PHP and MySQL Web Development 4th Edition

This was my textbook for an online "Web Scripting with PHP" college credited class I took. The book is broken up into logical sections, starting with a simple practical application: someone wants you to build a web app for them. The chapters continue building the users knowledge of php by introducing them to basic concepts using the simple customer web app, building on what was done previously. The topics are important and standard, (data types, variables, operators, loops, control structures, conditionals) and move into more advanced topics (file IO, MySQL database development, authentication, OOP development). At this point the user can look back and say, "Now I know how to do some pretty useful stuff". It doesn't stop there, however. The user is moved onto more advanced admin-like topics (building a shopping cart, php and mysql administration topics, PHP and AJAX, web app security, building a web forum, etc). By the time you go through this book, doing all of the projects, you can call yourself a php developer. What the book doesn't cover is any specific framework such as PEAR, or methodology such as AGILE or Design Patterns. I felt, However, that these omissions are a strength of the book rathar than a weakness since what it teaches is the core library, uses, and functionality of PHP/MySQL and didn't get side-tracked or distracted by anything else. I felt this was a great introduction (and well, WELL beyond) to PHP/MySQL web development and made learning this language very easy for me. The book is well laid out and follow a logical progression, the examples all work, the language is realistic, the projects are practical, and overall the book prepares the reader with the necessary knowledge to get hired and learn a specialization, use a design pattern, or work with a team of developers on a great project. I still use the book in my projects and will continue to do so for years to come, I would imagine. BTW, I got an A in the class!

It's a bit comical when I agree with the reviewers listed inside the cover of the book ... "I picked up this book 2 days ago and can't put it down" and "layout and flow is perfect," etc.I tried PHP for Dummies and I was too dumb. I tried Sam's, but he failed me this time. Finally, I found this book. I consumed this book as I do many tech books first on kindle, using the text to speech method to listen to it. Then I purchased a hard copy so I could follow the code. In this case, the hard copy of the book also has a great CD-ROM that I was able to use to install Apache and MySQL on my computer. I've failed so far to get the PHP up and running, but I'm not sure it matters since I just put the code on my website and it runs from there.I would recommend on future editions, the authors move up to the front a little teaser. It teaches how to use PHP to shuffle photos. Its a super simple set of code and it is currently located in a completely rational location, explaining how to reorder arrays. The only reason I would recommend a teaser upfront is that the reader, immediately upon opening the book could go to a website and immediately post some PHP code on the web. In the instant world of the 21st century, this small mod would sink the hook a little further on this book.Regardless of minor adjustments to make the book more enticing, its the best I've seen yet. It's clear, linear and easy to follow. As the reviewers in the book state, it has a natural flow ... its intuitive. What more could one ask for in a tech text?Well done!

First things first, PHP is a very difficult language to understand and tends to be pretty haphazardly put together in comparison to other Object Oriented languages. That having been said, it is a very, very useful tool to understand the right places in which to use it, especially when working within a database driven environment.This book, much like PHP itself, skips around a bit and is not quite in the same order that I personally would prefer to learn the language, but it is very well thought out and the example coding in here is great. If you're just getting into PHP, it would largely benefit you to take a different Object Oriented language to begin before moving into PHP to get the core concepts down, as PHP does not interact as a traditional Object Oriented language should.The book itself is a great tool for reference and to learn from, but like any language, it is best learned by trial and error and working through all of the examples that are listed out within the text. It does well to explain the concepts and show you how to properly implement the code, but the greatest value is in the example coding included, and just tinkering it for yourself.

PHPを使って一からショッピングカート機能が作れます。中級者向けかと思います。初心者の方でも、全体的な把握をする上で一冊持っていて価値のある本だと思います。

Me ha gustado, es muy extenso, abarca casi todo lo que hay que saber para poder usar PHP en conjunto con Mysql en tus paginas. La verdad es que el punto negativo que le veo es que la maquetacion deja mucho que desear, no tiene hipervinculos por secciones, con lo cual hasta que no lo lees entero de arriba a abajo no tienes forma de acceder directamente a la seccion X.

Mi sto avvicinando allo sviluppo in PHP e MySQL da qualche settimana (Sviluppo Web Applications in .NET da qualche anno), e cercavo un buon libro che comprendesse sia concetti semplici, sintassi ed esempi pratici che tecnologie e concetti più avanzati.Il libro è scritto in maniera chiara, consigliato a tutti quelli che come me, riescono ad afferrare alcuni concetti solo imparandoli dai "Libroni".

I bought this book for my son who is self learning to program, and he has found it invaluable. Thank you

I'd got past beginner level with PHP, and I was looking for a book to take me further. This is definitely it. It covers PHP basics very quickly and efficiently – great as a refresher, but I'm not sure how helpful it would be for a novice. Probably not a problem if you're familiar with JavaScript etc. The style is clean and comprehendible, the exercise files are easy to find and download (this can be a problem with other books).It's very thick, and the text is quite small – I wound up buying the Kindle version, too, for portability and legibility. Still, in the morass of PHP books out there, this one delivers the goods.