5 comments about Learning PHP and MySQL (Learning).

1. I am a long time programmer (15 years) and wanted to start a new project based on PHP scripts and a MySQL database. This book was quite helpfull in getting me started. It wasn't necessary to read the entire book. I read those sections that were signifigant to what I needed. My background is very heavy on Enterprise products like SAS, Oracle, and DB2. The project I was working on didn't require such huge resources so I picked up this book and setup a linux box with a LAMP configuration to get started.
   
   The book is a good starting point. Paticularly important is the interaction between HTML and MySQL in PHP. You can get a lot of information on just PHP from the PHP documenation. The best value I got out of the book was learning about the interaction between PHP and MySQL.



2. The php part is ok. The mysql, cookie, security chapters are junk. I guess
   even the writer does not know what he is talking about. I do not know where
   he pulled those chapters from. As a consequence, I had to go to mysql online
   tutorial to learn mysql.
   
   My background is computer science so I donot think other readers can understand what the author is talking about.



3. PHP and MySQL are highly adaptive programs that can be used to create a variety of dynamic website potentials. Although fairly simple to use once you understand the basics, the learning curve on these programs is a little high at first. In order to use the capabilities, the user has to not only understand what the programs do and how they work together. However, probably the hardest part of the process is learning all the vocabulary associated with these systems.
   
   Learning PHP & MySQL is a very good reference, especially for this latter challenge. The guide not only defines and explains each of the different concepts but gives examples that better illustrate these aspects while giving the user a glimpse into how they could use them for their own purposes. Especially for the more difficult sections, I really liked that I could replicate the code on my computer and see the results for myself. This aspect gave me a far better idea of how I could use these programs in conjunction to create the effects I want.



4. I enjoyed this book. I felt like it did a good job introducing both PHP and MySQL without being overwhelming. However, I wasn't so impressed with how it covered Object Oriented PHP, or how it introduced PEAR and Smarty.
   
   For the most part, the OOP section seemed to be put in there as an after-thought. Also, the book switched gears pretty quickly between using the standard PHP libraries for getting things done, to using PEAR. And, there really wasn't much of an explanation accompanying the inner-workings of Smarty - more of a "here's the code, it does this" kind of an approach. What makes this so frustrating is that you learn a bunch of stuff earlier in the book that you don't see being used in the later examples (or the big final example in Chapter 17, which I'll address next).
   
   The biggest let down I found was that if you followed the final example (Chapter 17 - building your own web app), it doesn't even work. At first, I wrote it out myself from the code in the book, so I could follow along closely and try understand what was going on. It didn't work, so I assumed my code was filled with typos. I registered on-line with O'Reilly and was able to access the book on their website. From there, I copied and pasted the scripts for the web app directly into the various .php and .tpl files on my machine, and made sure to name them exactly as they are named in the book. It still didn't work!
   
   There are inconsistencies in how scripts are named and referenced in other scripts. And the best part is that it doesn't even include the script for logging out and ending your session, even though there is a link to it (logout.php) in the footer.tpl Smarty template file. I know it isn't that difficult to make your logout script based on some of the scripts from the earlier chapters, but it's still the fact that they leave out a whole part in the final example. Ultimately, I can't help but wonder how difficult it would have been for the authors to verify that the website did what it was meant to do, before putting it in their book.
   
   I know it sounds like I am giving this book a harsh review... However, I did truly enjoy it and that is why it is still getting 4/5 stars. The negative points I brought up were not enough to bring down the overall effectiveness of this book as a learner's guide to PHP and MySQL, but definitely merits mentioning as a warning to potential readers/buyers.



5. I came to this book as a newbie, with some knowledge of HTML and CSS, and that's about it. This book nearly killed my desire to learn PHP/MySQL.
   
   The problems start early, in Chapter 2. The installation information is seriously flawed. Many of the links they point you to are dead. And even when I went to the book's web site for an updated link, and followed the instructions to the letter, I still wasn't in business. I googled to try to get help and stumbled across some other lost soul using this book, with exactly the same problem as me. Guess what? He was begging for help on a message board somewhere. I should have realized right then that this book was worthless. But I soldiered on.
   
   I managed to get PHP and MySQL downloaded (though the connector was still not working), and started working on some of the PHP coding. I learned some PHP, sure, but it was a slow, slow process. Practical applications? Practice exercises? Clear explanations for inexperienced computer programmers - presumably the kind of people who would be buying a book like this? Rare or nonexistent.
   
   I skipped ahead to the MySQL section, made it in a few pages, and then they recommended that I install PhpMyAdmin. Well, I did, and then I ran into the problem with the lack of connection between PHP and MySQL again. So I went back to Chapter 2, and wasted another hour of my life trying to figure out how to get the past the basic installation issues.
   
   So, yeah, I paid $30 so I could figure it all out for myself. And I still haven't. So thanks a lot, folks. You took $30 of my hard-earned money, and in return gave me several hours of aggravation.
   
   I know the computer experts out there will laugh at this review - they always think they're superior to newbs. But I know I'm not stupid. A better book will teach me the basics of PHP and MySQL, I just need to find it. This one is not newb-friendly. And if a how-to book isn't newb-friendly, then as far as I'm concerned it ain't worth a thing.
   
   NEWBS BEWARE. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

5 comments about Webbots, Spiders, and Screen Scrapers: A Guide to Developing Internet Agents with PHP/CURL.

1. This book covers every aspect I could ever hope a book on web bots would cover. It goes into great detail and provides lots of background information about things such as why you should use web bots, security issues, how to authenticate a bot with password protected sites, writing search engine crawlers, parsing HTML, how to handle cookies, HTTP headers, dealing with forms and a lot more.
   
   I was very pleased with how this book covered concepts. The book uses PHP and the cURL library as a teaching tool instead of trying to give a lesson in how to use PHP as a crawler language. The way the code is explained makes it very easy to translate into whatever language you are most comfortable coding in. The book uses fundamental functional programming concepts which make it easy to pick up the general idea without actually knowing PHP.
   
   My boss bought this book to help my group us with a project we were working on, and even my co-workers who had no background with PHP were able to use this book to write a web bot in C# (using the cURL library) very easily. The concepts from this book easily transfered over to object-oriented concepts.



2. great book. very well organized and code in book is available for download and code is well documented



3. "Webbots, Spiders, adn Screen Scrapers" is a solid book for building basic scripts to do web scraping. Michael Schrenk goes covers the "should you do this" aspect very well, and devotes much of the book to these kinds of topics. On that reason alone I give him major kudos, "just because you CAN do a thing, doesn't mean you SHOULD."
   
   Technically the book and examples are very basic and beginner level. All code is procedural and has absolutely no references to object oriented programming at all. This is great for a simple project, but building anything larger than a targetted webbot or two is beyond the scope of this book.
   
   I was very dismayed at Mr. Schrenk's opinion of regular expressions:
   "The use of regular expressions is a parsing language in itself, and most modern programming languages support aspects of regular expressions. In the right hands, regular expressions are also useful for parsing and substituting text; however, they are famous for thier sharp learning curve and cryptic syntax. I avoid regular expressions whenever possible."
   
   This disregard for regular expressions effectively wipes out a powerful toolset for budding developers. Regular expressions are no harder to learn than PHP. The reasons for his disdain for them is also flawed:
   
   "The regular expression engine used by PHP is not as efficient as engines used in other languages, and is certainly less efficient than PHP's built-in functions for parsing HTML."
   
   PHP uses the same regular expression engine used (very effectively) in PERL with the use of the preg_* functions. There has been many studies that show preg_* style expressions outperform basic text matching in PHP. In this assesment the author is terribly wrong.
   
   The book does a great job of explaining how to make single use scripts for scraping, but never how to create a larger infrastructure. There is no focus on creating multi process engines with pcntl_fork(), or proc_open(), these are critical for scaling web scraping applications. A single script scraping a few hundred websites on a single thread would take ages over a multi-threaded engine.
   
   If you are looking to break into web scraping and not sure where to start, this is likely the best (and possibly only) book on the market. If you are intermediate or advanced you will quickly question the author's logic and see that scaling will become the number one issue you have to over come.



4. This book is simply awesome. You will need to come armed with at least a basic knowledge of php, but everything is pretty straight forward. The projects are well explained and applicable to a wide range of projects that you might be getting yourself into.



5. This is an excellent book used as an introduction to the cURL library. The author has created a set of his own functions that are well written and, with the help of the book, easy to understand.
   
   It does pre-suppose some PHP and data transfer protocol knowledge but if you are already armed with that, this is an excellent intro to data exchange across servers. Each chapter introduces a new concept and a simple usage of that concept. I seldom read tech related books cover to cover but this book was an exception. I have been programming for over 20 years so being excited by new stuff is somewhat rare. I enjoy new stuff but this book whets the imagination!

5 comments about Beginning Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax: From Novice to Professional.

1. I am a fairly inexperienced, self taught programmer. I bought the book partly due to the fact that it had "beginning" in the title.
   
   The code that is used in the book is not laid out very well. There are parts of the code that they don't explain (such as what apikey.php is) until you go and find out on their website what it means.
   
   They are also very inconsistent. Sometimes they used apikey.php and sometimes they didn't. Going through the examples they use the same file names for different examples so you don't know if you are suppose to use the old files from the previous examples or not.
   
   Even after I got all of the files that I needed for the tile overlay example it failed on me. This is after spending 3 hours reconstructing the MySQL table (which I didn't care about) because that information wasn't provided with the tile overlay example. After doing all of that work and using their unmodified code (except to change my database logins and api key) the code didn't work. And it failed BEFORE it even got to the MySQL database which means all that work I spent was for naught.
   
   The authors suggest that you can email them (and I did a couple times) and they will get back to you. Its been several months and I still haven't heard back from any of them. The questions were about problems using their unmodified code.
   
   This book may be good if you have some experience with coding. But on the other hand if that is the case there really isn't any need to buy the book.



2. Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax, provides a very easy to understand clear path for getting started with Google Maps. As a PHP developer, (not as much javascript), the book shows an intelligent and useful approach to working with client side scripting and document objects. Great samples throughout the book. I highly recommend this for anyone getting started with Google Maps, regardless of PHP or Ajax...this book is still very useful for any developer.



3. This book is very well written. Very concise, clear and focused in the real world problems and solutions. Following the advices and codes of the book, you will can afford most of your google maps projects knowing exactly what to do, and how to do it. I specially find very interesting the chapter dedicated to how to code a map with multitude of markers. Very clarifying.
   
   Must have-read book if you are working in a Google Maps project.



4. Wow and Kool are the first words that come to mind after reading just the Into and Chapter 1.
   
   As a Web Programming Instructor, I am always searching for easy ways to get my students motivated. Page 2 of Chapter 1 shows an XML and XHTML strict - but the code is so straight forward - that you are not in the least intimidated with the strict XHTML. To find something students can relate to that gives a solid example of two abstract things - is great. There is nothing to be intimidated with, the explanations are clear and the web site - give corrections. Each chapter offers a lot fore each level user.
   
   Chapter 1 is fun for a wide range of web skills: Web Development, Digital Photographers, Digital Imaging, and more advanced.
   
   Chapter 2 - gives the JavaScript, XHTML developer's lots of detail on what is going on in the script. Each exercise builds on the previous one, until by the end of the chapter you have a robust program, you can use immediately.
   
   Chapter 3 - adds user input, it begins the discussion of adding to a Database & Ajax. You have a dialog wit the authors of why they did what they did - it's insight to working with a database. The chapters keep getting richer and draw you in. You hate to put it down!
   
   Appendix B has a generous 28 page summary of the important API commands, making learning Google Maps API easier.
   
   I am adding this to my Reference Book list
   and it will defiantly be a required reading for Advanced PHP classes.
   
   Jil MacMenamin
   http://JilMac.com



5. If you are going to get one book to learn or improve your Google Maps skill, this is the book. This very well organized book introduces you the basics and then moves on some advance staff that you have to learn if you want to develop serious Google Maps application.
   You can check out the table of content and sample chapters from its website.
   I enjoyed reading it and therefore I highly recommend it for Google Map developers.

3 comments about Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9.

1. This book is an excellent introduction to HTML, PHP and the FileMaker API. Jonathan has an easy-to-read style. I found it to be a quick and informative read. I enjoyed how he can cover a topic in sufficient depth without the material being too long. This book focuses on the code in a text editor (rather than a visual editor), which is the best way to truly master the subject. Each chapter covers a specific topic so you can read it cover to cover or just focus on the material that is of interest to you. Well done Jonathan!



2. FileMaker and PHP are absolutley the way to go, and this is
   THE BEST BOOK to get for Filemaker web publishing.
   As a "non-programmer" who has struggled in the past trying to bring a database to the web,
   I found the examples in this book easy to follow and understand.
   It definately took me to the next level.



3. Over the holiday break I had some time to read (a better word might be "consume") Jonathan Stark's book "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9." In a little more than 250 pages, Jonathan manages to do the impossible: He explains how to put the FileMaker API for PHP to use.
   
   The book is divided into four logical sections. The first section provides background information for those new to the world of Web publishing, including an introduction to HTML and PHP. After reading this section, you won't be an HTML expert, and you certainly won't be a PHP pro. But you will have a good understanding of the technologies involved in Web publishing and development, and how those technologies fit together.
   
   The second section of the book provides a foundation for the examples that are used later on. The section includes a chapter on how to setup a FileMaker database (creating fields, working with the database, performing finds, and so on). I'm sure that the majority of readers will find this section to be unnecessary and might be tempted to skip it. However, the chapter does cover one key topic that you should take a few minutes to check out, and that is an explanation on how to setup a FileMaker account (and grant it the correct privileges) that PHP can use to connect to the database.
   
   The second section also covers installation, deployment, and configuration of FileMaker Server, as well as the new PHP Site Assistant. Jonathan makes a recommendation -- and one that I heartily agree with -- that if you do not absolutely need your own server, then using a server provided by a Web hosting provider is an ideal solution. However, if you do have your own server, you'll find this information to be of great use.
   
   The third section of "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9" includes what I consider to be the most valuable information in the book. This section covers the FileMaker API for PHP (often referred to as "FileMaker.php") itself, and does so using an example Web application that is developed and expanded throughout the section. The application is one that most readers will be able to associate with -- an online product catalog.
   
   The section includes chapters on how to select, sort, and do finds against a FileMaker database using PHP. Another chapter explains how to alter FileMaker data over the Web, including the creation of new records and updates and deletions of existing records. There are also chapters on how to view, add, edit, and delete related data via PHP (which is accomplished using portals), as well as some very useful information on how to work with images (including images stored in container fields and those stored by reference using URLs).
   
   The last chapter in the third section describes a very interesting concept: Developing a PHP application that automatically updates as the FileMaker layouts that it is built on are updated. For example, if a field is added or removed, the PHP application automatically adds and/or drops the field as well. If you are looking for an easy way to let your FileMaker users "self-manage" a PHP application, then this chapter will prove to be invaluable to you.
   
   "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9" covers a lot of ground, and does so in a way that makes it a fast and enjoyable journey. Jonathan's writing style and "voice" make it easy to follow along with the material. His expert knowledge of PHP and FileMaker is apparent, and he does a great job of sharing that knowledge in the book.
   
   If you are looking for a good book on PHP and FileMaker integration -- whether you are new to the topic or consider yourself to be a pro -- then I highly recommend picking up a copy of "Web Publishing with PHP and FileMaker 9."

2 comments about PHP & MySQL Web Development All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. GREAT book!! Perfect for beginners, but still good enough for somewhat experienced users.
   
   I had my site up and running with loads of php scripts, mysql query's etc. in just a week after I got this book, complete with log-in pages, registration, and other fancy bells and whistles.
   
   After this, I got a couple other books for more advanced coverage, but still find myself turning back to this book quite frequently.
   
   highly recommended for anyone looking to learn php.



2. This is a very well written reference on PHP and MySQL. The book includes a 6 in 1 desk reference, which doesn't allow for the minute detail that is contained in some other "for Dummies" editions. But, it is a good additional to a PHP library nonetheless.
   
   The explanations are clear and easy to understand. The sample code is fully documented to allow the reader to fully understand the script and how it works.

5 comments about PHP for the World Wide Web, Second Edition (Visual QuickStart Guide).

1. I was looking for a decent introduction to PHP, and stumbled across this on Amazon. I can only speak as someone with a programming background, but this was exactly what I was looking for. Mr. Ullman takes you through PHP from the ground up, but the layout of the book and the thoroughness of the index makes it a pretty good reference if you just want to know some particular piece of the puzzle.
   Want to create an online form using PHP? This book walks you through a project that does just that.
   Want to figure out how arrays work in PHP? You can jump to that section, and migrate your own programming knowledge over to the PHP environment.
   PHP (and, for that matter, HTML) programming is a little counterintuitive , particularly if you have previous experience in other languages. This book makes the move a lot easier!
   Again, my review is from the standpoint of someone with experience in programming. However, the approach that the book takes - walking you step-by-step through practical examples - probably would work really well for those who are new to programming, too.
   I bought it along with the companion book on PHP and MySQL (PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide (2nd Edition) (Visual QuickPro Guide)), which turned out to be a great idea - both are getting dog-eared as I build a website using dynamic content.
   A great book, well worth purchasing!



2. The "Visual Quickstart" technique - placing instruction and code in side by side columns is the best learning device I have ever used. The instruction is clear and detailed, and the layout makes it easy to skim-over what you already know and focus on what you need to learn. I used the Quickstart book for learning HTML4 and now for PHP. I would recommend this series to anyone regardless of level.



3. The book are full of static examples and not enough dynamic. You do nothing about interacting with databases except about 10% of the book at the end.



4. I picked up this book at the library and it was so informative I had to go out and pick up a copy for my bookshelf for keeps. If you want to learn PHP go with this one.



5. This is a very well written technical reference. The examples are so good that I was able to get my 1st PHP web page up quickly even though I hadn't been through the entire book. Larry Ullman's book has passed my personal test -- I got something useful done. I'm now in the process of reading the entire book and using the sample code to more properly learn PHP. I have a number of QuickStart books and they are all excellent. They are on my sites recommended reading list. [...]

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

1. Enjoyed this book. The authors clearly understand their subject and provide useful workable code that can be used as a basis for your own projects.



2. 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.
   



3. 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.



4. 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.



5. 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.

4 comments about PHP Objects, Patterns, and Practice, Second Edition.

1. I've personally read about 100+ IT-related books, ranging from Certification Crams, Networking, Programming, and even computer repair. I've developed with PHP for almost 7 years now, having over 10 years of development language experience overall with other languages. What I'm about to say may surprise some, some may even find it hard to believe, and even more will absolutely disregard it as truth. On the flip side, what I am about to say may intrigue you, have you yearning to learn more, or even have you ready to go buy the book at this very moment. Either way that's your opinion, your thoughts and ultimately your decision. I'm simply telling it how it is, while being as truthful as I possibly can be.
   PHP Objects, Patterns, and Practice is by far, the most thought out, well planned and pleasant books I've read on any subject, period. Most technical books leave you feeling like the author was some sort of robot from Mars, sent to Earth intent upon teaching humans how to write code. This book takes a totally different approach, an approach that I could only dream of taking to explain advanced concepts that Mr. Zandstra explains.
   The book begins with giving the reader a "blast to the past" look at how PHP started out, how it evolved and what we should be expecting to see in the future. It explains how OOP came into being, how it became much more than the author's could ever dream, and how it eventually became the selling point for PHP. After giving you a brief history lesson, it finally starts into the actual technical sections. Once again, they follow the idea of showing the reader where PHP went wrong, and then finally how they made up for it by doing it the way it was supposed to have been done.
   The first three chapters explain the above in extreme and perfect detail. The following chapters begin your development cycle by first bringing the reader up to speed on OOP basics followed by advanced topics that help mold your mind around working in PHP's brand new OOP environment. The chapters after basically keep building on top of that foundation, zeroing in on trouble areas followed by intelligent solutions to each problem. Every single page I read, I learned something new. Every single exercise, I said to myself, wow...I can't believe I've made it this far without knowing this.
   What makes this book so appealing to me is that it's not meant for the newbie as almost every book you find at Barnes and Nobel will be. Instead, it's directed at the seasonal developer, the developer who has already been coding in PHP for 4+ years, developed long enough to know what PHP can and cannot do. It's also for the developer who has longed for a book that gives us incentive for moving to 5 and away from our trusty stable PHP 4 release.
   Matt uses such an impressive means of explaining how things work, that I probably have learned more in this 470 page book (yes, I even read the Appendixes, which is an honest-to-God first for me) than I've learned in any 1000+ page book. Every time I met a new chapter, I found myself ready to open the trusty laptop and try it out instead of skipping about 10 chapters to finally get to a place that actually covered something meaningful.
   Matt Zandstra, my hat is off to you. This book was everything I have been looking for in a PHP book.
   
   -Jonathon Hibbard 02/15/08
   Application Developer, HSR Business to Business



2. This is a really great book for advanced developers who whant learn abount php5 OOP technique; it explain very well how objects work and how to use the most famous patterns but it fails in third section: "The Practice".
   
   CVS, PHPDoc and Phing, for me, are not enought for a good "Practice".
   
   The entire book use too much simplistic examples, and so, is very difficult, for a beginner, to use all book concepts in real world.
   
   I hope that in the next edition, Matt will fill this gap.
   
   Bye From Italy



3. This is the best book I've read on Object Orientated PHP. This book does a great job of explaining the ins and outs of OO in PHP 5. As a self taught PHP developer of 5 years, I had lots of questions about "am I doing this right", "how should this be done" and the book has answered most of those questions.
   
   I'd recommend the book to those who already have an advanced PHP knowledge but are looking to take their code another step forward by improving it's re-usability. It's also a great read if you want to find out the power that PHP 5 has over PHP 4.
   
   Note: this book doesn't contain code that you can use. It teaches you the principles that you should use in your own projects.



4. I've owned PHP Objects, Patterns, and Practice for over a year, and it's still one of those books I go back to. It's a well written, generally well executed book on what constitutes Object Oriented Programming in the PHP5 environment.
   
   First, the good news:
   
   This book is a crash course on OOP design and thought. It borrows heavily from two monumentous texts in the field - the Gang of Four's book, and Java Enterprise Patterns - and condences their essences into an easy to swallow form. The basics are all here: how to create well designed classes, how to instantiate objects, etc. There's a hidden gem in the introductory portion of the book: the Reflection API. This API is built into PHP, and gives the coder unparalleled access to the guts of the classes and objects in a given project. It definitely has its uses.
   
   The patterns are all generally useful, with the only exception perhaps being the Interpreter pattern. I'm just not convinced that creating one's own command line interface syntax is necessary, given that PHP projects aren't usually interactive. It seems like something best left to an appendex, or extra web content.
   
   Now, for the bad news:
   
   Some sections of the book, especially some of the code examples, could've used a better editor. Small things, the kinds of things that can trip up inexperienced coders, crop up. Using private properties instead of protected. Using the wrong variable name between examples. That sort of thing.
   
   There's also a lack of a satisfying conclusion, so-to-speak. Zandstra himself claims that generating objects is perhaps the hardest thing to demonstrate. Yet, most of his examples (excepting the patterns late in the book) are canned. Objects and classes exist only to drive the theory behind a pattern home. Few real world examples are given. Admittedly, some patterns are simple to transfer to a real project, but concrete examples of that nature could serve to further cement his point. For example, it's not difficult to see how the Composite pattern would work well for dealing with an XML document, but would there ever be a need for a Visitor object to act on one?
   
   Finally, and in continuation of my last criticism, Zandstra never touches one of the things PHP is used the most for: form handling. Can forms be represented by classes? Could forms be generated by objects (perhaps using a Factory pattern)? What about form validators? Wouldn't the Strategy or Decorator pattern work? Supplementing his online Civilization game and CLI/quiz examples with this would've really put the book over the top.
   
   Still, with that said, PHP Objects, Patterns, and Practice is still a text that gets far more right than wrong. It's definitely a must-buy for those PHP coders looking to write modular code.

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 & MySQL For Dummies 3rd edition (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. I own this book, personally I think its awful. The way it is structured doesn't seem to work too well for the purpose. I read the entire thing once and still felt like I knew nothing. I found some tutorials online easier to follow and the lack of working examples didn't help either. Perhaps if it we're written by a programmer and not a professional author it would have been easier to follow. It didn't help me much however you be the judge and read it for your self maybe you'll find it more useful.



2. I've read many Dummies books, and like the "Monkey read, Monkey see, Monkey do" approach. This monkey learns better when all the steps are clearly shown and executed in the text. Unfortunately, this book is more like "Monkey read, Monkey lost". For example, Chapter 4, "Building a Database". The author describes 2 sample databases then discusses the various operations (queries) that can be performed on the databases without detailed, step by step instructions along the way. With some trial and error, the steps can be deduced, but this can be very frustrating and may not always work.
   
   p.s.: Janet Valade has written several beginner books on PHP/MySQL. Maybe, eventually, she will get it right. She is so close...



3. I liked this book and it's great for starters. The book had minimal errors. You learn how to program complete projects. When you're done with the projects, you are off to the races coding your own projects. I e-mailed the author and recieved a reply! The author cares about her work and it shows in this book. Happy coding and welcome to the PHP world never to look back...



4. The title of this review says it all. I bought my first copy of this book in 2001 and when I lent it to a friend, I couldn't wait to get it back so I bought another copy. Although not for the novice (despite the name) this is a good resource for people who are not professional programmers. To get the maximum benefit from this book, you need a basic knowledge of programming in general, but with that capability you can follow the text to get where you want to go.
   
   There are some good examples of how to use the concepts covered in the book, and the information can be used in order, or by need (the author even tells you that the book is designed this way).
   
   From this text, I was able to build my first web application, just the way I wanted it and this is just a hobby for me. Highly recommended.



5. This book really got me on my feet. I had never programmed with server side languages before and this book taught me everything I needed to know. Now, I'm a professional web developer and I make pretty good money.