Great for an absolute beginner, but not cutting edge enough for novicesThis is the second book I bought on the topic, after Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional, Third Edition: From Novice to Professional (Beginning from Novice to Professional).
I'm an established novice in Object-Oriented programming in Java as well as PHP and MySQL. I bought this book because I specifically wanted to learn how to apply my knowledge to make a "content management system" with PHP and MySQL, as this book promises. Whilst it accomplishes this, I'd say the methods used are slightly outdated, Web 1.0 methods and ideas.
Yes, it certainly gets the job done and I cannot recommend this book highly enough to absolute beginners in the subject who want to make something very simple (such as a guestbook for their site, or a directory for a company intranet), however if you are like me and were looking for something that involves cutting edge Web 2.0 with AJAX, using Zend Framework and Smarty, then I'd go for something a little bit different.
To summarise:- If you're a beginner and have never tried using PHP and MySQL before, then this is definitely for you, you won't be disappointed. You can use this book as a foundation and then move onto something else.
However, if you're like me and looking to create something that utilises cutting edge Web 2.0 technologies and ideas, I'd probably look elsewhere.
Happy coding :-)
Great PHP study guide!!This book is ideal for those who really want to get right in programming in PHP and MySQL. This really helped me during my dissertation project!! A great reference point for PHP..what there to lose go for it!!
Not For BeginnersI have a steadily growing library of 'Sitepoint' books which have so far taught me the basics of html and css. Having had good experiences in the past with 'Sitepoint', I decided to give this a try without hesitation.
It went ok for the first 3 chapters, then the terminology and increasingly fast pace of the book threw me for a loop. I got a grasp of the very basic principles of php from the first parts of chapter's 3 and 4, but after that the book dives into a world of techno-jargon and the author moves from one thing to the next at an alarmingly fast pace. Chapter 6 doesn't even include the completed source code at the end for you to review, as the author feels you should have a good enough grasp of the language to complete it yourself. I ended up having to download the source code from the internet and copy and paste that page into my project folder just to continue on to chapter 7, and that's on the 3RD edition book! After this, it just gets worse, as the author switches between various projects to show different examples for more complex websites, losing the reader for good. This book should be for the intermediate level, however, the first seven chapters of the book should be known to that level of user already, rendering the book useless to them anyway. I am now learning from what my brother tells me and from examples on the internet (which is how HE learnt everything in the first place! It does not cost me a thing and actually make's sense.
Perhaps the book will make sense to some, however I strongly recommend against purchasing it, the book is only 350 odd pages anyway and covers two subjects, which should indicate the very steep learning curve the author sets for the reader.
Very, very disappointing, especially for 'Sitepoint'.
Fabulous step-by-step guideThere are many books out there claiming to help you build websites and attach a database backend to them - so how do you choose? The publishers Sitepoint have a good way of pulling you in by publishing the first chapter of this book which in the way it is written gives you just enough to get really interested so you have to buy the book to proceed further.
This is an excellent step-by-step guide which takes you through the applications to download and how to install them then the commands to type and the files to edit to get you going in double-quick time. It isn't completely windows centric which is nice aswell as it also covers Linux/Unix and Mac.
Highly recommended for the beginner with a bit of computer experience who wants to learn more.
A Good book... but not the bestI've had this book for quite a while now... it's a good introduction to PHP for users epxerienced with HTML already.
The book does have one major flaw however, Yank insists on using string concatenation in his examples. While to beginner uses this may not mean anything, string concatenation in the way Yank uses it is a security risk, from SQL injection.
I recommend PHP and MYSQL for Dummies - an indepth book which takes you through the stages of learning php. The only thing this book doesn't cover however is OOP for PHP, and unfortunatly if you want to learn OOP in PHP you would have to buy another book, such as PHP for Dummies.
Although by the same author, PHP for dummies ommits all of the mysql references and focuses on PHP. It is infact a better book for learning PHP, however the lack of database support (which most PHP sites use) is major loss.
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