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

1. I'm coming to PHP with a strong background in Perl and this book is perfect for me. In my mind, I know what I'd do in Perl to handle a given situation. With PHP Cookbook, all I need do is turn to the table of contents, find the section I need, and there's the solution. The code is well written and the descriptions very useful.



2. This book is not for someone who doesn't know programming. If you haven't coded at all in your life and don't basic PHP syntax you need a different book.
   
   It also isn't a full solution for your site. You can't by this book and expect it to provide a complete solution for your programming needs.
   
   What is it. It is a collection of discrete coding examples of how to program. It's not a book of syntax. It is a book of techniques that you can learn and then use as needed on your own projects.
   
   I haven't read this book from end to end but when I recently had my first XML project it was useful to learn my different options on how to approach the project. Next I will be working on improving security. Again it has good examples that I can use and MODIFY for my own needs.



3. Each recipe states a Problem, gives a Solution, adds Discussion to help you understand the "why" behind the "what", and tosses in a "See Also" section if you need more info. There are 26 chapters of problem-solving recipes that will not only get you over the current hurdle but provide for learning in quick bits. Take a couple minutes, try something that interests you, and add it to your toolbox.
   
   Awesome book!



4. O'Rielly is a name I trust, and often look to for technical manuals. Their cookbooks and pocket guides are particularly sweet.
   
   
   I am constantly pulling this book for snippets of code. Converting dates all around, array manipulation all the mundane but oh-so-common choirs.
   
   I have already added an extensive collections of methods and classes based on the book's code. With my newly found admiration of Object-Oriented design and development I am able to reuse the code I create once again and again.
   
   If you are new to Object Oriented coding, check out
   Object-Oriented PHP: Concepts, Techniques, and Code
   
   Together you can build powerful classes of date or array methods to handle anything you'll come across, and anything new only makes them better!



5. This book is a good reference for people who already have a fair amount of programming knowledge. You don't need to necessarily know PHP since it's pretty similar to all the other languages out there. You should however have an idea of how a data driven website works.

5 comments about PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy (Solutions).

1. This book finally put all the pieces together for me with php. I have been attempting to learn php for several months with a variety of books. And just when I think I get it something comes up that throws me off again.This book has filled in the gaps for me, finally making sense of php. I love the way every step is broken down and explained thoroughly. I finally get it, php that is.
   Thanks



2. I've had a crack at PHP 3 times now. The 1st time my confidence was shattered. But I now know that the code in that book was riddled with errors. By the 2nd time, I knew how to write code (other languages), and was able to identify that the 2nd book which I tried had code that was also riddled with errors. But this 3rd time has been a resounding success, thanks to Mr Powers.
   
   Great explanations, great examples, great code. By the end of this book, you will have the foundation in PHP to go on and create some great PHP apps. And thanks again for the minimal errata and the downloadable code that actually works.



3. I wish more of the books I have seen on programming were written like this one. The author presents a practical application of what can be done with PHP in each chapter and these are things that are likely going to be needed in the majority of PHP websites. He also explains step by step how to install and set up Apache, MySQL and PHP. A great way to learn PHP.



4. Good stuff. I have had to keep staring at PHP code long enough to absorb where to start. This book gives you a good amount of "enough" to write a decent program. Would recommend..........



5. This is my first book on learning PHP, so maybe that's why it was difficult for me, but I would often give up on something, then search the web or other books for a tutorial, only to find that the answers were in this book all along.
   
   I wanted to create an image gallery using php, and found a halfway decent tutorial on the net, but didn't realize that this book actually covers image galleries.
   
   Some nice tutorials in this book revolve around,
   
   - blogs
   - event lists
   - user registrations
   - file uploads
   - image galleries
   - and a bunch of other stuff.
   
   If your learning PHP this is a good book to buy, even if you don't understand everything, you can bounce around to different books or online tutorials, then refer back to this book and maybe it'll make more sense.

5 comments about Regular Expression Pocket Reference: Regular Expressions for Perl, Ruby, PHP, Python, C, Java and .NET (Pocket Reference (O'Reilly)).

1. This book is the best reference for regular expressions. The second edition came out in July 2007 and has several updates over the previous version. The reason for the books ease-of-use lies in the organization. The chapters represent one language each. For each language, listings of the meta-characters and examples are shown. Depending on the language being displayed, there are other subjects covered such as unicode support, object orientation, and different topics unique to the language. The primary parsing engine is listed at the beggining of the chapters with the examples arranged at the ends of the chapters. I generally need to look up expression for JavaScript and [...]. Both of these are covered plus perl, java, php, python, ruby, pcre, apache, vi and shells. I just bookmark the 2 areas I need and I can lookup the expression listing in a few seconds.



2. "Regular Expression - Pocket Reference" is just as high in quality as it's big brother ("Mastering Regular Expressions.")
   
   The book begins with a very brief review of regular expression concepts and patterns. For each language/tool, the book includes tables to reference the metacharacters, a reference for the API/syntax/library and four examples. A few of the languages have additional examples tailored specifically to that language.
   
   The languages/tools included are: Perl, Java, .NET, PHP, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, PCRE, Apache Web Server, vi and awk/sed/egrep. If you use a number of these, the book is a concise reference. If you only use one, you would be better served by printing out the relevant reference charts from the website of your language of choice.
   
   If you are learning about regular expressions or only going to buy one regular expressions book, I recommend the "Mastering Regular Expressions." If you are knowledgeable about regular expressions and just need a review or reference, this book does the job nicely.



3. From the back cover of the Regular Expression Pocket Reference: "Ideal as a quick reference..." and "... makes an ideal on-the-job companion." All this is true if you are well-versed in regular expressions and use multiple programming languages (and confuse the syntax).
   
   I like the use of the same examples across programming languages (where applicable).
   
   The recipes in the cookbook section are great, although I would have liked to see additional recipes (like stripping HTML tags, matching credit card numbers etc...). Of course the examples are endless and over time one builds his/her own recipe collection. At least this is a good place to start.



4. Pocket references are not meant to teach you anything from the beginning, but to be everyday references in known and new environments. In other words, if you don't know regular expressions, then go to "Mastering Regular Expressions". If you're still here, then you'll get a cheat sheet on steroids for languages ranging from bug-prone JavaScript to the King and Queen of robustness, Perl and Python. Although everything claims to be PCRE these days, particular examples in every language available is a plus for anyone. A must for any type of user input validation.



5. You know those times when you know what you want to do, but are not sure of the correct form, this is the book to grab. It has been my book to grab as a reference rather than trying to find the right language book. This is not the book to learn the language from, however. You will find your copy will be well worn if you do lots of coding.

2 comments about Practical Web 2.0 Applications with PHP (Practical).

1. First of all. What is Web 2.0? Everyone has a definition. The important point is how does THIS BOOK define it. The author of this book defines Web 2.0 as sites that use: standard compliant HTML/CSS, use AJAX, share data using web services, and incorporate social networking tools. This book seeks to show the reader how to use the four components in conjunction with PHP.
   
   The cover of the book states "Develop a complete PHP web application from start to finish." This is exactly what the book does. As the chapters progress you are shown how to create a blog that also includes an image gallery. Additionally, Google maps integration is covered. While, the author is not necessarily advocating that you create blog software from scratch, the blog is perhaps the quintessential Web 2.0 application. This allows the book to highlight the four main design criteria of Web 2.0.
   
   This book makes extensive use of the Smarty and Zend frameworks. The Zend framework is used to achieve the Web 2.0 goals. In many ways this book could be considered a guide to using the Zend framework. MySQL is also used.
   
   The book contains many code examples and demonstrates many techniques that can be reused in any web 2.0 project.



2. The only quip I have with this book is the title "Practical Web 2.0 Applications with PHP" it should be called "Practical Zend Framework Applications using PHP"
   
   There is not one example in the book that doesn't use the Zend Framework. That being said the Zend Framework is a great framework - but far the best web framework I've seen. I'm PhD student in Computer Science at UCLA whose dissertation research involves the web. I've used a lot of web applications and frameworks. Symfony, Drupal, Joomla, Ruby on Rails, etc.
   
   Most of these applications and frameworks just suck - that is, it is more work using them than not using them and many severely limit what one can ultimately do.
   
   I like Ruby on Rails but I love the Zend Framework. There are two big differences between the Zend Framework and Ruby on Rails: 1) they both promote MVC style programming but Ror forces you to use it everywhere and the Zend Framework allows you to mix MVC with simply using their framework as a library wherever you want. For example, I am building a social network but want to mix that with a related wiki. I can use MVC for all the social network code and use and existing MediaWiki (which is not MVC based) all I need to do is rewrite some of the mediaWiki code to hand over user authentication to my controllers.
   
   2) it's Php based ... there is much, much more existing Php code to cannibalize for applications than Ruby code
   
   The book itself basically takes you through setting up user profiles, a blog, an image gallery, prototype (javascript) and Google maps using the Zend Framework. The code is very professional and complex at times so a beginning user may have to read a chapter 2-3 times to fully understand it. Still the only way to really learn to write "professional" code is to see it and understand why it was written as it was.
   
   There are some issues I have with the book. In places where something could reasonably be done in multiple ways the book only shows one without any explanation why that way was chosen. For example, in the installing Zend chapter the book tells you to edit the httpd.conf file to set your paths. Most people who use a commercial hosting company don't have access to edit httpd.conf or restart the server. There are ways to reset the path within the Zend bootstrap (which I did) but if I didn't know how to do that I would not have been able to get the examples to work without setting up a server locally on my machine.
   
   Also the bootstrap is left in the index.php file when Zend recommends using the index.php to call the bootstrap.php file from a non-public web directory.
   
   The Zend Framework is only a few months old and this is by far the best web framework out there. There is only one other (decent) book on the framework. This book is about the Zend Framework and only marginally about "Web 2.0" (you use Google maps). The book that should have been titled "Practical Zend Framework Applications using PHP" will teach you how to use the best web framework out there. If the next book shows one how to really use web services, ajax and present web services using the Zend Framework then it can be called "Web 2.0" not this one.

3 comments about Wicked Cool PHP: Real-World Scripts That Solve Difficult Problems.

1. 'Wicked Cool PHP: Real-World Scripts That Solve Difficult Problems' is a fantastic PHP cookbook that is written exactly the way I like books to be written:
   
   - it's fun to read and learn from
   - content is broken up logically at the right points
   - layout and design is a joy on the eyes and brain
   - length is around 200 pages which is within the 2-3 (hundred) range that I like most books to be
   
   Content is broken up over 12 chapters:
   
   01. Basic script stuff
   02. Configuring PHP
   03. PHP Security
   04. Form Fun
   05. Text & HTML
   06. Dates
   07. Files
   08. User and Session Tracking
   09. Email Excitement
   10. Image Tasks
   11. Using cURL to talk to web services
   12. Other Stuff
   
   The audience for this book hits the rare area of ALL developers from the expert to the newbie to the weekend hacker. There are 76 scripts contained within that nearly anyone could find useful in any project.
   
   I love No Starch books because they don't feel like reference materials, rather they package it in a fun way from the glossy cover to smart design. No Starch gets 'it' when it comes to what geeks want and PHPites you will WANT this book!!
   
   ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



2. I saw this book on a friends desk and shamelessly took it before he had a chance to read it. I have many php books on my bookshelf, too many. I can now remove quite a few and replace them with this book.
   
   When I first glanced through this book, I was intrigued by the way it was laid out. There are 12 chapters covering many topics that php programmers should know about their language and how browsers interact with a web server using php. Each chapter has many sections that cover a specific topic and most have very useful code examples. The extra feature is a part labeled: "What can go Wrong?". This is a great time saver on how to deal with common issues that might come up when you are working on your php script and implementing the example code. Most of the issues have really good explanations of how and why something could go wrong. What makes this book a real keeper is that they have the "why" explanations. I've always hated it when books tell you to do something a certain way, but never go into any depth on WHY you should do it one way or another. This book has the WHY covered very well for a great number of the examples.
   
   The style of the book makes it easy to read and learn from the examples. In my case, it makes it easy to pickup, read a few pages when I get the chance and then put it down again. I find it easy to pick up right where I left off and keep reading right on to the next example. I like the humor level too. Often authors can get a little too cutesy with their wit and humor. I find that to be a real turn off. William and Brian (The authors) do a great job of keeping the humor light and laughable.
   
   I just made some room on my busy book shelf for this book of 76 time-saving, problem-solving php scripts. I hope my friend doesn't ask for it back...



3. PHP is an easy scripting language for creating web features, but like any software it has its quirks. That's where WICKED COOL PHP: REAL-WORLD SCRIPTS THAT SOLVE DIFFICULT PROBLEMS comes into play. It's for those who have some experience with the scripting program but need more specifics to tweak applications. From scripts to process credit cards, template HTML and serve dynamic images to tracking visitors with cookies and editing images and text, WICKED COOL PHP is packed with tips and comes from two experienced PHP developers: perfect for any computer collection catering to PHP users.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Programming PHP.

1. I can certainly recommend this one for the upcoming PHP developer. The insight contained within was valuable.



2. I really liked this book. I'ts easy to understand, and it covers the basics. Just as a warning, this book is focused in people that already have som basic knowledrge of programing and HML.



3. I read through this in a couple evenings. It highlighted some PHP functions which I should be using to streamline my code. It also overviews available PHP extensions such as database interfaces and PDF and graphics libraries. Nice to have a summary all in one place and right at hand.



4. O'Reily books have the same pattern. They take content that should have been one book for maybe $100, and divide it out into 3 or more books adding up to a heftier profit. This book a nice quick reference, but doesn't cover the language in it's entirety (or close enough to from my experience with other books) or provide any actual examples, rather brief one line syntax examples. I've programed C++, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, and SQL while attending a state university for a degree in computer science. While examples can be redundant because concepts of programming are understood, a decent example is truly the best way to observe case implications of syntax. For example, when the book talks about constants and the define("name",value) function, it fails to mention when used in a string and output, the constant is not interpolated (the user sees COUNT, instead of say 3). In my experience I've run into a dozen of these situations I wish the book would have at least mentioned. This is important to know, and more important to know how to work around and do what you want. It's these details that make a solid programming manual, which this book claims to be. It is truly and introduction and quick reference. If you are not already an experienced PHP programmer, and you are going to deal with PHP at least somewhat in depth, you are better off looking elsewhere.



5. I bought this book after learning some Javascript and ColdFusion, thiking it would have some of the same concepts as most other scripting languages. Well PHP has some other features like the direction arrows, etc. This book didnt explain all the features of PHP very well to which I couldnt really understand what was going on, and I can understand most Javascript applications. I had to buy another bookto explain all of the basics better, and then I went back to this book and it was a great book after that! But if you are just starting PHP or scripting, I reccommend getting another book before buying this book.

5 comments about Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional, Third Edition (Beginning from Novice to Professional).

1. There are a good many texts on this subject, but not definitive like this one. A lot of technical writers have a tendency to get so bogged down with details they leave the readers behind and frustrated. What Jason does is present the material in a fresh and CONCISE fashion. He doesn't spend paragraph after paragraph beating a subject to death or flinging out stale descriptors; he simply breaks it down into the basic components and tags on "nuggets of wisdom" that help you avoid pitfalls as he builds on the material. Right from the beginning, he engages us with the why and what of programming PHP against a MySQL backend, and then he's off and running. No long-winded chapters, just straightforward information. This is what all technical books should strive to achieve.



2. This is a great reference book. It delves very deep into both PHP and MySQL. One thing I found lacking was some context. Practical examples so that I can see what I've learned being implemented in real world applications.
   
   Other books that do not get so deep often include these types of exercises and I find them extremely helpful to gain a true understanding of the material.
   
   In my opinion, if this book included excerises, case studies, etc.. it would be perfect.



3. First off let me address a common review, that the book is too advanced for beginners. Plain and simple, it is not beginning programming, it's beginning PHP and MySQL. To even know what these applications are, you should have some programming background anyhow.
   
   That said, even if you don't have any prior experience, the book does a great job of introducing you to the key concepts, and is flooded with examples, the best way to learn.
   
   This book has become my programming bible, but it maintains a great balance. It has everything you could ever wish to look up later (and you will), but still follows a nice rhetoric and flow for someone looking for a tutorial-esque book. Some of the examples he wrote are key frameworks in my website! I actually used his book as my main source to build my website from the ground up. Even if it doesn't have something, it arms you with enough knowledge to know the right questions to ask. Which leads me to the greatest part of all... he backs his product!
   
   I battled a bug for over 4 months that I was unable to solve from searching anywhere on the Internet. It's then I remembered that he listed his E-Mail address in the book and challenged readers to contact him if they needed help! Not expecting a response, I was shocked when he speedily replied that day, and solved my problem finally to boot!
   
   To sum up: Not necessarily for beginners period, great for programmers beginning PHP and MySQL, the only book you should have to buy, and a very supportive author.



4. I purchased this book because I needed to use PHP and MySQL for a project at work. I never had any exposure to either before reading this book. By using this book and the w3schools website I was able to successful build a meager database and have a fully functioning php front end. It was very pleasing to see the project come to fruition and I have this book to thank for that. I used it mainly as a reference book. For example, I knew exactly what I wanted to do so I would search this book for an example of that and adapt the code to my situation. I didn't use this book to "learn PHP." I think you need to have a project to do in order to best use this book.



5. Despite the title, this book is not for the novice. Even the introductory first 100 pages or so assume that you are above a novice level. The examples lead to more questions (for me, the novice) than they answer.
   
   Having said that, this book has a tremendous amount of information in it and, as other reviews mention, it will work well as a reference. Now, I hope to find a true beginning PHP book to provide the basis to use this book!

5 comments about PHP and MySQL Web Development (3rd Edition) (Developer's Library).

1. This book was ordered for an evening class at a local college. I was able to easily locate the book using the ISBN and placed the order, which included free shipping. The book arrived on schedule and in excellent condition. I definitely would order through Amazon.com again. Thanks



2. I order this book and been waiting and waiting. The date came for the book to arrvie and no book. So, a few days went on and still no book. I call the 1 800 number to see whats the problem and they change the date. So now i have to wait another 2-3 weeks for this book. We will see what happens when 2-3 week comes...



3. This book is great for teaching you how to use PHP and MySQL. The one thing I don't like are the examples; they contain formatting that really belongs in a CSS file. The effect is to make the examples hard to read because they are full of extraneous code, particularly in the case of table elements because inline styles don't cascade to their cells...
   
   Given the excellence of this book, I feel this is a huge oversight. The examples should contain only code related to content, not formatting. In the next edition, please remove the inline styles, move them to a stylesheet, and show us how to use php to dynamically create stylesheets!



4. Everything about this book is wonderful, it also includes an electronic version of the whole book in PDF format so you don't have to carry it with you if you don't want to. This book is definitely a very understandable book and it uses real-life examples of how to do certain projects. Excellent buy!



5. I cracked open this book knowing only basic HTML. About halfway through it, I was a website developer. By the end of the book, I was a website professional with highly sought after skills.
   
   This book is not only written well, but is written in a manner that kept my short-spanned attention all the way through with plenty of momentum. Possibly the only computer book I have ever read all the way through.

5 comments about PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide.

1. This is an excellent book. All the codes works! I recommend to buy it. It is worth for the money.



2. This is definitely not for someone new to programming or relational databases. The pace is fast which works well if you already know those things but need to know how to do them in PHP and mySQL. Those new to either of those two concepts should probably look for something more basic



3. Larry Ullman's "PHP 6 and MySQL 5 for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide" is great because it can be applied to real world websites. Mr. Ullman does a fine job in conveying the finer points of PHP.



4. Larry Ullman's extensive experience as a developer and writer shows. This book is very well structured and builds upon itself intuitively to the reader. The exercises are pragmatic. The only thing that he might have touched upon in this book is OOP--fortunately his book PHP 5 Advanced: Visual QuickPro Guide covers the subject extensively.
   
   This book also provides several key reference tables that I go back to often, e.g., MySQL data types (pg 110...got that memorized). So, the ongoing value is there. There have been a few times where the index didn't point me to the page I was looking for even though I know it's in the book somewhere.
   
   I noticed that Larry's next book is on AIR (has his enthusiasm shifted, or perhaps it's just that he's covered PHP from every conceivable angle at this point??). While I'm sure he'll shed valuable light on AIR, I look forward to his return to PHP prose.
   
   On a side note, Larry makes himself tirelessly available to his readers on his forum and via email. That's pretty extraordinary, too, I think, yet I'm bewildered how he finds the time.



5. This book is a complete waste of money. You can find all the material covered here for free online. The book is difficult to read because of all the author's tips, the small size of the letters in the text, and because the text in each page is divided in two columns wich is absurd. buy something else instead.

5 comments about The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP.

1. it is an excellent book. I'm not sure what exactly I actually expected from a book that has Dreamweaver, CSS, AJAX ad PHP (and MySQL) in its title. But one thing is for sure - this book is truly great because this book does something that a lot of other technical books do not do - it teaches you to use several technologies in a chronological way, by adding functionality to the same web site. You do not learn things by following many unrelated examples, but rather by following a step by step instructions which will lead you to the final product - a functional dynamic web site. I find this system of teaching to be the best, because it shows you the actual process of implementation of the techniques and technologies and how they work together on the same page. Teach by example. But beware, that this concept of teaching does not exactly explain the why's, but rather concentrates on the how's giving real world examples without pushing the reader to use a certain approach only to later explain why that particular approach was bad and show a good one.
   Although this book is intended for beginners in programming, some of the stuff was rather hard to comprehend and you certainly should not entirely rely on this book alone and seek some more examples on the subject, just to give you more clarity. And you certainly should know your way around Dreamweaver. The author will give you a quick overview of the work environment and CSS, but this is not the book you want if you can't work with Dreamweaver at least at the upper beginner level. That applies to your knowledge of CSS too.
   This is not a quick study book. You will see immediate results, but to understand what is going on and be able to use the knowledge to make your own applications will require a lot of determination and effort on your part. I personally like that - no pain, no gain. However, if you have the will to go through a lot of coding, reading, looking for that missing semi-colomn in your code and do not want to be bothered by childish examples and exercises, your perseverance will be awarded and this book will make you a better web developer. It's 5 stars and a big THANK YOU MR POWERS from me.



2. This book is a wonderful assistant for people they like to dive into DW and PHP. It completes all my questions and it's tips are rule!



3. I haven't finished this book yet. I have completed the chapter on how to setup a testing server for php. So far I am very pleased with the book it has allowed me to setup a server and test my php code. This book is well worth the price just for this.



4. I have read many books on programming. While I have gleaned some value from just about every book, the page-count-to-learning ratio hasn't been great. And on a few occasions, I hit a roadblock where I simply wasn't getting what author was telling me I should be completely proficient with at that moment...anyone else experience that?? Makes me feel like a coloring-by-the-numbers code monkey. I've gone back to some of those books once I have gained some proficiency on the topic (elsewhere) to find that those authors made things unnecessarily complex. Who knows why, but it sure pisses me off.
   
   I give you this background, so that when I say that this book is absolutely without equal in delivering actionable, easy-to-understand content on almost every single page, that is no exaggeration. I lost count of the number of times I came up with a question, only to read the very next sentence which usually went something like this, "...you are probably wondering why this is the case. Here's why..." It was incredible! And the exercises start to ween you off of the minutia at precisely the right pace (for me, anyway). It was a great confidence builder when the author wrote, "You should be comfortable with these steps at this point..." and I totally was.
   
   Truly excellent work by David Powers and Tom Muck (who did the technical review). And they've kept their errata/updates site up-to-date with DW CS3, which definitely came in handy as I encountered current-version discrepancies with things like Spry 1.6.
   
   One miss was, the very last exercise did not work for me. After thoroughly reviewing the sample code, my code, etc. I submitted it as errata...waiting for a response.



5. I'm currently taking a class in PHP/MySQL and it's use in eCommerce, and this book has really helped me along the way! The author shows you the ways in which Dreamweaver can help you to reduce your development time, but still produced some really great, dynamic sites. He goes into detail on some of the code as well, which is helpful. Additionally, the author is very honest and recommends other resources for items he covers in a limited manner. If you want to learn more about connecting to a database or just using PHP for simple mailing forms, as well as some nice CSS tips, this book is for you!