• Shows Web developers how to use two popular open source technologies, the PHP scripting language and MySQL database, to build Web database applications
• This updated edition covers changes in PHP 5 and the latest version of MySQL, including programming techniques for the new PHP default setting, methods for handling MySQL security problems, and extended information about Apache Web Server and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Explains how to install Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Includes two complete sample applications: an online catalog and a members?only Web site
• Features a companion Web site with code examples from the book and links to the author?s successful site
• Kevin Beaver has more than fifteen years of experience in security and information technology, specializing in security assessments and incident response
• Features a companion Web site with links to various utilities discussed throughout the book and practical security checklists

* Shows Web developers how to use two popular open source technologies, the PHP scripting language and MySQL database, to build Web database applications * This updated edition covers changes in PHP 5 and the latest version of MySQL, including programming techniques for the new PHP default setting, methods for handling MySQL security problems, and extended information about Apache Web Server and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL * Explains how to install Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL * Includes two complete sample applications: an online catalog and a members-only Web site * Features a companion Web site with code examples from the book and links to the author’s successful site * Kevin Beaver has more than fifteen years of experience in security and information technology, specializing in security assessments and incident response * Features a companion Web site with links to various utilities discussed throughout the book and practical security checklists

Updated for PHP 5 and MySQL 4

Create dynamic, interactive Web pages on Windows^®, Linux^®, or Mac OS^® X systems

Open up a whole new world of Web database applications with PHP and MySQL, the perfect open source pair! This handy guidebook shows you how, with sample applications of an online catalog and a members?only Web site. Get the scoop on security issues, set up your Apache Web server, design the ideal database, and more.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear?out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Plan and develop a Web database application
• Design and build the database
• Write custom PHP application programs
• Work with numbers and character strings
• Move information from one Web page to another

Janet Valade has been a Web designer and programmer, a systems analyst, a builder of e?commerce Web applications, and an instructor of various computer topics.

• Shows Web developers how to use two popular open source technologies, the PHP scripting language and MySQL database, to build Web database applications
• This updated edition covers changes in PHP 5 and the latest version of MySQL, including programming techniques for the new PHP default setting, methods for handling MySQL security problems, and extended information about Apache Web Server and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Explains how to install Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Includes two complete sample applications: an online catalog and a members-only Web site
• Features a companion Web site with code examples from the book and links to the author’s successful site
• Kevin Beaver has more than fifteen years of experience in security and information technology, specializing in security assessments and incident response
• Features a companion Web site with links to various utilities discussed throughout the book and practical security checklists

• Shows Web developers how to use two popular open source technologies, the PHP scripting language and MySQL database, to build Web database applications
• This updated edition covers changes in PHP 5 and the latest version of MySQL, including programming techniques for the new PHP default setting, methods for handling MySQL security problems, and extended information about Apache Web Server and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Explains how to install Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Includes two complete sample applications: an online catalog and a members-only Web site
• Features a companion Web site with code examples from the book and links to the author’s successful site
• Kevin Beaver has more than fifteen years of experience in security and information technology, specializing in security assessments and incident response
• Features a companion Web site with links to various utilities discussed throughout the book and practical security checklists

Updated for PHP 5 and MySQL 4

Create dynamic, interactive Web pages on Windows^®, Linux^®, or Mac OS^® X systems

Open up a whole new world of Web database applications with PHP and MySQL, the perfect open source pair! This handy guidebook shows you how, with sample applications of an online catalog and a members-only Web site. Get the scoop on security issues, set up your Apache Web server, design the ideal database, and more.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Plan and develop a Web database application
• Design and build the database
• Write custom PHP application programs
• Work with numbers and character strings
• Move information from one Web page to another

Updated for PHP 5 and MySQL 4 Create dynamic, interactive Web pages on Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X systems Open up a whole new world of Web database applications with PHP and MySQL, the perfect open source pair! This handy guidebook shows you how, with sample applications of an online catalog and a members-only Web site. Get the scoop on security issues, set up your Apache Web server, design the ideal database, and more. The Dummies Way Explanations in plain English "Get in, get out" information Icons and other navigational aids Tear-out cheat sheet Top ten lists A dash of humor and fun Discover how to: Plan and develop a Web database application Design and build the database Write custom PHP application programs Work with numbers and character strings Move information from one Web page to another

• Shows Web developers how to use two popular open source technologies, the PHP scripting language and MySQL database, to build Web database applications
• This updated edition covers changes in PHP 5 and the latest version of MySQL, including programming techniques for the new PHP default setting, methods for handling MySQL security problems, and extended information about Apache Web Server and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Explains how to install Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Includes two complete sample applications: an online catalog and a members-only Web site
• Features a companion Web site with code examples from the book and links to the author’s successful site
• Kevin Beaver has more than fifteen years of experience in security and information technology, specializing in security assessments and incident response
• Features a companion Web site with links to various utilities discussed throughout the book and practical security checklists

• Shows Web developers how to use two popular open source technologies, the PHP scripting language and MySQL database, to build Web database applications
• This updated edition covers changes in PHP 5 and the latest version of MySQL, including programming techniques for the new PHP default setting, methods for handling MySQL security problems, and extended information about Apache Web Server and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Explains how to install Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Includes two complete sample applications: an online catalog and a members-only Web site
• Features a companion Web site with code examples from the book and links to the author’s successful site
• Kevin Beaver has more than fifteen years of experience in security and information technology, specializing in security assessments and incident response
• Features a companion Web site with links to various utilities discussed throughout the book and practical security checklists

Damn fine piece of work
If you skim the verbiage, scout the chapter titles, read the section headings and review the code, you will very quickly understand php and the interaction with mysql.

This book will not teach you html. Go read that book.

This book will not teach you sql. Go read that book.

This book gives you a sequential and an object method of programming against a database within HTML.

Each example builds to the following example, until you have the final piece of programming demonstrating the concept.

The index works.

The only addition the author could make is strip the book down into a php and mysql 10 minutes per chapter type of book.

Terrible
I would recommend for beginners not to use this book. Even for me (a somewhat intermediate programmer), I had difficulty understanding what was being done and what it did. The example syntax is messy making it hard for readers to understand. There are better approaches for teaching PHP & Mysql.

Just right
Perfect for the newbie who has no probgramming experience but an understanding of the concept of programming and also of the structure of SQL databases.

4 Stars for complete dummies
I picked this book up after a few weeks of playing around with PHP and MySQL and found it a very good book to get started with. The reason I say this is 4 stars for Dummies is because for the very new people, I think this book is great. It shows you good examples of the basics and enough to get you running in to PHP/MySQL but thats it. It doesn’t go in to vast details but I think that is not what this book is about.

To be fair, the bit on installing PHP/MySQL is TERRIBLE. I got SO stuck on this, so my advice, google a tutorial on this, as its very simple, but for some reason, this book makes it complicated, I can do it with my eyes closed now, but back then, this book did me no favours.

Putting that aside however, once you get to the actual code its a good book. If you are very new to the world of PHP/MySQL I fully support getting this. I now code Javascript. VB, PHP/MySQL, SOAP, Ruby, C++, Java, ASP, .NET and it all comes from starting with PHP and fundermentally, this book.

Alot of people might slate this book, I can see why, its just not for them, but for me back then it was great. Two big projects to work on at the end, and massive referance at the beggining, good for having at your table when you first start out.

Severely lacking for the beginner with little practical advice
I picked up this book because I have enjoyed and found other ’for Dummies’ books useful and friendly. Sadly I found this book to be poorly written and excessively dry (especially for a ’Dummies’ book).

The author takes an excessive amount of time explaining the basics of PHP and MySQL and does so poorly, (you get the impression that she was a bit lost trying to explain them), while at the same time skipping over practical information and advice. The first two chapters left me with more questions than answers, and this is coming from somebody with a background in Computer Science and Software Engineering!

If you’re looking for a practical, easy to understand, step-by-step guide to getting PHP and MySQL set up and running on your computer, then this definitely isn’t it. The author spends far too much space explaining all the possible permutations of web-servers that you might possibly have, in a very theoretical way, whilst providing very little practical advice for the rest of us on a home computer.

The author also provides absolutely no explanation of how to use an existing database (for example, from Microsoft Access) with SQL and PHP, but instead only explains how to create one from scratch.

Also, I’m surprised that the author recommends the user learns HTML4, instead of recommending its successor XHTML. In this day and age, HTML 4 should not be mentioned to beginners, let alone recommended.

That said, there are some good tutorials at the end of the book, (like creating a "members only" website), but if you’re looking for something to give you a solid grounding in PHP and MySQL I wouldn’t recommend this.

I’m very disapointed in this book as it didn’t fill any of the criteria I wanted from a PHP and MySQL tutorial, namely *practical*, real-world application, and instead seemed entirely too focused on theory.

Useful to a point
Unlike many of the dummies books, and I have loads of them, this one took more time in reading. A lot of the examples and the use of the code wasn’t explained well enough in my opinion. I got the impression that you should have some basic knowledge of php before reading it. Though with that said, I still think it’s a good book.

Excellent guide to PHP & MySQL but with few typos.
I picked up this book from my school library, but it was not easy to borrow this book from there because it was checked out everytime I was trying to look through the library catalog, despite there were about 2 ~ 4 books showed up as "checked out". And I have to say that, when I finally found this book from the shelf and checked it out, the included CD was checked out by someone else.

Let me start with the format of this book. I am pretty sure that quite a lot of people here mentioned this fact in their reviews, but I have to say that this book has one of most interesting types of format I have read from the computer learning books. The author, who appears to have a plenty of experiences and background in the Web design and the programming, is able to express the material clearly without any kind of bragging or lossing herself in the middle of explanation. Her main application theme is "a pet store," which she was demonstrating extensively at the Chapters 11 and 12 as an actual application that is usable.

Before jumping into the "pet store application," it is necessary to mention her other teaching approaches in the previous chapters. At the first few chapters, she definitely put the emphasis on planning out and organizing the structure of your database and website before jumping into typing. In fact, she continues this trend further in the later chapters by suggesting to go back to the Chapter 3, a chapter which is entirely dedicated to the creating the database structure with a pen and a paper, and coming back again on Chapter 10, which I felt as a sort of short review for what a reader read so far. And I belive this format is one of best, if not the best, because this somehow closely resembles a school textbook that requires you to master and to think about the subject to proceed. She also does not skip the possible commands or queries by putting in a neat table that shows the script with their description next to it.

But most helpful and joyful part of this book is the application. Because the application here is rather long while needs the understanding, I strongly believe it is not a wise idea to jump into the application without understanding solidly on PHP or MySQL from the previous chapters. However, I have read the book almost throughly, and I right now have created an internet order system of my own with the shopping cart in addition to the catalog. Well, the "shopping cart" was not mentioned in the book, but this book was constructed in such a way that you can actually build your own applications or modify others. And because she used the "pet" as her main subject of the application, it will definitely not turn down the most of readers who just hate to be simply geeks and get bored reading such subject in the book. And because the book actually shows the screenshots of the application and the results after running the application, you cannot help trusting that the application is actually going to work and be an awesome one at that.

There are some problems with the book, however. One serious problem is that there are quite many typos in the book that can give you some headache. However, if you follow the book well or have some common experiences in debugging in the programming, this will actually become a mental exercise for you to understand better. At least that is what I think... The second problem is that the book does not extend beyond the advanced topic. Hence, if you are an advanced PHP or MySQL programmer and bought this book, it is very possible that you are going to be disappointed. Nevertheless, this book was meant for beginning programmer and it does the job so well at least for that purpose. And I think some experienced programmers will find this as an interesting book to scan over.

Coming back to my story... I did not have the CD when I checked out this book, but I think you can find the list of some applications in the website of the author. And while I had experienced some headache in trying out to figure out what was wrong with my application while there were typos, if you got a CD or if you visit her website, which I did not yet, I think you are going to be far better ahead with this book. Yes, I have to admit that I had some experiences with the programming, but I think this will definitely be easy to read for the completely new comers as well. This, in fact, is a much better book that other Dummy book that was published with 5 topics in one(I am not saying which one). And I have finished with this book during the Summer, which was enough time to be more experienced with so called PHP and MySql and to develop my own shopping page application. Hope this helped you.

Review of mySQL for Dummies
This very readable text does what it sets out to do - gives the reader a full appreciation of the power and initial usage of mySQL and PHP.

Solid way to start with PHP
Prior to reading this book, I had no experience with an algorithmic programming language. All I knew was HTML. After sitting down with this book for a day or two, I was already programming in PHP. This book covers EVERYTHING you need to know to get started, and after programming in PHP for three years now, I still look back to this book as a very helpful reference.

I am disappointed to see dismal reviews of this book when it has been so helpful to me. Most of such reviews are written by people who are simply using the book to the wrong ends. Before buying this book, you’ll want to make note of a few things:

-This book is perfect for people who only know HTML and want to expand their endeavors on the web. If you know another algorithmic programming language, chances are the bulk of this book will be filled with too much information you already know. For everyone else, the explanations are in depth enough to actually understand what the different aspects of PHP do.
-This book does not provide step-by-step tutorials. It gives you the information you need to create YOUR OWN programs. It provides examples of how a PHP program might be set up, but if you’re attempting to make use examples line by line, you will be disappointed with the end result (and you will be cheating yourself, because you’re just copying someone else’s code, not learning the language).
-As I said, I use this book as a basic reference, one that is far easier to understand than the complex explanations in the PHP manual found on the Internet. A good half of this book acts as a layman’s reference guide that’s organized to help you learn PHP and MySQL.
-This book just jumpstarts you for using PHP and MySQL, and yes, eventually you will outgrow it, but that’s not a shortcoming of the book. You’ll learn everything the book has to teach you and then you’ll want more. Once you’re ready to take that next step, and it won’t be long after you’ve exhausted this book, I suggest you pick up the PHP Cookbook from O’Reilly to further your skills.
-Even after you seem to have learned everything you can from this book, you’ll still want to keep it nearby. Every once in a while, I still reach for it to make sure I’m using the right syntax.

Without a doubt, this book will teach you what you’ve always wanted to learn about the most important language for the web right now.

Solid way to start with PHP
Prior to reading this book, I had no experience with an algorithmic programming language. All I knew was HTML. After sitting down with this book for a day or two, I was already programming in PHP. This book covers EVERYTHING you need to know to get started, and after programming in PHP for three years now, I still look back to this book as a very helpful reference.

I am disappointed to see dismal reviews of this book when it has been so helpful to me. Most of such reviews are written by people who are simply using the book to the wrong ends. Before buying this book, you’ll want to make note of a few things:

-This book is perfect for people who only know HTML and want to expand their endeavors on the web. If you know another algorithmic programming language, chances are the bulk of this book will be filled with too much information you already know. For everyone else, the explanations are in depth enough to actually understand what the different aspects of PHP do.
-This book does not provide step-by-step tutorials. It gives you the information you need to create YOUR OWN programs. It provides examples of how a PHP program might be set up, but if you’re attempting to make use examples line by line, you will be disappointed with the end result (and you will be cheating yourself, because you’re just copying someone else’s code, not learning the language).
-As I said, I use this book as a basic reference, one that is far easier to understand than the complex explanations in the PHP manual found on the Internet. A good half of this book acts as a layman’s reference guide that’s organized to help you learn PHP and MySQL.
-This book just jumpstarts you for using PHP and MySQL, and yes, eventually you will outgrow it, but that’s not a shortcoming of the book. You’ll learn everything the book has to teach you and then you’ll want more. Once you’re ready to take that next step, and it won’t be long after you’ve exhausted this book, I suggest you pick up the PHP Cookbook from O’Reilly to further your skills.
-Even after you seem to have learned everything you can from this book, you’ll still want to keep it nearby. Every once in a while, I still reach for it to make sure I’m using the right syntax.

Without a doubt, this book will teach you what you’ve always wanted to learn about the most important language for the web right now.

Great Source
This is an excellent first step in learning PHP and MySql. Like any type of learning, you must be committed to obtain the best results. Your commitment and this book is an excellent beginning to knowing and understanding PHP and MySql.

I wish there was a 0 star
An awful book 0 stars - Do not waste your money on this one as I did.

I am new to PHP but find the book very basic. After first read I was able to point out that examples such as Login.php, login_form.inc have problems with the code (not 100% accurate). Also, the web pet store and the web member area have big design problems. More, missing coding for pages functions.inc and Member_page.php.

You can find much, much better books out there, shop around and Janet Valade should find another carrier. Janet, you suck when it comes to writing about PHP and MySQL.

I wish there was a 0 star
An awful book 0 stars - Do not waste your money on this one as I did.

I am new to PHP but find the book very basic. After first read I was able to point out that examples such as Login.php, login_form.inc have problems with the code (not 100% accurate). Also, the web pet store and the web member area have big design problems. More, missing coding for pages functions.inc and Member_page.php.

You can find much, much better books out there, shop around and Janet Valade should find another carrier. Janet, you suck when it comes to writing about PHP and MySQL.

The code doesn’t work
The funny thing with this is that the code for the last script doesn’t even work. It gets an error and messes up.

Fair
I don’t like the organization of this book. I personally think it should start out with PHP and then move into the database stuff. Instead, you are introduced to databases, MySQL, etc., before you get the solid syntax base. And when you start reading the database sections, they seem very weak and the information seems sparse.

However, I came from an ASP 3.0 development background. Since the concepts of PHP and ASP are extremely similar, this book is probably oversimplified for readers like myself.

Still, this book is a decent introduction to PHP/MySQL, so it gets 3 stars.

If you already have development experience, this may not be the book for you. You can find all of its information out on the web. If you don’t have any development experience, you might want to start out learning HTML, then move to a PHP intro, then a database intro, and then to this book.

Also note that if you want an object-oriented approach, the author has written another edition of the book that makes use of newer versions of PHP. This version was not written around OOP.

Good if you know your way around a hard drive.....
I bought this book as a tool for setting up a dynamic web site quickly - I just wanted a "recipe", with step by step instructions and explanations for a competent non-expert. The book is very easy to follow, with clear explanations and step by step instructions for installation, set up etc. So far so good.... However I quickly discovered that MySQL installation is not that simple! And when problems occur - which they do - this book alone is not enough. The other thing to be aware of is that, even though this is the 2nd Ed (2004) of the book, it’s already out of date as the software is constantly changing. Again, this can lead to confusion. If you are more confident at finding your way around a hard drive, then this may be a useful book for you, if not, then be prepared to spend a lot of time sorting out conflicting advice and asking elsewhere for help.

A Useful Starting Place for PHP & MySQL
I found PHP & MySQL for DUMMIES by Janet Valade to be an extremely useful starting place for practicing those tools, and if your circumstances and needs are similar to mine, then you may find it helpful as well. I have a database that I want to serve on the web. I have some experience with relatively simple programming, including C, but I am not a programmer per se. At my work, I have access to a web-server running both MySQL and PHP and an administrator to make sure that they are working. I am also someone who likes to do things themselves so that the result matches precisely what is in my head. All that this dummy needed was an introductory lesson on the syntax and structure of these two "languages" and Valade provided it.

MySQL & PHP for DUMMIES uses the example of setting up an online catalog for a pet store, demonstrating how to build a multi-table database in MySQL that employs the various necessary components, e.g. user login, querying and formatting the output. The computer operations covered are simple enough to just read on the train (i.e., I didn’t need to be seated at my computer running the exercises to understand them) and provide a good primer for the kinds of that I could do... that YOU could do too.

Having praised the book for what it is, I want to make clear what it is not. The index is almost useless and the functions of both MySQL and PHP are covered in only the most superficial way, so this For DUMMIES book is a poor reference for projects beyond the advanced beginner; it does not necessarily replace more comprehensive texts. For my own rudimentary dabblings in web databases, I now rely more upon the PHP and MySQL code I have already written based on what this book taught me than the book itself. But, MySQL and PHP for DUMMIES provided the framework for me to take the first baby steps towards a really flexible web-based database.

Good for something but not perfect
This is quite a nice book. Its well written and easy to understand.

PHP and MySQL for dummies spends quite a lot of time talking about the considerations you have to make when producing a data driven website. These considerations are not necessary specific to PHP and MySQL. If you are looking to understand these two systems in any depth I’d suggest buying more specialist books as this book is really only an elborate cheat sheet for these two languages.

I found the book slightly frustrating telling how to plan a website and consider all the things I’d want to include when i just wanted to get down to some nitty gritty.

However PHP and MySQL for dummies is great for helping you set up simple data driven websites and coping with the many areas of difficulty that commonly arise. In particular it provides well commented PHP/MySQL code for things like displaying product listings, adding new products, user login all that stuff.

Summary:
Good if you want to create a simple data driven website and you’ve not got any database experience or any idea of how these systems work.

Not so good but still useful if you have some databases and web development experience or you have specific/demanding requirement for your site. Could still proove useful in answering some common questions but for the most part not be in depth enough.

Good for something but not perfect
This is quite a nice book. Its well written and easy to understand.

PHP and MySQL for dummies spends quite a lot of time talking about the considerations you have to make when producing a data driven website. These considerations are not necessary specific to PHP and MySQL. If you are looking to understand these two systems in any depth I’d suggest buying more specialist books as this book is really only an elborate cheat sheet for these two languages.

I found the book slightly frustrating telling how to plan a website and consider all the things I’d want to include when i just wanted to get down to some nitty gritty.

However PHP and MySQL for dummies is great for helping you set up simple data driven websites and coping with the many areas of difficulty that commonly arise. In particular it provides well commented PHP/MySQL code for things like displaying product listings, adding new products, user login all that stuff.

Summary:
Good if you want to create a simple data driven website and you’ve not got any database experience or any idea of how these systems work.

Not so good but still useful if you have some databases and web development experience or you have specific/demanding requirement for your site. Could still proove useful in answering some common questions but for the most part not be in depth enough.

Perfect for Beginners
This book was perfect for me. I thought the organization was great. I started at the beginning and worked through to the end. The information was there when I needed it. I didn’t need to search around for anything and didn’t feel that any information was missing. Everything worked just as the book said it would. I downloaded the programs, so I didn’t even have to deal with my own typos.

This book is an introduction to PHP and MySQL for people who don’t know anything about programming or databases. It’s great for beginners. It might be a little too simple for people who already know how to program and use databases. The writing is easy to understand with lots of examples. In addition, there are two running examples that are used throughout the book, an online catalog and a user login. The last two chapters put everything together for the two examples.

I am talking about the second edition of this book. I didn’t find ANY mistakes in this book, maybe because it’s the second edition. Maybe the first edition had some mistakes. Amazon doesn’t even sell the first edition any more.

You won’t learn much... or at all.
Well, I bought this book about a year and a half ago, I believe. It was in the height of "dummie-dom" and I figured that this book for a dummie like me would teach me the stuff I needed to know.

What is a little irking though is the fact that Mrs. Valade has indeed dumbed it down to the point that it makes no sense. She tries to insert corny humor where there should be some information. I did not buy a book to laugh, I bought it to learn. Would I rather have a PHP book like a 747-flight-manual? No! But I think that there should definitely be more substance.

[...]

Normally I am not as harsh on reviews of books, but this is just one sad let-down. After a year and a half later, and many other books, I can finally say that I know PHP fairly well. This book did not help at all, in fact, it probably set me back several steps because how she just made no sense. Call me a minimalist, but I like my code quick, efficient, easy to write, easy to understand, and user-friendly. I can write some code that does exaclty what she writes that’s a)faster, b)more efficient, c)user-friendly and the most important d) easy for beginners to understand. As she goes off parading with her scripts that even to me make no sense, it really does NOT help with a person who bought the book off the shelf having no idea how PHP worked. In fact, you will often be reading and be clueless as to what’s going on... because explanations are few, and what is there lacks valuable information (like my MySQL example).

If I could do it over, I would not buy this book. Using it as a reference is even flimsy. She hardly goes into how a function works. She just gives you this hunk of code to copy and, I assume, figures you will figure it out. Sorry Mrs. Valade, your books don’t cut it for me.

Feeding a generation of web developers with bad habits!
I saw this book in a bookshop and picked it up. Flicking through the examples, I saw some extremely insecure pieces, including passing POST variables directly into SQL queries (no prepared statements, no addslashes).

If you use this book to write a website, it *will* have gaping security holes.

I hate do this, but it doesn’t even deserve that one star
I had about 6 months of experience with PHP when I decided to get this book. I decided it couldn’t hurt, but it did.

Give me a break. She explains If statements on page 166, after explaining multidemensional arrays, MySQL connections, and after using if statements for 165 pages! I knew a lot of PHP before, so I obviously had no problems, but come on... What is this?

First of all, this is not a reference book at all. To actually understand what’s going on, you have to read every page of it, instead of looking up something specific. The whole book is completely disorganized. It goes into MySQL in one chapter, lets it go, and comes back where it left off 3 chapters later. The index is extremely messy, and not useful at all. The author puts random code everywhere that you can barely understand, because she uses functions that she doesn’t explain for 6 chapters. For example. I have always wondered what putting "@" in front of variable meant. Instead of making a nice section called "Basic PHP syntax" and including this in there, she randomly stuck it in a page where you would never even look.

The MySQL section is worse. Right away, she gives you code examples. About 25 examples of her using SELECT to pull information aout of the server, a few of her editing the data, and a few deleting the data. But.. She forgot one thing. How do we actually create a new table? How do we create a new column? I don’t even think the cell types are listed in here, which is one of the most important things to know about MySQL. Nothing is explained, and everything is rushed through.

I bought this book mainly to learn more about :

-MySQL (Failed compeltely. I hate MySQL now. The book told me how to set create a database, and that’s it. Now, you’re stuck with a database, no table, no columns, and the ability to add values to the table once you figure out how to add columns).

-Patterns (Decent tutorial on patterns, which is a nightmare to find in the book. Not too good, not too bad)

Not only that, but the author gives you a lot of bad advice. She often tells you to use "AND" in complex if statements, when "&&" executes a lot faster, and is what you should use at all times.

A complete waste.

Spelling errors kill programming languages
Had I no prior experience, I would not have been able to troubleshoot all the errors in the book and scripts. I have used as much time reading the PHP manual to fix the errors as I have reading this book. Incorrect spelling caused stop errors. This book is NOT for the beginner. You have to be able to troubleshoot the problems by using prior experience and knowledge. I have been at it several days and have not quite fixed all the errors yet. I recommend saving your money by NOT purchasing this unsupported, incorrect text.

Helpful Book
This has to be the easiest book I’ve read on PHP. It does require that you know html but if you do, I’m convinced that you could get anybody creating online ordering systems with these books in around 2 weeks.

I congratulate the author on a well written easy to understand book, which has helped me a great deal in contructing my companies intranet.

Thanks.

Perfect
P>I bought this book completley new to php & mysql. This book has taught me a great deal and i am now very confident with building and designing php & mySql sites. This book is perfect for users wanting to expand their web design knowledge beyond HTML & Javascript.

Having said that, php is rapidly changing and things improved. Some of the code in this book is now deprecated. Mainly with regards to the ’Sessions’ section.

I would also recommend that you download ’phpmyadmin’ from www.phpmyadmin.net to administrate your mysql database. This saves alot of time and removes complication.

Superb book!
I was a complete newbie to PHP and MYSQL and to be honest I was quite terrified of using them. My only experience of on-line database coding was using ASP with Dreamweaver (which I now know is awful in comparison)

I was asked to produce a members-only page for a friend and decided to use PHP and MYSQL as a personal challenge.

I read through the first few chapters with total brain-lock, having no idea what was going on but followed the pages and made careful notes. After a few weeks it began to sink in and after a few teething problems I had my first MYSQL database working, and a few minutes later the relevant PHP code to connect to it.

After a few hours I had my first login page constructed.

As my confidence grew I found myself skipping pages to look for specific functions and I then took on the project of completely PHP/MYSQLing up my other website.

The result is a revelation, this book has made my introduction to PHP and MYSQL a breeze.....

I would definately recomend it to a beginner, though having access to the internet to look up PHP functions would be recomeneded...

Some very good points, though not a usefull book
Having read this book I would not recommend it to anyone. The main problem is that all the database applications are printed into the book. It is virtually impossible to use the information on a computer. What I want to do is "play" with the applications and see how they work, I don’t want to spend 5 hours inputing random data to test something out, and then have tom work out why its not working. Also I found a few mistakes in the code when I TYPED THEM IN BY HAND, I had correctly copyied the code but the code in the book has mistakes.

Sorry this review may not be best english, but I would like people to have some information about the book they are buying

Great book for beginners
This is a great introduction to those who doesn’t know PHP, and combining it with MYSQL, it is an excellent place to start making interactive websites.
The book includes examples of making a pet shop, allowing you to practice building a Members Only site and a Online Catalog, the former is very helpful as most sites have this feature nowaday. The book explain how to install a server, PHP and MYSQL on your computer, and the CD save you time from downloading PHP and MYSQL from the internet.
The author use simple term and avoid technical ones, so it is very easy to understand. It explains the basic such as variables and strings etc, then how to change data in a database, move information from one web page to the next using "session", and send email to new user using "mail" functions. If these are the things you want to start learning, then this book certainly worth it.

Excellant choice for beginners
This book is great for beginners who want to learn php & mysql to deliver dynamic web pages. Having coded in many different languages for many years I wondered if this book would be a little too beginner friendly for me. This wasnt the case and it introduced me to what potentially php & mysql combined can do, the possibilites are literally endless. The book comes with handy code snippets and a cd with php pages to get you going, the author never leads you off track and doesnt cloud the whole point of the book - to give the reader an understanding of php and basic programming principles.

When I finished reading the book it left me with too many ideas of what to start my next project on. Of course to extend your knowledge of php & mysql after reading the book you will have to find some more reading material online, but because its an open source language the web is crawling with forums and tutorials to help you out.

Want to learn php & mysql but not sure where to start? buy this book :)

A must for all first time PHP programmers!
Before I read this book I had practically no experience of php or mysql. I have had this book for about two weeks and I am already building my own web programs using php and mysql. This book gives you all the things you need to learn quickly how to build your own applications to suit your needs and also gives you examples to examine and work from. The CD includes everything you need to set up your own server (using Apache) and the mysql and PHP programs also come free.

This book gave me everything I wanted in an easily-comprehendable way, and I’m delighted with it!

Saved My Career
I’m an ideas man and at work I had an idea to use a .php page to connect to a MySQL database and retrieve store information, call notes, and much more. I would not have had this idea if it wasn’t for this book. It taught me the basics - even helped me set up PHP and MySQL on my local machine so I now have a server! I had fun getting to the few errors - all part of the learning curve and could be the author, "just testing you". I’m going to move on to the next level of books now that this book has given me a firm foundation to build upon. Easy to understand and follow, not too heavy, free cd. This book is on my desk all the time as its great reference material once you’ve read it.

Great stuff for newcomers to PHP
As a complete novice to the world of PHP and MySQL, I selected this book in the hope that it would provide an introduction to the subject that I could understand quickly, as well as providing me with enough information to begin coding the applications I needed to.

It didn’t disappoint - I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who, like me, comes from a straight-up HTML coding background with no prior programming knowledge whatsoever. It provides a great introduction to both the SQL and PHP languages, and the real-world examples are very useful and straightforward.

Those who have prior coding experience of any kind would probably find it slow going and would be better off with a more advanced title - since reading this I purchased Greenspan and Bulger’s ’MySQL/PHP Database Applications’ which is a more in-depth and comprehensive affair but which may have overwhelmed me somewhat had I chosen it as my first book on the subject!

Anyway, as a measure of the book’s success, within three weeks of receiving it I had successfully implemented a ’members only’ fan club area of a website for a client based on the code examples supplied with the book, as well as creating an online competition application of my own from scratch.

There are a couple of errors in the code supplied, but spotting and correcting these is good practice! Otherwise I’m really hard-pressed to find any other criticisms - for the price it’s got to be the best introduction to PHP out there.