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PHP @ Web Programming
Programming Shed : Programmer Store & Resources |
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PHP Index - PHP Book :
Php Essentials (Prima Tech Linux Series)
by Julie Meloni Paperback: 384 pages Dimensions (in inches): 0.84 x 9.14 x 7.40 Publisher: Premier Pr ISBN: 076152729X; (April 2000) PHP is getting lots of attention as an open-source alternative to Microsoft Active Server Pages, not least because it runs on Linux and other Unix-like systems as well as on Windows. It is a server-side parsing engine that lets you put dynamic content such as online databases on your Web site. The beauty of server-side processing is that any browser can view the results, provided of course that you are careful with your Web-page authoring. Few books on PHP are available, so PHP Essentials is particularly welcome. The author is a PHP enthusiast and also uses it professionally. Her aim is to provide a hands-on guide to installing and using PHP for those who have no previous knowledge of the product. The book's based on version 3 but covers new PHP 4 features too. Readers are expected to have a basic knowledge of HTML, though. Although databases such as SQL Server and Oracle are briefly discussed, there is a special focus on using PHP with MySQL, an excellent open-source database server. (This is a common partnership, so the focus is appropriate.) After tackling installation and basic PHP scripts, the book gets straight to the business of linking with a database. The text includes a short introduction to SQL and a complete example of how to create and query a database table. Further chapters cover user authentication, session management with cookies, and Web-based database administration. Finally, a complete e-commerce example in included, with code both printed in the book and available from a supporting Web site. An appendix offers a PHP language reference. This book teaches by example. It is manageable in size and has a friendly, real-world feel. It is not the last word on the subject, though, so it's best suited to PHP newcomers or those using rival technology who want an idea of what PHP can do. --Tim Anderson, Amazon.co.uk Elizabeth Zinkann, Review Columnist for Sys Admin Magazine One of the best books that I have read and also enjoyed on this topic is PHP Essentials. Book Description: PHP is a server-side scripting language comparable to MS ASP or Cold Fusion. PHP is an open-source and cross-platform language that works with Linux, UNIX and Windows NT operating systems. PHP Essentials covers everything from basic PHP techniques such as the variables in HTML, PHP and HTTP, to advanced applications such as mySQL administration. If you are a beginning developer, you can use PHP Essentials to help you create diverse web pages. If you are an advanced user of PHP, you will find the annotated language reference included in PHP Essentials useful while you design your own advanced applications. Customer Reviews Reviewer: Luc Levesque from Boucherville, QC Canada PHP essentials is a very good book. It is well written and easy to understand. However, if you do not have any programming experience, such as Perl, this is not the best one to get started. If you do have some experience in programming and understands how the web actually works, this book is excellent to develop your programming skills. I have a Perl background and use flat text file as a database. I wanted to transfer my entire site on PHP as a language and MySQL as a database system. Therefore, I purchased this book and a MySQL book and now, I am home free. Julie Meloni uses simple examples to help you learn PHP and you can actually build and manage your database, simply by reading this book. I strongly recommend this book and buying a MySQL book to go along with it. Finally, although this book has a favorite database system covered, MySQL, it does support other database systems such as SQL, Oracle, etc... If you want to use PHP with a database system, this is the book to get. Reviewer: Jay from Edison, NJ USA Newbies will love this book, it's great for getting your feet wet, but look elsewhere for the nitty-gritty. I've had some very basic ASP and JSP experience and unfortunately, the ISP hosting my online portfolio (I'm a web designer) DID NOT support either ASP or JSP, so I had to look at PHP for any server-side scripting. I just wanted to do some very basic stuff, like server-side includes with if/then/else control statements to dynamically create web pages. I got that after the first few pages of reading this book, BUT reading a few more pages TOTALLY OPENED UP MY EYES TO PHP. I'm just hooked and I can't seem to put the book down. The first few chapters take you through installation and you create hokey "Hello, World!" script exercises, but it's enough to show you what PHP can do for you and gets your mind thinking. The later chapters take you through getting info from a database and setting up a shopping cart/ e-commerce site. And the end has an appendix which should be sufficient for a newbie, but leaves a little to be desired for people looking for more details like syntax and a more extensive functions list. Reviewer: Robert Peters from Salina, KS USA I'm the author of the best-selling guide to graduate school, so I know what I'm talking about when I rate a self-help book. Meloni's book is amazing! Clear, concise, everything a self-help book should be. After unsuccessful struggles with other PHP and MySQL books, which caused me to fear I would never learn, thank God I found "Fast and Easy Web Development." Within a day I was writing code and I worked through the entire book in 4 days. After that I never looked back. A year later I have created a highly complex, database intensive site that includes an onsite email system, shopping cart, and all the other staples of an e-commerce site. Make no mistake, her book is introductory, and I quickly moved on to Professional PHP and other more advanced books (I now own 9 PHP books and 4 MySQL books). Nonetheless, I would never have understood them were it not for Meloni. Her book is at just the right level for a beginner. The examples are clear, and nearly every time I was just thinking "but what about....", she answered my question. Even better, her examples were FUN to work through! Some of the other books I've got are valuable, but fun? I think not. I don't think the negative reviews of her book are fair. Her book is for beginners. So why are advanced programmers who found her book inadequate giving it 1 or 2 stars? That's like a medical doctor criticizing a book on first aid because it doesn't explain how to do heart surgery. People also bitched about typos in the book. But Meloni has a comprehensive listing of all typos on her web site at thickbook.com. So the first thing I did when I got her book was go to the site and correct the typos (there were actually very few). Also, when I was getting started, Meloni answered several emails I sent her to ask for help on problems when I was stuck. That's clearly above the call of duty. In short, if you're a beginning programmer, go with Meloni. Reviewer: zensmile from Philadelphia, PA United States I am a PHP and programming newbie. I found this book to be a very solid and thorough introduction to PHP and database connectivity. Julie seems to focus on PHP and MySQL; but there are sections on using other databases. This book starts out with simple structure and goes into file management, databases, and session management. While not the most complex and detailed book, it gives the reader a primer on the basics and more advanced topics. From there, you will need to find a more advanced book on PHP. An excellent book! BUY IT! |
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