2 comments about php|architect's Pocket PHP Reference.

1. I often use the php.net documentation, online. For some time I thought it would be great to have a shorter printed version, to put in my pocket, and read a bit while waiting for the train etc.
   So I thought this book was what I was looking for.
   But how dissapointed I am.
   Yes, the book is a reference, and I'm sure it has all the php functions in it, but very little information on all the functions. It comes with 30 (rough estimate) functions on a page, and the fontsize is so small that I (No, I dont need glasses) can hardly read it.
   
   As an example, here's the documentation about the strftime() function:
   string strftime (string $format [, int $timestamp])
   Extension: Date/Time (Date and Time Functions)
   Format a local time/date according to locale settings.
   
   You see it doesn't give a lot of useful information. It doesn't say anything about the conversion specifiers in the format string. I do understand that it isn't possible to put al the useful information from the php.net in a book like this, but a bit more information would have been useful, but then, that might have made the font-size even smaller.
   
   Maybe it's just me, hoping for something completely different when I ordered the book. The only time when such a reference can be handy (to me), is if you're not connected to the internet. But I think that's pretty rare for a PHP programmer.
   
   It was not an expensive book though, and all profit goes to the Canadian Red Cross' Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, so you might buy it for this reason.



2. Sometimes you just need the parms for a function and a quick reference - this book is great for that when your offline.

5 comments about PHP 6 Fast and Easy Web Development.

1. I've been a computer guy for years. I've used Sams, Wrox, and Deitel for various aids.
   
   This book is perhaps one of the best "teach yourself" books I've ever used.
   
   I'm brand new to PHP (but not to HTML)
   
   This book explains new concepts in an simple fashion (without demeaning the reader).
   
   Regarding the PHP version this book uses.
   
   Obviously, the book is intended for PHP 6, however as of the books publication (and this review writing), PHP 6.0 is not yet GA.
   
   However, I'm using PHP Version 5.2.5 along with the book just fine.
   
   The only suggestion I have regarding any improvement in this book would be the instructions the book provides regarding configuration and environment set up of Apache, MYSQL, and PHP.
   
   The book uses screen shot examples (vs. detailed instructions on how to configure).
   Example--Page 30= ="Installing Apache" (even if I used a magnifying glass, I don't think I could read those instructions).
   
   With that said:
   I would also highly recommend that anyone using PHP/MYSQL/Apache for the first time, consider using XAMPP--from Apache friends. Save yourself the configuration frustration/delays and use the preconfigured XAMPP package to get up and running in a matter of minutes.
   
   (I wasted countless hours trying to configure my install until I discovered XAMPP on a discussion thread regarding installation problems for newbies).



2. By now you would think Meloni could/should get it right. No such luck her code is still broken. How anyone can write a series of books and still can't code herself is beyond me.



3. This book tries to teach PHP with an illogical ordering, piss poor documentation, no regard to security or standards (it's being published as a book for PHP 6, but still uses HTML from the 1990's).
   
   Most notable to me, however, was the god aweful piece of code found in one of the introductory chapters which, if ever put on a live server, would open up the server to any number of exploits, including access to the system() function. Here is an excerpt:
   echo $result = $_POST['func']($_POST['text1']);
   
   Yes, that's right, output the result of a function call the client provides, applied to a parameter the client provides. Absolutely ridiculous.
   
   Now, I haven't read much further than this example (p 110), but even if somewhere later on the authors take the time to discuss security, the fact that they separate the two all but guarentees that the message is not getting across. Please, please please do not purchase this book. I am returning it today, and I encourage those of you who made the same mistake I did to return it as well.
   
   A far, far better book which covers PHP and MySQL in a professional, secure, and yet introductory fasion is PHP and MySQL Web Development (4th Edition) (Developer's Library). This is far and away my favorite programming book, and I promise anyone who is interested in learning PHP or MySQL will benefit from this book.



4. I have to say that I have not purchased this book but am going to. I Went to my local bookstore and had a chance to look at the PHP 5 and PHP 6 books and the screen resolution the screenshots were taken in the PHP 6 book was really high. The text in the screenshots are really hard to read. I had a chance to look at the PHP 5 book and they were alot bigger. If you have a hard time reading small text I would suggest that you get the PHP 5 book.Other that that the content looks superb.



5. I picked this book up at my local library since it was the first PHP 6 book they carried. I have to say, I completely agree with Michael Diamond's review. This book is why PHP code and PHP coders have a bad name. I would absolutely not hire someone who wrote any code like the examples in the book. The book is full of examples of how to make completely broken, utterly insecure and just downright awful PHP scripts. Throughout the book, examples take user input directly from $_POST or other user provided variables and either call functions provided in the variable, use the variable directly in SQL.
   
   If the code could throw a warning, it is often preceded with an @ sign, which in PHP just suppresses the warning. Rather than show or explain to the reader how to either prevent the warnings from appearing, checking code to make sure the values passed to the function won't cause a warning or any of the other correct, standard, and not dangerous ways of preventing warnings from showing to the user, it just includes the @ sign with no explanation.
   
   Throughout the book I don't recall seeing a single place where array variables are accessed correctly. For example,
   if ($_SESSION[valid] != 'Yes') ....
   
   Unless the word valid is a defined constant, PHP will try to find a constant with that name, not find any, issue a notice, and then try to use valid as a string. The correct way to do this check would be
   if ($_SESSION['valid'] != 'Yes')...
   
   Additionally, for a book that is supposed to be about PHP 6, very little PHP 6 is actually discussed anywhere. Unicode will be one of the biggest additions to the PHP 6 code, yet the only place that even mentions unicode is page 68 which has a little 3 line text box. The text in the box mentions that with PHP 6, unicode will be on by default, and then tells you how to disable it by changing an ini setting!
   
   The code examples in this book are aimed at a beginner PHP programmer. However, a beginner PHP programmer may not know how wrongly they are being presented. I urge you, if you are a beginning PHP programmer to avoid this book. If you are a beginning programmer, avoid this book. If you are an intermediate to expert PHP programmer, avoid this book, or borrow it and laugh at the horrible examples of how to not code PHP.
   
   I read a lot of PHP books. Since I've been coding PHP since 1997, there's usually not a lot that I learn from the PHP books. However, I usually also don't have such a strong reaction against a book that I have to immediately write an Amazon review urging others to avoid a book. In fact most of the other PHP books I've read or own do have a lot of good.
   
   Please, stay away from this book. If you don't know PHP already, it will ruin you as a PHP programmer.

5 comments about Essential PHP Tools: Modules, Extensions, and Accelerators.

1. I have found HTML & Smarty chapter very useful. You will also find other chapter useful if you have to work on them in real life projects. Overall very practical book.



2. This book does alert you to many useful modues, extensions and accelerators and given that many of these are open source and their documentation can be skimpy, it's good to have examples and documentation from another source.
   
   However, this book is not comprehensive in it's coverage of said modules, extensions and accelerators and in areas where it covers material already explained in the documentation, I preferred the original documentation's style and explanations. The book does mention things that the original documention does not, but the original documentation talks about things that the book does not.
   
   In short, I had to read both the documentation and the book to fully understand the code.



3. I bought this book with high expectations.
   
   It is a very good book, well written, and David Sklar really has done a good job writing it. However, I didn't find it that useful. It wasn't even remotely close to comprehensive about what it covered, and made only footnote mention of other tools that are out there.
   
   I ended up returning it -- something I rarely do. I didn't think it was worth the money. Most of this info is available for free online anyways.



4. This is really only for advanced PHP programmers. If you are one, it maybe will render in 5 star.



5. You would think that a PHP book that actually mentioned "Extensions" as part of the title would cover extensions wouldn't you? Well in the case of this book you would be wrong. The index has exactly 1 entry for 'extensions' and even that is a 1 sentence footnote! Compare that to the 45 pages devoted to the subject in George Schlossnagle's book "Advanced PHP Programming" and you can get an idea of actually how deficient this book is in this aspect.

1 comments about Learning eZ publish 3: Building Content Management Solutions--Leaders of the eZ publish community guide you through this complex and powerful PHP-based Content Management System.

1. With this book, our intrepid micro-publisher has sought to lay out an understanding of the complex content management system eZ Publish (www.eZ.no). eZ Publish is a very powerful php based CMS solution, and really does meet the requirements of an Enterprise CMS solution.
   
   However, it has not been a very well documented project despite great efforts by the developers, especially for the more complex functionality.
   
   This book addresses many of the things that are left wanted by the documentation, such as the modification of core classes. However, it oddly combines them with basic information like how to set up the system -- information which was almost out of date before the book was released.
   
   Sadly, the book fails to go deep enough to satiate the demand of our more technical users while also failing to provide enough introductory material for beginners. This lack of clear audience focus plagues the book and lessens it's utility for real world developer or beginners.
   
   This book is absolutely worth the money, if you've got a little php under your belt and you're looking to really buckle down and start developing eZ Publish sites. But if you're a beginner, or you don't have a solid understanding of php, you'll probably find this book to be over your head past the first chapter.
   
   This publisher is coming out with a revised version which I am sure will address many of these issues, as they are one of the best computer book publishers to hit the scene since WROX. The fourthcoming Plone book by the same publisher looks like a good title, and the OpenCMS book by Packt Publishers is very good.

5 comments about Building Online Communities with phpBB 2.

1. So I went ahead and got this book, just because I am a phpBB fiend. To be honest I was not expecting much out of it. I figured there is not much about phpBB you can write about. However I was pleasantly surprised. This book is a great resource for both the beginner and more advanced users. I learned a couple cool tricks that I did not know before.
   
   For the beginner, it is a great step by step instruction on getting up and running, even explaining how to install MODs and templates. Many of the questions asked in the support forum at phpbb.com are answered in the book, there would be far fewer support posts if people read this book first.
   
   For the more advanced user it is a great reference book. It contains everything you need to know for making a new template. It has a lot of great reference charts like what files do what, and the database structure. It also has a pretty good chapter on custom programing complete with references to many of the variables and functions phpBB makes available.
   
   The only complaint I have is the price. But I feel all computer books are overpriced.



2. phpBB book covers topics for beginners to advanced users, if you want to jumpstart or customize your forum, this book is for you. Authors went through almost every features of phpBB.
   
   I specially like their writing style and user friendly examples. The installation, requirement before installation and fixing problems (that may occur sometime) after installation and covered well.
   
   If you are a moderator, it's time for you to rock. Administrative features are described well. It also describes administrator roles and tasks.
   
   Developing mods and Hacks, customization of themes seems so much intersting to me. Authors did a great job! I really like this book very much.



3. "Building on line Communities with phpBB2" is one of the few technical books on its kind that keeps up with what it promises. That is to offer "practical guidance for someone to get the most from phpBB".
   
   The book provides practical examples and hands on advice on issues like installation and configuration, administration, development of themes and styles, creation of MOD's and more.
   
   Beginners with basic technical knowledge will benefit the most since they will be able to start deploying their on line community after the first couple of chapters.
   
   As a teacher and consultant to several businesses and organizations i have found this book to be a valuable resource to anyone aiming to build and grow an on line community



4. The authors assume the reader has a fairly sophisticated level of general computer knowledge. If you are not comfortable roaming around the directory structure of your computer then this isn't for you.
   
   After that caveat, the authors want you to also download and configure other [free] software that is not directly related to phpbb, but aids in the installation and management of phpbb. If there are problems with this software it is left to you to solve them using any available resources - usually FAQ's and other help files from whence the free software came.
   
   As for the ease of use - The authors needed a good technical author and editor. There are assumptions made that you should know some piece of information that is either left out or glossed over in this text. In my experience, good, complete step-by-step procedures are always spelled out in detail in a beginners book. Not so here.
   
   The index seems to be woefully lacking in detail. Major topics are covered, but you still have to search through individual pages on those topics to find esoteric specifics.
   
   The above criticism notwithstanding, within two hours of the book's delivery I was able to troubleshoot and repair a nagging problem on the board I am setting up.
   
   So the technical information is there, just do not expect this to be a beginners text. It ain't "phpBB for Dummies!"



5. This book is typical of computer books today, more fluff, half the book is about how to use PhpBB, a fourth is dedicated to a very few of the nuts and bolts of making Modifications to a template to make it met your needs. It as well as a lot of COMPUTER books, is closer to a sham and is a shame for the price. Save your money, I wish there was a book that would definitively tell you what you need to REALLY modify a base template, let alone how to build one from scratch. The back cover like lots of computer books offers to show you the way to meaningful insight on the subject, but alas is to get you to part with your dollars for naught. IF any one knows of a GOOD overview of this subject and a better book please give us poorer( for buying the book) souls a hint.

5 comments about PHP Bible, 2nd Edition.

1. This book has a wealth of information, even though its organization of the subjects leaves something to be desired. Some reviewers state it is good for beginners, I refute it. Except for a few chapters, the book is definitely not for beginners. There is so much information on so many pages that important concepts get lost amongst those which are less important. Possibly, the connotation of calling the book a Bible inspired the extensive subject coverage.
   
   Reading this book, I often had the impression that examples had some details lacking, when partial scripts were given. It was impossible not to compare this book to Larry Ullman's PHP for the World Wide Web, which had its examples presented in the clearest possible way.
   
   In spite of some comments detracting from the value of the book, it is comprehensive, and covers more subject areas than other PHP books. Between this book and the PHP Manual a student can make up his or her own examples, and learn that way. If I had more ambition I would, with the author's and the publisher's blessing, write an adjunct book with detailed and tested examples to complement this Bible. I find it difficult to decide whether I should rate it three or four stars. Knowing the monumental work it had taken to write this book, I give it four stars.



2. I was very pleased when I received this book (and ,in general, am very happy with most of the "______ Bible" reference books).
   
   As an experienced ASP, VBScript, PERL, etc... programmer, when I was appoached to write a site in PHP, I needed a book to get me up to speed in this language with the quickness.
   
   Explains everything from deployment to security concerns in an easy to read fashion, covers all of the usual suspects (POST, GET, ODBC, fair amount of mySQL, etc...) and common PHP conventions/algorithms.



3. This book is simply GREAT!
   All your doubts about PHP will disappear... it contains absolutely all that you want to know about PHP to make great applications related with your website.
   One of the best things about this book is that you can start from ZERO. You don't have to be an expert computer engineer nor know anything about PHP, it is explained here from the most simple variable to the most complicated and advanced technique between PHP and MySQL.
   
   It contains a lot of information (well, it's a big book... more that 1000 pages) and a lot of examples that are so simple that anyone could understand.
   
   Also, this book talk about many other issues related with PHP, like Data Bases, XML, etc...
   
   Buy it, I really recommend it for ANYONE...
   
   A LITTLE WARNING:
   If you want to use this great book, you have to know at least a little bit of HTML, because PHP is a language that improves HTML... If you don't know anything about HTML, you'll not love this book as much as I love it... so, I recommend that before you get this book, you study some HTML : )



4. This is one of the books I used starting in 2004 to learn PHP. I still find myself returning to it from time to time. There are easier books for the PHP newbie such as Larry Ullman's PHP for the WWW, but this book can work OK for a newbie. PHP Bible (2nd) is way too big to read cover to cover, but functions well as a refresher & reference. I believe it is a decent basic to intermediate level PHP book. It covers subjects with a good balance of direct information & good short examples, without being too verbose.
   
   I find the official PHP manual difficult at times, with no other simple straight forward reference books available. That probably makes PHP Bible the best reference for a beginning to intermediate PHP programmer. Anyone who is truly an advanced PHP programmer will find this book too simplistic and rudimentary.
   
   The biggest problem is that PHP5 has been out for about two years and PHP Bible has not been updated yet. If there was another good PHP reference around, I would rate PHP Bible 3 stars, but under the circumstances, it gets 4 stars.
   
   I do not love this book, but it functions well, and makes a good investment for anyone serious about PHP.



5. This book is everthing you need to know about PHP!
   Very nice examples!

No comments about Flash, Php Y Mysql. Contenidos Dinamicos, 2006 / Flash, PHP and MySQL, Dynamic Contents. 2006 (Diseno Y Creatividad / Design & Creativity).

5 comments about A Programmer's Introduction to PHP 4.0.

1. The book gave me so much fundamental insights I needed to get started with PHP. The examples are easy to understand; explanations are to the point; and the entire book is so very practical. If anyone needs to purchase their first or second PHP4 book, this is the one.



2. A more appropriate title would have been 'An Introduction to PHP 4.0 for HTML Programmers'. The first five chapters cover basic programming concepts such as data types, conditional statements, functional programming, in arrays in very great detail. I found myself (a VB, C, and C++ programmer) skipping dozens of pages at a time. However, in addition to the basic theories, the book does do a good job explaining the various commands and functions PHP uses, although in a manner slightly more basic than I had expected.

   Starting in chapter 6, however, Gilmore throws down new concepts fast and furiously. The quality of his explanations doesn't suffer, he simply covers more in a briefer period of time in a manner that a somewhat experienced programmer will easily understand.

   On the whole, I was very impressed with this book. It does a fantastic job introducing PHP 4.0 and serves as a fantastic reference book as well.




3. Not for newbies to programming but if you know the basics
   of html and javascript and basic database stuff but want the
   heads up on PHP then this book is great !!!... Just the facts described short, sweet and to the point. Examples are perfect
   without being overly complex. Good stuff.



4. There are lots of errors in the code listings in this book, as well as a lot of typos in the text. This is not just annoying, but quite confusing. The concepts are explained well enough, but the errors really get in the way.



5. -- but I don't have the needs that a serious PHP programmer does. All the basics seem to be here, in the form of examples. An experienced programmer can skip over the bumpy parts and fill in the blanks.
   
   And there are lots of blanks. Boolean operators are introduced on page 60, including both bitwise and short-circuit OR operators. It gives an example of short-circuit behavior, but never really explains what that means. (If you never heard the term, "a OR b" in the short-circuit sense means "if a is true the expression as a whole is already true, so don't even evaluate expression b", and don't create all the output and side effects that b would have created.) Likewise, p.216 shows a use of include() that doesn't mean what you probably want, but fails to explain why incorrect usage is incorrect. Escape tag configuration is set on p.20, but there never is a clear description of how escape tags interact with the code. The section on Javascript gives examples of files with that and PHP together, but never really spells out the source-level interactions between them.
   
   Also, there is only a little mention of some of the peculiar capabilities of an interpreted language, like being able to use character strings as variable names. This borders on (and sometimes blurs the line with) self-modifying code. There's a lot of potential power there, but you're on your own if you try to tame it.
   
   On the whole, the book gave a uniform impression. It sounds like a pretty good explanation of material that the author just barely understands. There's plenty of code-by-example material here, so I can probably get everything done that I need to. Someone who really needed to understand the language in finest detail would not get what they want, however.
   
   //wiredweird

5 comments about XML and PHP (Landmark).

1. I decided to purchase both Wrox's Professional PHP4 XML and New Rider's XML and PHP. Now, I'm not a dumb guy. I've been programming for awhile, but I'm still learning all the time. I like to build object oriented code in PHP as I believe it's the best way to go for several tasks (although not all). I'm still learning how to apply design patterns and the like and I find that very interesting. So when I pick up a book, I really want to see an author care about objects rather than putting all his code in the toilet - That's what this book does.

   Even further, the examples are so basic and the chapters don't explain anything beyond those examples either. I'm surprised people found this book useful since everything is obvious that those university computer science monkeys who are still learning Windows can figure this book out.

   But where are the best practices? Where are the examples used within an object oriented architecture? Do you think we are idiot programmers who only know how to code procedural programs that all reside within a single server page. Get real.

   On the other hand, I was very impressed with the Wrox book. Although some of the intro chapters were fairly useless (since they covered intro to PHP concepts and so forth), the chapters talking about SAX, DOM, XSLT and XML-RPC are much better and totally outshine this book's counterparts. They even discuss Object oriented programs in all most cases and will provide you both versions a lot of the time! Even further, the Wrox book shows you various examples about solving common problems. I actually think the authors showed me all the potential problems you can have for that matter; they were pretty detailed, especially in the SAX and XSLT chapters.

   After reading some of the reviews about XML and PHP, such as "This book doesn't suck" or Manual Lemos's review (a guy who contributes a lot of PHP code to the community) stating "this book was the best on PHP and XML available", it's obvious that they have ties to the author and want to see him succeed. Don't let them pull you in - this book isn't even worth the sympathy.

   Xi Chi's review was right on the bull's eye. I should have listened to it and so should you. Avoid this book like the plague and get Wrox's PHP4 XML book instead.




2. Vikram Vaswani wrote a very focused book, covering every aspect of PHP and XML integration, with dedicated chapters on SAX and DOM parsers, XSL, WDDX, XML-RPC and SOAP. I think that PHP 4 is still lacking in the area of XML integration, but intermediate and advanced developers can still perform a lot of tasks using this combo. The book is clearly written; it covers a lot of different extensions and third party libraries with full code listings



3. Chapters two and three start the book with good examples of SAX and DOM use in PHP respectively. This provides a solid foundation for the rest of the book which shows examples of popular XML based technologies as applied to PHP. These include XSLT (Sablotron), XML-RPC, SOAP, XML in databases and other topics. Each of these discussions contains some real world examples to provide context.

   It's a short and concise book that is well written. The use of graphics could be more effective. For example the screenshot in figure 6.8 is a single line in a vast sea of whtie browser space. The code sample could use some annotation or at the very least some bolding to hi-light the important segments.

   The value of this book will depend on the degree to which you use XML in the PHP context. If you want a quick booster rocket to get you into SAX or DOM work within PHP this book will do the trick since it's far better than the documentation on the PHP site.




4. I've been reading this book recently (6/11/2004). With regards to DOM and XML, it's very out of date given the current development of PHP. Would advise newer, more up to date book if you're interested in DOM and XML.



5. I've been reading the book, and had a feeling it explained a lot.
   Finally, i could use it, but the code used is very outdated (01-2005). That's why i visited their website.
   as the book refers to the site often.
   http://www.xmlphp.com/
   check it yourself, no updates, the forum is closed.
   why did i buy this book?

No comments about Dynamic Bitmap Graphics with PHP and gd, Second Edition.