No comments about PHP and MySQL Manual: Simple, yet Powerful Web Programming (Springer Professional Computing).

1 comments about Just Enough Web Programming with XHTML, PHP, and MySQL.

1. Just Enough Web Programming with XHTML, PHP, and MySQL
   This Book is the least concise book I have ever read. There are 2-3 important things per page buried in fluff. I am completely new to this subject and want to start quickly so this book sounded great, but the book is more the author talking about "this is too technical so we will ignore it" then anything else he says it several times per chapter and spends a paragraph telling about where else in the book you can find more snippets about it.

5 comments about Running Mac OS X Panther.

1. Most Mac users are perfectly happy that the Mac user interface shields them from the intricacies and complexities of the Unix-based "plumbing" beneath the surface of their machines. Others, however, like motorheads who compulsively tune, torque, and tinker with their souped-up cars, love to open up their Mac, so to speak, to get at the innards. This book is for them.

   "Running MacOSX Panther" is a systematic guide to the core of OSX written, not just for power users, but for those with a compulsive need to know how the Mac works inside-out. It is for those who want master-level knowledge of how the Mac operates inside.

   After a short history of the developmentof the Mac operating system, the book describes all the essentials: what happens during the startup and login process; how files organized and permissions set up; how preferences are maintained and edited; how users and groups are set up and administered, and more. The emphasis is on the Unix underpinnings and use of the command line to view, customize, and control the Mac. There is discussion on how to see and edit hidden files and directories, how to use the Unix "shell" and text editors, and how to edit Open Firmware - the Mac version of the PC's "BIOS". You can learn to create a user account for non-human users (not including your kitty!)

   The advanced sections discuss the Open Directory, a type of database which stores information about the system and its components, and advanced networking information and options. Journaling is explained and an argument is made why disk defragmentation is not necessary on OSX. It convinced me.

   An appendix providing guidance on installing Panther has sections for ordinary users as well as for Mac "motorheads". The motorheads will enjoy reviewing the list of Boot Command key combinations.




2. This is a work for those who don't mind getting into the Terminal and into the internals of their Apple. The book has an interesting mix of coverage of the GUI and then the corresponding Unix layer. This dual coverage brings the topics covered home quite nicely. Some of the topics covered are; the Terminal, process control, file access, startup handling, printing and networking.

   I consider this the most accessible of the recent crop of O'Reilly OS X books on Panther. If you are a reasonably skilled end-user or engineering looking to get under the covers of your Apple this is probably your best bet.




3. This book is not for geeks. If you are already someone who understands Mac OS X inside and out, uses the terminal to accomplish things periodically, and know how to get things done you will find this book to have no new information.

   As I paged through my newly purchased copy I was quite disappointed at the lack of anything that was new to me. As such, this book will be passed on to one of my more advanced users who will enjoy learning more. For someone technically minded who wishes they knew how to do more with OSX, this is a pretty good book.

   This book is well written and helpful, but geeks like me are not its audience. If you want a book that digs a lot deeper and covers a lot more subjects, pick up Mac OS X Unleashed (I bought mine from amazon, I know they carry it).

   Joel




4. This book is supposed to fall in some middle ground between a Mac OSX manual (Like Pogue's Missing Manual on OSX) and the hard core extreme Mac-OSX-as-another-Unix-system (as typified in Mac OSX Unleashed or the OSX Nutshell handbook or the under-rated Unx for Mac OSX by Enzer). However, I think it just ends up neither fish nor fowl. Not really a Mac OSX manual because it is much too short for that, and not nearly as detailed as other books that get into much more depth on the Unix aspects of OSX. I would suggest getting the OSX Missing Manual (or Robin Williams OSX book) and then supplementing that with Enzer's book or Mac OSX unleashed.



5. Many years ago I bought a second hand Ford Cortina in dubious condition. I kept it running with the assistance of a marvelous volume purchased at a specialist bookstore that was referred to as "the shop manual." It wasn't much help teaching you how to drive or how to park but if you needed to know how to perform an oil change, flush the radiator or bleed the brakes it told you all the details. Now James Duncan Davidson has given me a shop manual for Macintosh OS X Panther.
   
   This volume assumes you know how to use your Mac, how to perform all the routine changes that are easily accomplished with the GUI. Davidson also assumes you don't want to know how to get a movie running as your desktop, or get an Exposé blob floating on the screen or any of the usual sort of 'hacks' or 'hints.' What he gives is a good guide to lifting the hood and performing serious mechanical work or tweaking the performance of your Mac with enough background information so that you can feel confident taking your own steps.
   
   It was good after a few near misses to read an O'Reilly book that was once again well written, well edited, tight and crammed full of information pitched at just the right level. Davidson has done an excellent job with this book.
   
   Davidson starts with a little history, and from the viewpoint he presents, this is not a waste of space; he spends his time explaining exactly how we arrived at the current version of the Mac OS.
   
   Then we have a chapter titled "Lay of the Land" that explores the file system, including both the Finder view and the view you get from the command line. It also explains the four file system domains and the 'Library' directory. The third chapter is a quick (20 pages) look at the Terminal and shell.
   
   Then we get 'Part II: Essentials,' which is the 120-page core of the book. This starts off, logically, with system startup and the login (and log out and shutdown). This is followed by short chapters on users and groups, files and permissions, monitoring, scheduling and preferences and defaults before a marvelous long chapter on the file system. Davidson goes into great detail and closely covers each of the topics, making sure that you get all the details not just 'recipes.'
   
   Part III ("Advanced Topics") starts with a chapter on Open Directory that I found particularly useful. It includes coverage on Kerberos and single sign-on that explains it well, as well as the command-line Open Directory tools. The chapter on printing could have had a bit more guts. It covers the obvious but leaves out such joys as CUPS apart from a half-page sidebar; since sharing printers has caused me more than a little grief I would have appreciated more detail here. The final chapter on networking is better, and provides more useful detail.
   
   It must be said that this section concentrates more on user level detail and leaves out real information on server level software and options. Given the target group for this book, and that a book has to draw a line somewhere, this is quite fair.
   
   Davidson has picked his topics well, almost everyone will find all of Part II useful and educational. Part III is perfect for people wanting to run Panther in a corporate environment. He has balanced the command line and GUI well, pointing out where you can do a job with both and explaining the details.
   
   I would recommend this book to any Panther user with a moderate amount of experience. It is not for the newcomer to the Mac, perhaps, but everyone else will benefit from this book.

3 comments about Web Application Design and Implementation: Apache 2, PHP5, MySQL, JavaScript, and Linux/UNIX (Quantitative Software Engineering Series).

1. This is the book I wish I had had when I was starting to set up my Books-On-Line web site. Here in one simple step is just about half of what you need to know to set up a fairly complex database driven web site. I say about half of what you need to know because he spends no time at all on appearance, type fonts, color, illustrations, all that stuff. As he says in the introduction, he's not good at that (neither am I), and for those subjects you need another book.
   
   But for a functioning web site he recommends what is sometimes called LAMP - for Linux, Apache, MySql and PHP. To summarize why:
   
   The software is FREE, a very good price.
   It doesn't crash as often
   It runs faster so you can use a slower computer.
   
   By the time you finish, you'll probably want at least one book on each of these software packages, but here is an excellent place to start. It gives you enough to get started and you only need to go deeper into each of these packages when you start getting fancier. The nice thing about this book is that it gives you everything you need to get started in a well written, easy to understand way.
   
   Mr. Gabarro, there are two things I would suggest for your next edition: One, include a cd of a working collection of the four packages rather than saying go get any distribution, and two, talk a little about past and emerging technologies such as Cold Fusion for the past, and Ruby on Rails for the future. I'd be interested in your opinions.



2. Have read 40% of the book so far. There are many places where visual aspects are discussed, and there are no visual illustrations!!. The book is clearly aimed at people whose knowledge is elementary in the areas being discussed, and yet there is no attempt to make it easy for the reader to learn. Also, the examples are unimaginative.
   
   On the bright side, I like the casual conversational style.



3. Hi guys, first of all, thanks for actually considering buying this book. I do appreciate all reviews, whether they are good or bad, as this is the very first book I wrote. I do have to say in response to T.Arora that I did spend a lot of time writing this book (took me over a year), and the reason I did not include more images was a contractual restrictions. I was told to write a book of about 300 pages, and adding images would have made me go way over board. I felt it was more important to concentrate on explanations and the actual code. After that, you could always write the code and see what it looks like.
   
   I do hope you read it till the end. I've heard good things about the last chapter, when everything gets together. Hopefully you will like my examples a little better. :)
   
   For those thinking on whether or not to buy the book, realize that this book is about learning how to make database-driven websites, not how to make pretty pages. If you want to learn tricks and dangers of Web programming, the book can definitely help you. If you just want to learn Web design and how to choose colors, get a different book.
   
   Thanks to all of you that have purchased it so far! :)

2 comments about MySQL: Your visual blueprint for creating open source databases.

1. This book is great if you're looking to get started quickly with MySQL. I was able to set up and create a database within hours after buying the book, with only minimal prior exposure to MySQL. Plus, it's a great quick reference for some of the standard MySQL commands that you may not need to use on a super-regular basis. The majority of the teaching is done through diagrams and examples, which allows the user to see what's supposed to happen, and have a gauge of how their performing. The text is just over half of the meat of the book, and really just fills in the blank spots that the diagrams leave out. I highly recommend this book for anyone just getting started with MySQL, but it as you get more proficient, you might want to pass it on to another MySQL newbie, as it may just gather dust on your bookshelf.



2. This book is part of a series of Visual Blueprint (tm) books. the subtitle reads Your visual blueprint to oepn source database mangement. There are others in this series on PHP, XML, and Javascript that I know of.
   
   The format is clear and obvious. Of course with the blue ink and the graphical layout, it is designed to resemble building plans or blueprints. The format is such that each ajoining pages tackle one command or subject. The subject is narrow in focus allowing you to concentrate on that one topic. Examples include topics such as Delete a Column, Understanding Date and Time Functions, View and manage running processes.
   
   On each two-page topic they have included four screen views that are annotated with helpful hints as to what has happened on the screen. Also there is a text portion that analyzes the specific command. On the right page is a text box titled "Extra" that goes into more depth.
   
   This rigid format makes the book easy to read and reference, but it also forces that authors to make a point in no more than several paragraphs sometimes limiting the topics effectivness.
   
   So I liked this book in the way its consistant design and format makes it very easy to read and learn the topics one step at a time. Looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

5 comments about MySQL Reference Manual.

1. Well, they wrote big parts of MySQL. That's a good recommendation, if you ask me



2. It's been a long wait, but finally a comprehensive MySQL Reference manual has arrived ! Definitive comprehensive and one might even say exhaustive - you'll want to keep this one handy.



3. A paper copy of the manual can be most useful, since I, like most people, find it hard to wade through an online manual.

   But there is one area in which the online form is more useful: searching. By opening the MySQL manual in a text editor, one can search it, making the poor organization of the manual less of a problem.

   The printed copy suffers from the same poor organization (indeed, it is the same as - or very, very close to - the online manual) but without the ameliorating factor of searchability. The index is not very good, but even if it was better, the scattering of information throughout the book would make for lengthy index entries.

   Take security for example. What is the recommended process for securing a fresh MySQL installation? Start at the Table of Contents: Aha! 4.3 "MySQL User Account Management" Sounds promising. P. 249. GRANT and REVOKE Syntax? Not what I had in mind. I just want to know about the right way to secure the system and create new users. Back to the Contents. 2.4 "Post-Installation Setup and Testing" P.113. Nope, nothing there.

   Last resort: The index. Security, against hackers, p.227. Nope. But that page is in section 4.2 "General Security Issues and the MySQL Access Privilege System." Now that sounds like it. Start reading section 4.2.1 on p. 224... "If you are able to connect successfully to the server without being asked for a password, you have problems! ... Review the MySQL installation instructions..." I thought I just did that. Now I know the secret is burried in the installation instructions. Back to Chapter 2. Still no dice.

   Give up and install phpMyAdmin.

   While I don't doubt that the answers to this and a myriad other questions are in there somewhere, the poor structure of the book makes it extremely hard to find anything.

   A complete rewrite would do the trick.




4. This book is the printed version of the online documentation available through the MySQL site. It is the definitive version of documentation for MySQL, but it is also left wanting. The authors, two of the principle programmers of MySQL, provide comprehensive coverage of all aspects of MySQL.
   That being said, one of the biggest problem with this book is not its subject coverage, but its organization. Most technical books begin with installation instructions, or a brief overview of the software's purpose and the need it addresses and then moves into technical subjects. This one spends the first 10% telling you why you should use MySQL, and only then does it start delving into technical matters.
   Skipping past that, the book's other big shortcoming is that it's biased towards a Unix mindset. Granted, the software was developed on Unix and the largest portion of deployments are on *nix. However, as a long-time Windows user with little *nix familiarity, a lot of the material is over my head. If they want Windows users to use MySQL correctly, they're going to have to make it much easier for Windows users/admins to understand.
   The one thing I found the book does really well is to teach you exactly how to use MySQL using SQL, and documenting well where MySQL diverges from ANSI SQL compliance. The portion of the book strictly dedicated to teaching the user how to use it is well-written and thorough, I wish the rest of the manual was written this well.



5. This is simply the printed version of the online documentation. This is very handy to have when you are not in front of your keyboard. I use the printed and online versions equally. The layout of the printed version is not the best by any means. Used in conjunction with the online documentation, you will find what you need though. This book should be on any PHP/MySQL programmer's shelf.

5 comments about PHP and MySQL by Example.

1. We purchased dozens of copies of this book and use it for our PHP and MySQL Bootcamp. This book is straight forward and loaded with real-world examples. Most of the examples can be used for actual websites right out of the book. The book also comes with a CD with all the code (though it'd be nice to have it online as well - not sure if they provide it).
   
   Overall, highly recommended for anyone who prefers to learn by example.



2. I purchased this book for the retail price of $49.99 at my local bookstore. I did this based on the preface that states an errata, as well as the lab solutions, can be found online. Since I know all code books contain some errors, I usually look to see if these errors, when discovered, have been posted on the book's site.
   
   Well, even though the book states there there is an errata, truth and in fact, there isn't. When I emailed the publisher they stated "Thank you for purchasing our book. I'm afraid we've not yet compiled an
   errata. Would you be willing to share the errors you found with me, so
   that I can inform the author?" Strike One.
   
   The preface also states that the solutions to the labs, that usually end each chapter, can also be found online. Truth and in fact, only 4 of the labs can be found online while the other 10 or so are not posted. Strike Two.
   
   The last problem I had with this book is the amount of errors. As I stated before I expect books to contain errors. We are all human and I hold no grudges for this. But to be honest, this book contains the most amount of errors I have ever seen. Did they have someone proof read this? The publisher told me "I apologize for the errors you're finding, but I admit that in a first printing, which is what you have, this is not unusual." Strike Three.
   
   I will say that the publisher did deliver excellent customer service, and while not refunding the money for this title, they promised to send another book based on the same subject. I have not received it as of today, but if I don't by Friday, I'll update this review.
   
   As for the book itself. The first few chapters are done really well and explain to a beginner, like myself, the concepts of PHP. But when you move past Chpater 5 you start finding numerous errors, one of which had me thinking I did something wrong and spending over 2 hours trying to work it out. (The errors in the book are also on the CD-Rom files that come with it!)
   
   This book has a lot of potential, but because this is the first printing I would suggest staying away until they either fix the errors or keep their word and publish the errata and lab solutions.
   
   Oh yeah, and beware of the first review... isn't he also the co-author? He might be a little bias.



3. This book contains many, many, many errors. The book itself gives the URL for the publisher's website, claiming the errata is posted there. It isn't. Shame on the reviewers and on the editor for allowing this to go to print with so many mistakes.
   
   On a positive note, finding and correcting the errors has helped me learn the material more thoroughly, and I'm finding there are some other great books out there on PHP and MySQL.



4. I purchased this book for a class and have been going through the examples on my own. Several of the examples have typos that result in the example scripts not running. Some of the errors are as blatant as leaving out closing brackets on HTML tags. Others I still haven't figured out. There is no errata online, which is disappointing.
   
   A programming book written for beginners really needs to have extra proofing done by the author (a typical proofer in a publishing house wouldn't understand the code and couldn't catch errors) prior to being published, and it is clear that this book wasn't proofed very well at all.
   
   If it were not for the errors, I would recommend this book.



5. The book and cd code are error prone. The co-author writes a five star review trying to come off as an instructor in a php boot camp. Come on!! This book should not even have been published in this state.

5 comments about Upgrading to PHP 5.

1. This is a fantastic book. I frequently find that when an existing developer buys a book, he/she has to sort through all the garbage review in the beginning. This book assumes you are a competent PHP4 programmer. Then it takes you step by step through new PHP5 syntax and features that are unique to PHP5. It reviews and explains Object Oriented Programming (OOP), then discusses a variety of PHP5-only concepts, like SimpleXML and SQLite.
   
   I recently installed a PHP5 server and this book has been by my side since. All PHP4 developers who expect to use PHP5 within the next year or so should really have a copy of this book handy.



2. Being fairly proficient on PHP 4 but looking for more info on version 5, the idea of getting books on PHP 5 that, once again, starts from scratch wasn't exciting at all. This book instead was exactly what I needed, it assume you know PHP 4 and covers only the new features with a good amount of details and a bunch of useful suggestions for code migration. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that in the chapters covering OOP and DOM the author try to explain the new functionalities but also attempt to throw in the mix more generic info on this two topics. The end results are somewhat mixed, the coverage of PHP 5 is, in my opinion, very good, but the material about OOP and DOM instead aren't up to the rest and does more harm than good.



3. A very good choice. PHP5 is a new wave in dynamic web development. It dramaticly improved the handeling of classes and objects. This little book is your quick and easy to use refference of objects, methods, variables, scopes, functions. At Procreative Designs (procreative.ca), the company I work for this one was distributed all over our web development department at the beginning of last month. I personally find this book really handy and useful. Previously I owned PHP4 Refference and it always served me well. Overall its a great choice for quick refference.



4. The author does a great job summarizing common PHP characteristics and elaborating on PHP 5 improvements, with plenty of well-chosen code examples. Well suited for the established PHP programmer making the transition to PHP 5. For those starting out, use "Learning PHP 5" instead.



5. I own a sizable collection of O'Reilly books and have found them to in general be very well written and useful. "Upgrading to PHP 5" continues this tradition superbly.
   
   This book is _not_ for new PHP coders; the vast majority of the text assumes good familiarity with PHP 4.x. If you have this familiarity then you will find this book to be a thorough and well-organized primer on the many new features in the new PHP.
   
   The first chapter merely lists the major areas that have changed in the latest PHP, each of which roughly corresponds to a chapter in the book.
   
   Major enhancement to the OOP facilities of PHP are appropriately discussed in the next chapter. Unfortunately, this is probably the most clumsily written chapter due a strange desire to educate the reader in OOP basics (about the only place in the book where this mistake is committed). The result is a schism that imposes redundancy in the material while simultaneously making it unduly hard to locate specific topics.
   
   Thankfully the subsequent two chapters (on the new MySQL interface and the SQLite database) are uniformly well-written. Especially useful is a (perhaps oddly-situated) section on migration strategies from a PHP 4/MySQL 4.0 platform to a PHP 5/MySQL 4.1 platform.
   
   A chapter on XML follows, but I did not read it in great detail since my applications tend to not require it, so other reviewers are likely to provide greater insights here.
   
   Iterators, yet another feature completely new to PHP 5, are covered next. Unlike much of the conventional PHP fare (even OOP) this topic really does require understanding of rather abstract concepts (especially when debugging the RecusrsiveIterator interface). For this reason, while clearly written it may take hobbiests some time to take this material to heart.
   
   The new error-handling functions are introduced next. I think that the chapter could have benefited from a little more discussion; Trachtenberg seems to think providing code samples is almost self-explanatory. At the end of the day, though, the chapter does its job.
   
   The chapter on streams and filters is another one that I barely perused, so I defer to other reviewers on this topic.
   
   The penultimate chapter provides a very cursory evaluation of a handful of extensions to PHP. While certainly useful to the practicing PHP programmer they are covered in so brief a manner that you will need a separate text to implement them meaningfully. But this chapter does give enough information to at least evaluate the extensions' potential usefulness in an application.
   
   Trachtenberg concludes with an example PHP application. I do not like such examples in books - between space limitations and the complexity of real life this and other examples feel too... contrived... to be worthwhile. But I understand that it is included practically as canon, and do not fault the author for its inclusion.
   
   So, all things considered, this text covers the changes in PHP 5 in detail in a surprisingly brief 300 pages (and small page footprint). A worthy addition to a book collection, provided you already have general PHP reference available.

1 comments about MySQL 5.1 Cluster DBA Certification Study Guide.

1. This is the comprehensive guide to the MySQL 5.1 Cluster Certification. The book is well formatted, written, and provides lots of guidelines that are hard to pick up by just RTFM-ing the manuals. The book starts with a discussion of what is high availability and what is not that is great for those new to the subject. Then it gets very heavily into the NDB aspects of MySQL Cluster.
   
   This is not a book for those wanting to start administering MySQL databases as it is very cluster specific. But many of the general topics would be of value to any DBA.

No comments about JDBC Metadata, MySQL, and Oracle Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (Expert's Voice in Java).