PHP and MySQL for Dummies

I think this is a very good book to get if you want to learn how to make your website work with databases, (eg: make your website have a password system on it, or a cataloge of products.) Also I think PHP and MYSQL are the best ones to learn. This book tells you exactly how to set up Apache, Mysql and PHP environment. It uses all the latest up to date PHP. I would say this is the book to get if you want to be able to create Web Database Applications and be a Web Developer.

I liked this book and it's great for starters. The book had minimal errors. You learn how to program complete projects. When you're done with the projects, you are off to the races coding your own projects. I e-mailed the author and recieved a reply! The author cares about her work and it shows in this book. Happy coding and welcome to the PHP world never to look back...

The basic concept of the web was that there would be a bunch of documents around, each document would have a unique name/address (called a Uniform Resourse Locator or URL) and when you wanted to read that document you would browse to that URL and get the document. There was no thought of connecting the documents to a database so that the information being presented to the visitor would vary depending on what he wanted. Then beginning a dozen or so years ago, it kind of instantly became obvious to everyone that database connectivity was needed. And we got several competing approaches. Some like Cold Fusion were commercial packages. Some like Microsoft's ASP were nominally free (if you used their operating system). And there were other approaches using Java, Perl, CGI, etc. Conclusion. If you are starting out to set up a web site using a database to supply the data being displayed, you would not go wrong to use PHP and MySQL. The packages are free, reliable, fast, and easy to use. This is a book to use when you are getting started. It gives you the basic concepts of web/database interconnectivity so you can understand just what's going on. After this, you'll want more specialized materials: the MySQL reference manual for instance so you can go much deeper into it's version of SQL; and something that goes deeper into PHP. But start with this one. Once you get a site doing some simple database connectivity you can go deeper into your own particular application.

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.

This book was simple enough to understand that I've been able to create a database for my company with over 500 products in an easily viewable format. I saw a bigger, fatter book for PHP4 but they really lose you fast. Plus, I didn't have that much time to read. These dummies books are always my solution.