5 comments about The Definitive Guide to MySQL 5, Third Edition (Definitive Guide).

1. This book is great for anyone getting started with MySQL. The book does an excellent job of helping the reader learn MySQL on both Windows and Linux systems, with most examples being run in tandem across both platforms. The books review of MySQL administration tools and clients is very in depth, and probably the best single-source coverage I have seen on the topic.
   
   The chapter on integrating MySQL with OpenOffice and MS Office is unique to this book, as far as I know and I think several readers will get their money's worth simply from that. Using MySQL as a productivity tool instead of a programming tool changes the approach for several MySQL users.
   
   The fundamentals section of the book, which includes DB design, security and some of the newer features of MySQL (stored procedures and triggers) is a very nice overview, even for seasoned MySQL users. The administration chapter is probably my favorite, as I am a System Admin. This chapter provides examples and instructions about backups, migrations, performance tuning and replication.
   
   
   The final section on programming was a nice introduction to programming with/against MySQL, but was brief for nearly all topics, but understandably so. There are dozens of books on PHP and MySQL alone, so a few chapters on PHP, Perl, Java and VB are good introductions, but other material should be sought after for an in-depth project.
   
   All in all the book is very thorough, and makes an excellent addition to Apress's Open Source line of books.



2. This is bar-none the best MySQL (all-inclusive) book I've ever used. I've been using MySQL for about 5-6 years (maybe longer I've lost count). In projects from Personal stuff to Commercial and Corporate sites. I feel like I know a lot about MySQL simply by using and Admin'ing it for most of this time. I've learned a great deal from "The Definitive Guide to MySQL 5" and am making immediate use of several things that have made significant improvements to the current project I'm working on...and has given me ideas as to how to improve on a few sites I didn't think I could improve much on.
   
   I would recommend this book for ANYONE interested in MySQL 5. It's well organized, and provides enough information to use virtually anything related to MySQL 5.
   
   Thanks to Michael Kofler for such a well written and organized book!
   
   The only things I would have preferred just a tad more detail on is the use of Cursors in Stored Procedures. Aside from that this is an EXCELLENT resource I highly recommend.



3. This book is indeed a valuable resource for those who wish to have a deep understanding and interoperations of MySQL. However, by no means believe this book is for a MySQL beginner. I am college educated and frequently self-teach on many topics within the technical field. I bought this book with the hopes of getting a foundational understanding of MySQL and have a database up and running in the first few chapters. The first chapter does carefully explain what a relational database is, its features, and limitations, but then gets lost into the murky realm of administrative tools, user interfaces, and database design. The book finally gets around to giving the reader the first command to creating a database on page 268 (chapter 11). By this point the author gives the impression that getting a database started just a formality rather than the start of something fun and exciting. (Am I crazy for thinking databases are fun?)
   
   In general, I found this book a hard read. It's very dry and in my opinion, not well laid out. This book is for someone who already has foundational knowledge in MySQL and some programming. The author seems to have a thorough understanding of the topic, but is not good at teaching to underlings such as myself. I'm not going to toss the book, but keep it on my shelf as a reference. In the mean time I need to find another book on MySQL.



4. 'The Definitive Guide to MySQL 5' by Michael Kofler is in its 3rd Edition for the simple reason that this is a GOOD reference book. Jam packed full of nearly 750 pages worth of excellence, this book isn't just a reference manual, but a learning TOOL as well. The glowing reviews for this book are not without a legit reason, this is a wonderful guide that belongs on the desk of any and all MySQL developers. Pick up this book to learn and excel... you won't be disappointed!!
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



5. The book opens with an introductory database example (Chap 3), an opinion poll. The author spends nearly a page in his attempt to justify why MySQL is more suited to his example than a text file. This justification is not only uneccessary but outright wrong. The sample SQL also contains a glaring error that is likely to confuse the newer MySQL user
   
   "In order to generate a table with the two columns /id/ and /choice/, the following command would suffice: CREATE TABLE votelanguage (id INT, choice TINYINT, ts TIMESTAMP);". If you are new to MySQL, you may be wondering about "ts TIMESTAMP".
   
   At every page I have turned to and begun to read, I have found at least one similarly minor/distracting error: "changes in boldface" followed by lines of code with no boldface, "the following will insert a data record with a value of 4: INSERT into t VALUES (3)", etc, etc, etc...
   
   There are numerous sections of text that are terribly written, almost as though they have been badly translated from another language. Chapter 4, for instance, opens with "The end user should never see MySQL as a program. Instead, a convenient program or several web sites should be used to provide access to the database, assist in the input of new data and execute backups
   "For such tasks, you can use the commands mysql, mysqladmin and mysqldump ...". Presumably he mean't that these commands are not the interface through which the typical user will see MySQL.
   
   I said the book is not definitive - I say this because its focus is incredibly broad. It covers a wide spectrum of MySQL-related topics, primarily dealing with specifics of language interfaces (by sheer volume of pages). It covers nothing in true depth (with several item specific chapters containing the "Tip" that "In this chapter you will learn about /this/ only superficially. However, ... will be described elsewhere in the book ..."
   
   Every time I open this book, I find errors or cryptic paragraphs that I have to deconstruct in order to understand the author's point. Often times, even when the author is quite clear, I find his points to be in error. For example, returning to the initial opinion poll: the author implies that if your result set were merely the vote option and number of votes for that option, it would be simplest to just store that in a single file. But if you wanted to store individual votes or comments or IP addresses, you would need MySQL!
   
   Infact, due to concurrency issues, MySQL would be far better suited to the simple tally counter.

1 comments about Mastering phpMyAdmin 2.11 for Effective MySQL Management.

1. Marc starts off by explaining how to install and configure phpMyAdmin on Windows and Linux. Given a working LAMP or WAMP platform, any reader with basic PHP skills should be able to get phpMyAdmin up and running really quickly.
   
   After a first overview over the user interface, the author explains how to create databases and tables, and how to enter data. A quick overview over phpMyAdmin's querying capabilities concludes the "First steps" chapter. Next, the author dives into changing data. I was surprised to learn that phpMyAdmin has a multi-row editing feature.
   
   The "Changing Table Structures" chapter deals with how to edit table definitions and the various column types like TEXT, BLOB ENUM, and DATE. This chapter also deals with index management, and explaining queries.
   
   Chapter 7, "Exporting Structure and Data", deals with exporting databases. Though I personally have never seen the value of exporting a database to anything else than SQL, I was rather surprised to learn that phpMyAdmin supports exporting to PDF, Word, Excep, Open Office, Latex, XML, or YAML format.
   
   Consequently, the next chapter deals with importing structure and data. Due to various server limits like timeout, or limitations of the file upload size, this is not always as easy as it might seem. The author explains the problems and shows ways to circumvent restrictions, which I think is very important, as I see quite a few users in the field struggling with importing large database dump files.
   
   Chapter 9 deals with searching the database, without having to write SQL statements. I was not aware, for example, of the possiblity to search all database tables for strings or even regular expressions. The next chapter covers table and database operations, including table maintenance, renaming tables, moving and copying tables, appending data to a table, and even copying a whole database, which can be an interesting alternative to creating a backup before upgrading it. The database backup feature is complemented by the possibility to rename a database, thus allowing you to create a backup and potentially restore it without having do download and upload SQL dumps.
   
   Chapter 11 introduces the relational system. Since MyISAM tables do not support key relationships, phpMyAdmin can optionally administer information about table relations. The author explains how to set up phpMyAdmin to do this, and continues by introducing the Designer, which is an ajaxy tool to work with table relationships, foreign keys, and check the referential integrity of a database.
   
   Of course, a chapter on how to write SQL statements with phpMyAdmin can not be left out from a book like this. The author explains how phpMyAdmin helps the user to write SQL statements, and shows how an external SQL validator can be used, to make sure that the statements conform to the SQL standard. He then dives into creating multi-table queries, which is where more complex criteria and joins come into play.
   
   Next, the author explains bookmarks, a way of storing statements for later reuse, just like browser bookmarks. In that chapter, I was surprised to learn that phpMyAdmin even allows changing the default initial query that is executed when the table is browsed.
   
   Following a short chapter on how to create database documentation in tabular or PDF format, mime-based transformations are explained. Mime-based transformations allow you, for example, to configure phpMyAdmin to display thumbnails of images stored in the database, format dates, create links, or display strings in hex format, which can be useful to debug issues with different or wrong character encodings. These transformations were, admittedly, completely new for me, and I think they may in fact be one of the most powerful features phpMyAdmin has.
   
   Towards the end of the book, the author covers an important topic, namely character sets and collations. He explains the differences between MySQL versions before and after 4.1, and then continues with a short introduction of new features in MySQL 5, like views, stored procedures, triggers, information_schema as the standards-compatible way to access meta data, and profiling.
   
   This chapter is followed by "MySQL Server Administration", which comprises of user and privilege management, retrieving database information, and checking the server status. The book is concluded with a Troubleshooting chapter that gives hints on how to solve common errors.
   
   I like the book for its straight and logical structure. The author's explanations are short and to the point, so the user is provided with the right amount of information to get going with phpMyAdmin. I would strongly suggest to have a basic level understanding of database theory (tables, relations, keys), as the author does not give any theoretical background, but just shows how to make use of the features in phpMyAdmin.
   
   For $34.99, you get 300+ pages packed with information about all aspects of phpMyAdmin. I must say that the book's layout is not one of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen, and some screen shots could be of better quality, but this does not really affect the reading experience too much. I can definitely recommend this book, and according to the phpMyAdmin website, it is also available in various translations like Czech, German, Italian, and Spanish.

5 comments about PHP in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)).

1. Doesn't waste my time with how to run an editor and doesn't assume I know too much, either. The examples are concise.
   
   This book works well as a handbook and as a text. Highly recommended!



2. A decent broad coverage of many PHP basics but I didn't really learn much more than I had found on my own by randomly poking around in the online PHP manual every time I needed a function to get a job done. I was hoping that reading a book like this from cover to cover would expose some parts of PHP I missed or teach some techniques and best practice that I didn't figure out myself. Unfortunately it did not.
   
   For someone who known no PHP at all (and no C) I would give that a 4 star rating. But every PHP programmer has access to great free online PHP manual so I think this book has less value. And anyone who knows C can start programming PHP right away without reading much of anything. I assume the average programmer knows some C or Java and can read the online PHP manual. For those people, this book is no better than 3.



3. I bought this book after studying PHP with the author's online tutorials. They covered quite a bit of what was in the book but I enjoyed the online version so much, I decided to thank him for putting a free online version out on the net by buying his book. In addition, I like to have the hard copy for a reference. Excellently written and one of the clearest and easiest programming books I've every read. It is also one of the few programming books I have read without any programming errors in it.



4. I am pretty familiar with PHP and worked with it some time ago, but I needed a book to quickly refresh my knowledge of it for a project, and this book did a pretty good job of that. It gets to the point on the right topics (including chapters on OOP, Cookies and Sessions, and Databases) and has a short, useful function reference instead of listing every function under the sun.
   
   Nonetheless, there are many errors both in the code and in the writing. If you don't have a solid foundation in PHP and programming, these errors can really throw you off. Sometimes I would get confused as I tried to figure out why a line of code does what the author says it does only to realize it was an error that made it into print. If the editing had been better and caught these errors, the book would have received a four-star rating from me.
   
   Bottom line, if you know PHP and need a good reference book or a book to quickly review concepts and functions, this book is for you. Don't buy this book if you are new to PHP.



5. The O'Reilly "in a Nuthsell" series is the best reference to standard libraries and language features available. PHP in a Nutshell sullies the name, however, with what amounts to an introductory survey in the course and little, if any, analysis of standard libraries. Certain tips, such as those on flash and pdf handling are interesting, but irrelevant to most programmers. This goes doubly for the discussion of PHP's 2D drawing API; it seems as though the authors decided they would provide a schizophrenic volume which is on the one hand a beginner's tutorial and on the other hand a survey of the more esoteric, unused portions of the language.

3 comments about Beginning PHP and MySQL E-Commerce: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition (Beginning: From Novice to Professional).

1. Buyer beware! There is no help for this book. Downloads (code) does not work. Email messages to authors help links are not answered.
   
   I have read and used many books about PHP and MYSQL, this one is impossible to get through the 3d Chapter successfully.



2. This is an excellent book. It has enhanced my PHP, MySQL, object oriented programming and e-commerce skills. It is challenging, (because of the wealth of knowledge), but well worth the effort. And when I had a problem, author Cristian Darle responded accurately and courteously to my email. Very highly recommended.



3. Even though it can be argued that this book's title should actually be interpreted as "Beginning E-Commerce (using PHP and MySQL)", I still think that the word "beginning" should not be printed on the cover of this book.
   
   The book deals with topics that fall into the intermediate developer's skill set, like OOP, templating with Smarty, PDO for DB access, Ajax and even REST/SOAP in the final chapter. YOU HAVE to have prior knowledge of those technologies before attempting to successfully complete this book, as the authors spend very little time introducing them.
   
   Along with "Practical Web 2.0 Applications with PHP" this book is one of the few full length practical tutorial books available on PHP. So, if you're an intermediate developer looking to sharpen your skills by taking on a larger project, then this is a book you definitely want to buy.
   
   I also want to point out that despite being from the same country as the authors, I've never heard of them before seeing their book on Amazon.

4 comments about Understanding MySQL Internals (Understanding).

1. MySQL is assuming increased importance as an enterprise database and has become the de-facto standard with web hosting companies. A number of books have appeared in recent years, covering various aspects of MySQL. In Understanding MySQL Internals, Sasha Pachev, a MySQL-focused consultant and former member of the MySQL development team, takes us on a tour of how MySQL works and how it is built.
   
   Starting with an overview of MySQL history and architecture, the book quickly moves us through working with the source code to build and run the product in a debugger. Drawing on his deep experience with the software, Mr. Pachev explains the coding conventions used to develop MySQL and why you should use them when modifying the software yourself.
   
   The author delineates the different functional "modules" (a term he coined himself to better explain the database, technically speaking there are no defined modules in MySQL's architecture) of MySQL and how they interrelate. Herein lies the key to how this book teaches the reader the vast intricacy of such a complex piece of software. The author recognizes the subject is huge and the source code changing. What he does in the book is serve as our tour guide, driving us through the various areas and explaining as much relevant information as he reasonably can. He constantly illustrates key pieces of source code and data structures; but perhaps more importantly he makes reference to the actual source files utilized by each functional component of the system, while encouraging us to explore further on our own. His approach is very much "top down".
   
   As he takes us on this tour, the author explains many of the design decisions behind the various MySQL components, often imparting the historical perspective behind them. I appreciate how, throughout the book, the author shares some of his "inside information" about MySQL's development. There is also a section where he examines the code stability of each module and speculates on what the future may hold for each module. The author's writing style is clear and easy to read. I found Understanding MySQL Internals interesting and fun, and surprisingly easy to read for a book covering such a sophisticated piece of software. The author also does a good job explaining the engineering trade-offs of different MySQL configurations. Speaking of configuration, the book shows you how to add your own configuration option to the mysqld daemon.
   
   Chapter 7, the largest chapter in the book, is 41 pages long. It covers the MySQL storage engine interface. This chapter explains how to integrate your own custom storage engine into MySQL and contains the source code for two custom storage engine examples (one for MySQL 4.1, the other for version 5.1). You can download this source code from O'Reilly's web site. Despite this one long chapter, the book is surprising short, only 234 pages.
   
   I believe this book has value outside of MySQL. It does a good job showing how MySQL is essentially a well designed piece of software: a high-performance, reliable Unix server. The book also touches on the multi-platform aspects of MySQL design. Those of you designing other types of server software may benefit from studying how MySQL is constructed.
   
   This book isn't for everyone, but if you are serious about MySQL in particular or database software design in general then this title certainly deserves a look.



2. Sasha Pachev's UNDERSTANDING MYSQL INTERNALS: DISCOVERING AND IMPROVING A GREAT DATABASE provides clear insights into one of the most popular open source codes on the market. It comes from a former member of the MySQL development team, so offers the author's own insights into the program's creation and use, covering everything from communication protocols between client and server to the parser and optimizer that execute SQL commands, advantages and disadvantages of using threads, and more technical insights.



3. Sasha knows the mysql code well, and he has done a fantastic job of presenting it. This is an important book for anyone who would like an enhanced understanding of mysql, including DBAs who might need a detailed understanding of locking or replication to. And it's a must-have for anyone working on a storage engine.



4. An excellent overview of the MySQL codebase, philosophy, and the design decisions that have made MySQL what it is today. Even though I have never touched the MySQL source before (it can be a daunting beast for the uninitiated), Sasha's explanations made me comfortable with the 'internals' and finally lifted the 'magic veil' off the engine. 'MySQL internals' has a perfect balance of high-level explanations, and low-level code samples to help you understand the inner workings of the database.
   
   After reading this book you should be comfortable enough to tackle the source, and you'll also have deep understanding of the storage engines and how to configure them, how the query parser works, how the optimizer decides on the execution plan, and much more. This is a must read for any DBA, or a programmer who wants to see a great example of a high-performance, reliable UNIX server.

No comments about Head First PHP & MySQL.

5 comments about MySQL Administrator's Guide and Language Reference (2nd Edition).

1. The MySQL Administrator's Guide by MySQL Press is the ultimate reference for anyone installing, upgrading or maintaining the MySQL database server. I found this guide to be completely invaluable when using MySQL, even before I had downloaded the software. The Guide uses clear, easy to read, formatting which makes shell instructions stand out from MySQL statements. A detailed index takes no time to show you where in 600 pages your answer lies. And you can bet you'll find the answer in this Guide. Beginners beware, however, this is no introduction to MySQL. Readers should have a clear understanding of their system, along with experience of MySQL, although an insight into MySQL AB and MySQL's history is included in Chapter 1.

   As I began reading through this Guide, I couldn't help notice immediately how it sets itself apart from similar books. The MySQL Admin Guide has a detail which you will not find anywhere else. Such is to be expected from the company who make the software, and this book certainly shows the high quality of MySQL. After reading through this book, I can't help but agree with Kaj Arno (Vice President Software Engineering, MySQL AB) who is quoted on the back page; "'It is not possible to find a more thorough and more current reference in print, anywhere'". One of the best example I can make of this fact is in Chapter 2 which focuses on Installing MySQL. Not only does this Guide list all the option of a source distribution, all the ins and outs of installing MySQL on all likely platforms - Windows, Mac OS X, NetWare, Linux and other general Unix systems - this guide also deals with Upgrading and Downgrading the most recent version of the MySQL database server. And of course, to ensure that the entire knowledge is in print, Perl installation notes are included too. What other book covers the often troublesome installation process in almost 150 pages of detail?

   And that's only the second chapter. Throughout the book you're assured to find comprehensive information straight from the people who know it best. You may think that this book simply offers too much information, and for most people I would have to agree. It is unlikely to bother a system administrator how MySQL server optimizes the WHERE clause, or how to avoid table scans. Even if someone was interested in understanding something like this, they'd have the opportunity of looking at the MySQL Reference Manual online. So why buy the print version? The printed Guide not only allows for offline viewing, it also includes information which has not been included in the Reference Manual, such as how details are stored and the many feature of MySQL's MaxDB. If your not content with only having part of the story, you'll want to get this Guide.

   The MySQL Administrator's Guide is the ideal book for system administrators who want to get the most out of their MySQL server. With all the advice on installing, maintaining and administering that you'll ever need to know, this Guide by MySQL AB is ideal for those who long for a comprehensive printed reference.




2. This is a good book gives out the details in an easy to understand format.



3. Good stuff. But the MySQL Administrator's guide (2nd edition) and Language reference is out and on Amazon. That contains the same book in a later edition with the language reference on CD on top of it. Buy that instead.



4. This is an excellent book, but it is written for MySql 5. Check your version before buying.



5. Excellent delivery service and the condition of the book was new. The price was also excellent.

5 comments about Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8.

1. This is a good book. It teaches many useful techniques and how lots of "how to" ideas. However, the faux site that is created isn't goal oriented which left me feeling like the book was just a collection of random things to do. It seemed disorganized at times when you would or wouldn't create another page from scratch vs. revamping one you had already made. It was not always clear why you would be better to take one approach vs. the other. Setting up the localhost environment was somewhat confusing, though not too bad.
   
   I will definitely use it frequently. Good information, good book, good deal.



2. This man makes a promise of a written format that can be followed. The writtng is NOT CLEAR and leaves much to the readers imagination of to what exactly the format should be. There is no CD so that you can see how the step by step process works. He names his files but does not show the real differences between how he is set up and how you can set up to fit your needs. I waisted my money. He claims in the book there is support which at best is terrible.
   
   The worst book I have ever bought on coding. If I were you try another writter.



3. This is a very good book for learning PHP, and surprisingly, most of the examples work right out of the book as he's written them, which seems rare for a programming book these days. The projects that he has you complete are highly relevant to what you'd actually be doing with PHP, and that makes it even better.
   
   The only trouble I had with this book was that he sure packed a lot of information into each chapter, and he didn't use the sidebars as much as I would have hoped. It's easy enough to follow along with the examples the first time, but if you want to go back again and figure out how he programmed a small detail, you'll never find it unless you reread the whole chapter again. All it would have taken was a few little bullets here and there in the margins to point out some of the off-topic stuff that was going on in the examples, and the book would be much more functional as a reference. As it stands, I probably will have to get a whole new book for that purpose.
   
   Also, the support on this book is phenomenal. I missed a small detail in Chapter 6 that caused my script to fail, and when I posted on the book's message board, I had a reply from the author in less than a day. That's a really cool added bonus.



4. I am a frontpage user that has set up static pages in a web site. I needed to move from static pages to dynamic pages using a database. I couldn't use PHP with FrontPage so I switched to Dreamweaver and needed a book that covered both dynamic pages and Dreamwaver. This book walked me through setting up the environment to have Dreamweaver work with Apache, PHP, MySQL and phpMyAdmin. I am completely non-technical so these areas were beyond my comfort zone but the book walked me through it very successfully. It then took me through CSS styles, setting up an online feedback form, setting up my first database and tying it into Dreamweaver. It also showed how to insert, delete and maintain records in order to keep the database up to date. This was an excellent book for a non-techie as it didn't take any knowledge for granted.



5. This book is written very clearly and is really easy to follow. I've learned a lot of other really useful stuff than just the PHP content, things that I now realise I should have been taught by the official Dreamweaver 8 book, but weren't. The PHP content for which I bought this book is fantastic - much better than another generic PHP/MySQL I have read, as this is tailored to the Dreamweaver 8 environment which takes a lot of the guessing out of the equation. This book is written by and for people who use Dreamweaver 8 in a practical situation. I'm still less than half way through my book and already feel like I've learned much more than I expected. Highly recommended. I'll be checking out Mr Powers' other books when I finish this one. Thanks David Powers, you're a genius!

5 comments about Rails Cookbook (Cookbooks (O'Reilly)).

1. Web programmers and practicing developers working with Rails will want this solution-oriented guide to building web 2.0 applications - a guide packed with recipes for success from the basics of installing and using Rails to the latest applications. Learn how to work with an application's logic, how to test and debit a Rails application, and use Rails plug-ins with RAILS COOKBOOK: APPLICATIONS FOR RAPID WEB DEVELOPMENT WITH RUBY, which covers version 1.2 and will reach both programmers and serious programming libraries.



2. Probably my most worn RoR book. It doesn't teach you Ruby or Rails since it's really a how-to book. I learned Ruby and Rails from other books but once I set out to build an app, I often thought to myself "now I remember reading about this somewhere, I just can't remember the syntax." Instead of digging through my other books, I thumbed through the TOC and quickly found a refresher. Well worth your money and saves you a lot of time spent on google or searching for solutions in other books.



3. Now that I've encountered a few recipies books, I have to admit I'm in love with the format. I proves very practical and much easier to use.



4. The "Rails Cookbook" is a very useful book for the working programmer.
   
   Programming is all about solving problems, and that is exactly what this book is about. Each "Recipe" contains the problem, the solution and a discussion about the solution. They are concise without being too vague to be useful.
   
   The book contains almost 200 of these problems / solutions.
   
   This probably wouldn't be a good introduction to the language or the framework, but if you already are familiar with both - this book is a very valuable tool to help you get your work done.



5. I used this book for a grad class project that had to do with building multimedia database system with Ruby on Rails framework. This is the first of the "cookbook" series I ever purchased, so I was a bit skeptical in the beginning. I am very pleased with this book. It has detailed solutions for several of the common problems. I had successfully built a nice multimedia database driven application in a single weekend with this book. Code examples are well presented and it's easy to incorporate it into your application. This is not a beginner's book. If you know nothing about Ruby or Rails, you should get a beginner's book first - I used "Build Your Own Ruby On Rails" by Patrick Lenz [note that this book is available for free download on the web - search for it on Google]. I am very highly pleased with this purchase and I will recommend it highly especially to those who want to get up and running quickly.

5 comments about AJAX and PHP: Building Responsive Web Applications.

1. The book would be ok as a reference or code examples with brief explanations. However, the code practices used, when compared to other current books left me very disappointed.
   
   The Good:
   - Good examples, all code is documented
   - Different projects - code provided online
   - The end results are good. (for Windows)
   
   The Bad:
   - Coding. They practice what I'd call "potluck programming". Basically you get 1 php page with inline calls to JavaScript, PHP, HTML and even some CSS properties. Maybe some programmers like this approach, but personally, I've been moving away from it, keeping your HTML alone, and inline JavaScript calls non-existent. The whole programming is basically obstrusive, taking over the file. Just bad programming practices. This is the biggest gripe I have with this book. Any current book should be teaching the more modern and less obstrusive ways of programming.
   - MAC support. A lot of the applications simply do not work, or work with lots of quirks under Safari and OS X. I know the market share is just around 5%, but it makes some of the applications worthless for those people.
   - There is not much in the way of teaching, I wanted to learn a bit more. The book has a lot of code, but the explanation section seems very lacking. (10 pages of code, followed by a "what just happened" section with less than 10 pages of code (there is less explanation than code, even though a lot of the code is repeated in that section.)
   
   Overall, I was expecting a lot more from this book. I use both PHP and starting to use Ajax, and was hoping this would help, but I would not recommend this book to anybody. There are better books that talk about both Ajax and PHP without having PHP in the title. Professional Ajax is one example and presents the code in different files (though it ocassional reverts back to inline JS).
   
   If you want a book of examples, but don't care much about your coding style, you could very well enjoy the book. If you are striving to become a better programmer, and use unobstrusive practices, stay away from this book, as you will be thoroughly disappointed. Also stay away if you use a OS X for most of your work.
   
   I would title the book: "Code for responsive web applications using AJAX and PHP".
   You will not learn how to build those applications, but they will be kind enough to provide you with their code.
   
   Edit (here is what I mean by potluck/inline javascript, obtrusive and JS dependent code)
   ------
   Copy and paste did not work - so I'll give you a general idea:
   On the main (X)HTML/PHP page, you have inline calls to JavaScript/Ajax functions like:
   Body onload="jsFunction" // inline JS
   onclick="anotherJSfunction()"
   onMouseOver="yetAnotherJSfunction"
   
   Basically the application do not work with JS disabled, they don't degrade gracefully, making them not very accessible. That is my main issue with the book.
   



2. AJAX and PHP: Building Responsive Web Applications
   
   This is a great book for beginners as well as intermediate users of AJAX.
   
   I have about 5 years of experience with PHP and 7 with Javascript and I had none with AJAX. I read a few tutorials online about AJAX and after reading some of this book, I love it.
   
   This book is a great start with AJAX, especially if you are a PHP programmer like myself.
   
   If you are looking to start building with PHP and AJAX, I recommend this book.



3. The good folks at Packt Publishing have really nailed it with this title. This is one of the best books I have read on the topic of PHP and AJAX. They really broke down what the point and objectives of using AJAX with PHP are and then explained how to do things in a way that makes plenty of sense.
   
   This book has no lack of code to copy, luckily most of the code can be found on the companion site hosted by Packt Publishing. I must say that as of my experience all the code was in working order, which was a pleasant change from some other coding books I have read recently.
   
   The XMLHttpRequest code in AJAX and PHP is quite impressive including try/catch formula for catching exceptions and failures in the code and handling them properly, again a very welcome change to some of the coding books or recent. I was particularly impressed with the structure of the code regarding the handling of responses as well as all the explanations of the code used in each example, never did the authors leave you wondering what any piece of code did, or why it do so.
   
   The book is a short 260 pages, and just full of useful information. A great follow up to this book would be anything DHTML as that is where most of the AJAX examples want to seem to lead a reader. Having a knowledge of DHTML is not important however a firm understanding of PHP and JavaScript would really benefit a reader choosing AJAX and PHP.



4. AJAX and PHP: Building Responsive Web Applications is the ideal book for those who currently have some PHP, XML, JavaScript and MySQL already under their belt. Little time is spent on the basics of these technologies other than a brief history of the Web and predictions for future Web applications making this book a great segue for those looking to take their basic skills to the next level. The code is well documented and commented so if you are the type of person who prefers to jump right in and work with code, then this book is for you.
   
   The biggest strength of this book is that is provides practical code examples that teaches the reader how to combine and use these technologies together. Some of the most handy examples are server-enabled form validation, an online chat tool and an RSS feed reader. Even if you only need to know one of these items, though there are plenty more, it's well worth it to pick up this book. No only will you be able to create these applications yourself, but you'll learn best practices and understand the why and how of each program as well. Additionally, the book's companion website is quite good and allows you to download all of the code. This can be especially helpful if you find yourself getting stuck somewhere and want to do a side-by-side comparison of the your code and the book code. There are even five free additional PDF chapters for download including an updated version of Chapter 5 - AJAX Chat - which uses JSON instead of XML.
   
   However, if you're the type of person that is looking for a very concise, step-by-step book, you may find yourself frustrated. Just as its strengths are in letting you jump right into the code, if you're not at the stage where you're comfortable with any of the included technologies, you'll quickly find yourself overwhelmed with a lack of direction and an abundance of code. Additionally, while the use of bold type clearly indicates emphasis on specific code lines, if anything could improve this book, just for readability's sake, it would color-indicated code.
   
   In conclusion, if you've already gotten your feet wet with PHP, XML, JavaScript and MySQL then AJAX and PHP: Building Responsive Web Applications will help you get to the next level with real-world code examples and projects. You'll not just "copy code" but gain an understanding as to the "why and how" of creating AJAX Web applications.



5. This book does offer good insights into php and ajax. It however tends to not teach as much as redirect. It points to a lot of free resources on the web to explain things it should have had as it's own chapter.
   
   I also spends way to many pages showing duplicate code. For example in the 2nd chapter it spends significant time creating a function called createXmlHttpRequestObject. This function is about 1/2 a printed page. then in every later chapter this same function is printed at least twice per chapter. This isn't the only example and in ends up that you have 10-15 pages of code for each section most of which is duplicate from previous sections. You could easily cut 50-100 pages from the book by removing the duplication.
   
   The book also doesn't spend any time on security. Specifically it doesn't show how to create a secure login or to validate that the javascript on the client is authorized to get the data that it is requesting. Everything is free and open with only basic validation that data is in the correct form.
   
   That being said it does provide a broad range of ways to use ajax. I would happily spend $10 on it again. Unfortunately i spent over double that :(