I chose this book over the Wrox professional book because 1. It was smaller and easier to reference without having to take weightlifting classes 2. It had what seemed to be better reviews, though some were ambiguous. Here are my thoughts after trying to learn PHP using this book: You can't. I have a heavy ASP background so I try to translate my ASP commands into comparable PHP commands. One glaring omission from the book is the SWITCH command which is comparable to the SELECT command in ASP. It is a very common and useful command. However, it had no mention whatsoever in the TOC, the index, or the pages concerning control structures. Nor did she use it in any of her scripts in the book! Secondly, the bulk of the book only concerns Database connectivity. When I start connecting databases, I'll consult this book, but if you are trying to learn PHP, go somewhere else. This is the only reason I gave this 3 stars instead of 2 like I wanted. I learned more about PHP printing out the pages... than I did reading this book. My suggestion: Either buy the WROX professional PHP book (though you may need a stronger shelf to put it on) or wait until August for the WROX Beginner PHP book. If it is anything like the WROX Beginning ASP book, you should have no problem learning everything about PHP.
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Summary: HELP! FINALLY
Review: I was not experienced in PHP at all. This book is written verywell and the website helped a lot. The examples are good examples andwithin 1 day, I was able to convert my website, into a PHP website that is database driven by mySQL (no previous knowledge of that either). The information about mySQL int his book was enough for me to learn what I needed to know without having to spend another 30 to 50 bucks on a mySQL book. END
Rating:
Summary: For Anyone With or Without Coding Experience
Review: I have every possible book on PHP and MySQL in my library. I bought them as a newbie trying to learn PHP programming with no experience in programming other than HTML. They will ALL be sitting on the shelf for a while now that I found Php Essentials. It is clear and easy to understand. The author explains the why's as well as the how's so that a beginner can understand everything without trying to guess what is meant by ambiguous statements... which has been my biggest complaint about the rest of the books on this topic. I'll be pulling out Professional Php Programming from time to time and I'll be checking in with MySQL (OTHER NEW RIDERS) as I proceed but PHP Essentials is laying a good foundation to build on.
Rating:
Summary: Not necessarily a beginners book
Review: I disagree with the reviews that say this book is only for beginners. I am a PHP newbie, but code ASP for my day job, so I understand the basic concept. But since I am a visual learner, I find step-by-step examples much more helpful than a big paragraph going over the theory behind something. PHP Essentials is great for me in that respect. Yes, some of the html stuff is pretty basic, but it doesn't take up the bulk of the book! Besides, you can just skim those parts. The only reason I don't give the book five stars is that I have yet to find the be-all, end-all tech book that warrants it. It's very rare to find books that are timely, comprehensive, and useful day-to-day. But PHP Essentials isn't supposed to be the grand bible of PHP either. I've also read some of the Wrox Professional books, but find them less useful because of the reason I stated before. Lots of text, few examples, so that I have to look elsewhere anyway just to find something specific. For me, it's usually a waste of [money]. The nice thing about PHP is that it's very well documented, which is to everyone's advantage. For [this purchase price] and a few hundred pages, PHP Essentials shows you just enough to get your feet wet. Most books, including some Wrox books, are one-thousand-page doorstops with information that becomes obsolete rather quickly. If you're new to PHP but not new to the web, and you learn by example, PHP Essentials can be a very helpful intro. But if you prefer more text in your tech book, then by all means drop your money elsewhere. I think it's nice to have the choice.
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