5 comments about Professional PHP4 Web Development Solutions.

1. Seems Wrox is going great with PHP titles with pretty good collection coming one after another! Being into web development myself, this book has come as a great relief. It has given functions and methods with ready to use solutions. Could actually put them to use modifying them, plugging them in various applications.

   A must have for the Web Developers / Designers!




2. Before buying this, you should have a SOLID grounding in the theory and practice of php. This book does offer solutions, even ones that seem elegant.

   BUT, it never really stops to explain the actual coding. It takes time to explain only the approach they take to the problem and the rationale for their approach. It assumes you understand the code and moves right along. You will not find ANY hand-holding here.

   Moreover, of the solutions presented, at least two use XML. So, you might also want to have some xml skills on hand, if you are to make use of a significant part of this book.

   Once again, the book seems good and you can learn from it. But, understand that you need a solid php foundation to effectively use this book.




3. I simply enjoyed this book and all the solutions presented in it.
   I had earlier mastered PHP from reading "Beginning PHP4" and "Professional PHP4" from the same publisher, and this book was a natural choice to make.
   I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone that has a sparse to decent knowledge of PHP - you will love the engaging concepts,designs, code methodolgy and spanking case study solutions.Promise.



4. Wrox Press seem to have become masters at putting together volumes from a large number of authors. This 600-page volume is another example. This way of working does have some drawbacks, there is a little repetition of some basic stuff throughout the book, but not enough to truly detract from it.

   The book, after some expository material, details 11 projects of increasing complexity. They use PHP, MySQL, PEAR::DB, Smarty and PHPLib. The target audience, according to the book jacket, are programmers who already have a good knowledge of PHP, SQL Databases and XML. Frankly, I think they overdo the amount of experience you need to use and benefit from this book. If you are on top of all those topics well enough to consider yourself "professional" then this book may be too simple. If, on the other hand, you are, like me, conversant with PHP and SQL but would like to take yourself up to "professional" use of technologies like XML, templating and WAP enabling then this book will be good.

   The book is stuffed full of code examples -- and while you can download them in a ZIP file of over 3Mb you shouldn't think of this book as a "cookbook" as such. It shows various methods for performing most of the tasks you need to build solid backend web site systems to deal with a large variety of data. The projects cover importing and exporting of XML, messaging systems, forums, content management, using templates for both HTML and WML, search facilities and both simple and complex content management among other topics.

   One thing I did appreciate about this book is how much they left out. No coverage of PHP fundamentals, SQL fundamentals and simple stuff like web forms might be covered once, at most. I certainly didn't need another book on my shelves explaining the basics.

   My largest criticism of this book is one shared by too many modern titles for computer programmers; there is too much explanation and too much repetition. The section on SQL is the perfect example. Most projects contain some tables describing each database table, a diagram of the relationships and then the full SQL required to build them, their indices and some example data. For their proposed target audience this is way too much information, and as it is safe to assume that everyone who buys this book has a decent `net connection, why put a printout of SQL available online in a PHP book? I could have easily written the SQL myself and having it in the book doesn't make it much easier and since it was available online it was a total waste of space.

   I also have to take exception to, an (admittedly short) chapter devoted to installing and configuring PostNuke. It gives you no more information on this simple task than the online documentation. As someone who has installed PostNuke a couple of times and never needed any assistance beyond the readme files (and the first was long before I considered myself a good PHP programmer) I felt this was a complete waste of space and not "web development" at all.

   My final criticism is once again shared by too many modern titles, there isn't really enough discussion of the design decisions and complications. There are enough code examples and walk throughs to satisfy anyone, but not enough key design decisions are discussed at all, with only a few short examinations of any real design problems. I would have appreciated some walk throughs of such things as code that was too slow, problems with race conditions, methods for mixing static and generated parts of a site and all the real world stuff that intrudes when your site gets slashdotted and that code that was so neat with a hundred visitors a day becomes a thousand. Then show how the code they provide is better, avoids the problems and how to get my code to the same state. Since this book is "professional" a little more real world, please.




5. I have been a professional PHP developer for a number of years now, since PHP3 was still being actively developed. I have ready nearly every book on the topic, and have worked on more projects than I will ever remember to put in my Portfolio.
   
   I picked this book up after hearing some fairly good ratings on it, and couldn't wait to get started.
   
   I picked the book up and decided to spend a Saturday reading it (As I do with almost all of my new books). However, I found myself putting the book down not too long later...
   
   This book has scattered bits of good information that I did flag, but I found much of it repetitive or almost useless. I was very disappointed by the use of Smarty templates, I found myself picking through the Smarty code just trying to get to the actual application (I build what I need for designs, I don't need to rely on a system like Smarty).
   
   While I did appreciate the sections on XML, the Pseudo-coding (Algorithm breakdown), and the table diagrams, I was very discouraged by the coding practices such as print("link"); I personally feel that escape characters are very unorganized and look sloppy.
   
   The section on creating a news service was rendered useless because it has (seemingly implied) gaps in the code, and relies heavily on Smarty templates, again very disappointing.
   
   To shorten the rest of the rating up I'll just be real brief. The section on building a system for phones browsing your website was useless, as well as the wireless MyStuff server, the Advanced CMS section (as well as the Simple Search Engine) both had very poor programming practices, and the writers cover the same concepts over and over in their own ways (Which can get quite boring..)
   
   This book seems too difficult for the beginners, perhaps appropriate for the intermediate who want to learn Smart and some OK (but not great) programming practices, and definitely frustrating for us advanced programmers.
   
   I originally was going to rate this book a 4, but now that I'm done with my review I have decided it only earns a 3...

No comments about Creacion de un Portal con PHP Y MYSQL, 3. Ed. Navegar en Internet.

1 comments about Ruby on Rails for PHP and Java Developers.

1. Vohra makes strong emphasis on suggesting that Ruby on Rails has advantages over PHP and over Java. Of course, this stirs up fans of those approaches. But approaching Ruby on Rails through this book shows a fairly easy language to learn. You can code with an object oriented outlook, as well as using the Model-View-Controller pattern or architecture. Experience in other languages has shown OO and MVC to be very useful, especially for developing web applications.
   
   The book also takes the programmer into the use of Ajax. This highly popular method is readily compatible with Ruby and Rails. So too is the idea of running a Web Service. The latter is typically defined strictly in terms of [ascii] XML messages. Leaving the developer to choose an application language. Well, the book suggests that Ruby on Rails is a plausible choice.
   
   And for those of you already using the Eclipse IDE, Vohra explains how Ruby can be coded inside Eclipse. So you don't have to abandon Eclipse. I've noticed that Eclipse users tend to be avid fans of it, and deeply reluctant to leave its nice surroundings.

No comments about The SAP Developer's Guide to PHP.

2 comments about Learning PHP Data Objects.

1. I like the book's erudite methodology. The methodology of this book is based on the two tenets of sound education:
   
   Informing
   Demonstrating
   
   In this books after the information I found lots of exercises, step by step, with plenty of pictures and screen shots that lead me through and demonstrated a process of task. These exercises are fantastic guides.
   The author has used a case study approach, which is perfect for me because I learn by doing and practising.
   
   The author has identified the stable and core concepts of PDO and presented them in a way that gives us the strongest possible starting point, no matter what our endeavour.
   
   Be warned that you are assumed to have a basic understanding of Object Oriented Programming to make the most of this book.



2. This is a good start for PDO. The examples and methodology used to present the concepts for using PDO were very useful. The book steps you from the basic use of PDO in chapter 2, through error handling and a good discussion of prepared statements, on to the more advanced topics of PDO settings and transactions.
   
   I felt transactions needed better treatment, including the fact that MySQL only does transactions with certain table types such an InnoDB. His examples in this chapter do not show he is using a transaction friendly table type for MySQL (sqlite is always). Nor does he explain why you would want to even use PDO transactions when your table type is not transaction friendly - it is implied that there is no benefit.
   
   He finishes the discussion in chapter 7 by modifying his examples to better fit the MVC paradigm. Personally, I feel he should have just started with it instead of trying to modify the code but that is my prejudice. If he had, he might have had more room for those things he left out .
   
   If this book had not been published by Packt, I would have been very disappointed in the content vs price - $40 for 154 pages on the topic. Since Packt does contribute to open source projects based on the book's subject, I kind of forgive the cost.
   
   However, the multiple times the author says "outside the scope of this book" kept reminding me that I paid $40 for such a short book. At least one time, I would have really liked to see more discussion regarding something he said was outside the scope, as if the book was already 900 pages long. I do give kudos to the author of at least having an appendix on OOP considering PDO is all about OOP - although I would have much more preferred to have also seen OOP techniques used throughout the code examples instead of a minor comment.
   
   One other minor gripe I had, the use of short tags instead of throughout the code examples. It drove me crazy since I can't use them and really wish I could (XML compatibility issues). And it also kept reminding me that the use of
   
   

5 comments about Building Database Applications on the Web Using PHP3.

1. This book includes an overly brief intro to basic programmingconcepts which has no appeal to anyone who knows anything aboutprogramming. While at the same time being of no worth to anyone new to programming since it assumes a lot of knowledge in its brevity.

   The book then offers a few applications which are dominated by poor editing. Making it more work to search out the minor syntax errors then just to write something better oneself...




2. I'll keep this short - this book is a mess. The authors claim that the book is for the novice and the "almost-expert" alike, but novices will be completely befuddled by it, and experienced programmers will be confused and frustrated. The reader will find dozens of editorial mistakes. It almost became a game for me - "find the errors in the code". My aggrevation with the book increased with every chapter. I am sorry I bought this book before reading the reviews on this site. I will never make that mistake again.



3. I was very disappointed with this purchase, wish I could return it. The book is disorganized, and the code is full of errors.



4. I have bought a number of the PHP books around. This one was about the third or fourth that I bought, but it is by far the worst.

   The few chapters of actual content are quite good, but as people have noted, they have a lot of errors and are often badly edited or presented.

   The bulk of the book is a function reference. I did not mind the function reference in Core PHP. At least Leon wrote his own examples for functions and added something beyond just stealing from the online manual.

   In this book, the function reference is just a rip off to bulk up the page count.




5. Cruel and unusual that this should be my first book devoted to PHP. If you believe that finding the errors in a book's example code to get them to run is a sure way to engrain the program syntax into your brain forever, then you'll love their "teaching style" in this beauty. I guess I've never understood serious syntax problems in this age of cut and paste but I've never been more suspicious that authors were just typing off the top of their heads than I have been with Building Database Applications on the Web Using PHP3. And I didn't use their CDROM to install PHP, PostgreSQL or Apache, but I don't see how their second example program can work unless Apache is given file creation and overwrite privileges--security anyone?

   Frankly, I'd feel cheated if I picked it up at a Half Price Books chain. I'm sure I'm among the _not_ surprised that these guy's PHP expert web site is dead. Run now, run fast, run hard and be _very_ afraid of this heartless waste of innocent wood pulp by Craig Hilton and Jeff Willis.

1 comments about PHP Programming with PEAR.

1. The Chapter 2 Summary says: "the examples given cover only a small part of the functionality available within these very fully featured packages." That about sums this up ...
   
   The cursory overviews may inspire an approach, but this books barely begins to address its subject matter. Example code is not, yet, up on the website. This has the look of being slapped together by four author specialists (a la Wrox gang-writing?) albeit with less depth ... hardly the "PHP Programming with PEAR" reference for which so many of us were waiting ...

5 comments about PHP Fast & Easy Web Development.

1. This is without a doubt the best book I've ever read for PHP beginners! This books starts you out nice and easy and gets you into writing PHP and using MySQL. The book also teaches you how to create several SIMPLE PHP applications that you can integrate into your SMALL website (or expand to meet your needs). This book is NOT for intermediate/expert PHP programmers expecting to learn how to build large, complex applications! For you, I STRONGLY recommend "PHP and MySQL Web Development" by Luke Welling & Laura Thomson. Yes, this book does have some typos (many technical books do). However, if you have half a brain, you can usually get around such typos and make the code work.



2. This is an extraordinarily helpful and well-written book for the person who wants to move from static web pages to data driven pages. Each step is carefully explained in detail, and each chapter builds a useful category of web page, so that you find yourself moving very quickly into doing useful work. I started out learning PHP with a different book and was bogged down with esoteric details, but when I went back to PHP with this book everything fit and everything worked. For those who do not yet have Apache, PHP and MySql on their machines, the book furnishes a CD with these programs for both Linux and Windows, along with the usual detailed explanation of how to install and configure them. At some point you will probably want to get a more advanced book to do wild and crazy things, but if you are like me, you will still find yourself coming back to this one to be sure you got it right. Great book!



3. This book is the best PHP book I have ever read! If there is any better book for PHP on the market I will be very surprised! This book is great for beginners (ME) and probally even advanced PHP programmers! I just ordered the seconed eddition, and I'm looking foreward to reading it!



4. This was a rather short book. 472 pages but the fonts and diagrams were huge. I read it in three days. What this book covered was the basics of PHP, good for any beginners wanting to learn PHP with no prior programming experience (With the exception of HTML).

   There was no case assigments or anything in this book to test your knoweldge of PHP. There were a few, not many, but a few typo errors in some of the source code in the book, which may confuse a beginner if they are just starting out. This book covered the basics and *only* the basics of PHP web development. However, this book has a very good constructed reference of PHP functions and MySQL.




5. After all these years, I still recommend Meloni to anyone first dipping their toes in the PHP pool. Her instructions were clear and workable and much that I learned from her I still use. She applied everything she taught, and summarized the code at chapter ends so you could see it all together. --Dan 2008

5 comments about Web Application Development with PHP 4.0 (Landmark).

1. As another reviewer pointed out, this book was written when php4 was in beta. Despite it's title, this book is NOT a PHP 4.0 book. The extension of every example file throughout the book is .php3. The authors even present a round-about way of maintaining state using the uniqid function and rewriting the url. ??? If you're using PHP3 or if you don't mind filtering out the PHP4 relevant information, you might find this book useful, otherwise look at PHP4 Programming and/or the O'Reilly books.



2. Definitely not for novices. Is loaded with tips and tricks on data handling, specially liked the session handling techniques in the book. Could've been a bit more in depth though. But good book to get anyhow.



3. This book has great content, but the title is too broad for the subject matter.

   When I first saw the title of the book, I was excited because I thought it was going to cover PHP web development. Instead, the book explains certain subjects within development, not all "web" development per se either. Talking about proper coding techniques is nice, but not what one would expect based on the title.

   I was hoping for coverage on HTTP variables and how to extract data from them when using Form tags. Especially, SELECT tags with multiple selections allowed. Unfortunately, the authors chose to talk about how it works behind the scenes. This is nice to know, but as a developer, I thought the book would have covered more on "development"!

   There is some good information on security and on array processing. Its written so the reader can get a good understanding on how web processing is done, problems to avoid, and how to use PHP in a very professional manner. I wouldn't recommend this as a reference book, but as a good book to read for any intermediate or advanced PHP web developer. It could enhance your current skills and coding practices.

   As for me, I was hoping for a PHP web development book that provided aspects on using php to build various common web applications, like shopping carts, and how/when to extract HTTP globals, session variables, logins, menus, form tags, etc. This is what I was expecting when I saw the title. While I was dispointed that it didn't cover this material, the book did provide some useful information in certain areas.




4. You may love or hate this book, since it's not the usual collection of code recipes, it's about application developing, methodologies and good coding practices. Heartily recommended, but only to advanced developers



5. I think this book is a must for every PHP programmer who would like to upgrade their skill to advance level. This book is not for a novice.

   If you would like to know the "in and out" of PHP, and becoming expert in PHP, you must buy this book :)

5 comments about Professional PHP4 Programming.

1. In simple words - a great book. If you are looking to dive into some serious developing with PHP, this book could definitely help you find a path.

   Pros:
   - ammount of code as example
   - in depth real world case studies
   - the presentation of the book
   - programmer to programmer approach

   Could have:
   - more about XML and PHP but you could buy 'Professional PHP4 XML'.
   - more about the PHP's multimedia capabilities but again the book 'Professional PHP4 Multimedia Programming' is present.

   I am not promoting Wrox Press but they did a great job on this PHP thing. I would expect them to present something with in depth coverage of PHP and Databases.




2. In reading this book, it's clear to me that the authors don't have a clear focus on who their audience is supposed to be and what they are trying to accomplish.

   They sprinkle the book with trivial examples that don't give any "meat", concentrate on the details of what low-level functions are available, and gloss over completely how to make the best use of the features.

   This book contains a lot of information, but it is not organized to get an experienced developer up to speed on a new language, nor is it geared towards a beginning programmer who might need basic concepts explained.

   I don't know who would find this book at the "right level", but I wish I hadn't spent my money on it. I've gotten more out of the website than I got out of this book.




3. There are a lot of good concepts here but many of them are poorly explained. This book has about a dozen authors and you never are able to settle down and feel comfortable with the way any of the chapters are written. Check out Programming PHP as an alternate.



4. Having previously read Wrox's Professional ASP Programming, I tried this book, hoping for something of equal merit.

   This volume is has some decent material, but is marred by a tendecy to sloppiness.

   Firstly, as other reviewers have noted, there are too many authors (count 'em - 16!), which is unnecessary, and leads to inconsistencies in presentation. The book could quite easily have been authored by a single writer. There are only a few chapters that required specialist knowledge.

   For example, the early chapters are quite good at advising the reader on PHP settings. Since there's no option explicit in PHP,the author correctly advises the reader to increase their error setting to report unused variables. Later, however, much of the code uses uninitialised variables. This is particularly the case in the chapter on form handling, the approach to which is too crude, and uses form variables directly in code, whereas a better approach would be to capture them and process them using isset(). The isset() function isn't even covered in this chapter,but is used correctly in other chapters.

   Secondly, while the converstational tone of Wrox books is often appealing, it can also be a problem at times. The presentation is not always comprehensive enough, and Wrox authors have a tendency to give overly clever examples.

   Strangely, there's no reference section. I found some of the explanations sloppy and confusing, especially the section of session variables. (I still can't get the WAP application to work properly.)

   Thirdly, the chapter on OO design leaves the reader stranded. After a decent theoretical discussion, the writer informs the reader that there will be no code examples, as the reader now knows enough theory to work an example out for themselves! If I've paid for the book, I don't really want to have it set homework for me.

   Fourthly, there are an annoying number of errors in the code. Many of these are corrected in the online errata, but there are quite a few that aren't at present. Furthermore, some of them are not typos, but seem to be the result of misconceptions on the part of the writer. This tends to reinforce the impression that some of the authors are relatively inexperienced.

   Lastly, there are a large number of errors in the downloadable code. I suppose supplied code should be seen as a bonus, but it's poor quality control, and greatly adds to the user's annoyance.




5. I just bought this book in my local BORDERS, and I gotta say this is by far the best PHP book out there. Took me 2 hours to decide which booh to buy, and in the end, this was the best.
   Extensive professional explanations and it's well worth the money.