PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites

by Larry Ullman

Book Overview

It hasn't taken Web developers long to discover that when it comes to creating dynamic, database-driven Web sites, MySQL and PHP provide a winning open-source combination. Add this book to the mix,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0321784073
• ISBN13: 9780321784070
• Release Date: June 2014
• Publisher: Peachpit Press
• Length: 677 Pages
• Weight: 2.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Just great

Let me add my kudos to Larry Ullman and his PHP/MySQL Guide. This is a beginner's book, as others have pointed out, and Mr. Ullman is one of the very few programming writers who grasps how to write for the novice. How many times in your life have you tried to learn something about programming, or the internet, and within 5 pages wondered "what in the h--- is he talking about?" Or had some very simple term or concept left unexplained (or insufficiently explained)? Or had some simple little practical procedure that took you hours to figure out, when all it would have taken is a single sentence? When I first started building webpages, I was utterly frustrated because I didn't know that I needed to save notepad files as "all files" to get a .html extension on them -- just the kind of thing that drives you nuts, and is totally unnecessary. Mr. Ullman does not make this mistake. He knows exactly how to "hold your hand" so you don't lose hours doing something stupid. This attention to detail, and attitude of user-friendliness, extends into every part of the operation. Nothing is left half-finished. The programs he gives have been scrupulously edited to insure that they actually work. The associated website is rich and well-maintained for excellent customer support. The text is well-spaced, the paper good quality, and there are more examples than you really need. Nevertheless, he manages to get you through all the basics of PHP and MySQL in 490 pages of large half-column text. There is a certain amount of irreduceable difficulty learning any mid-level programming language, but Ullman makes it as painless as humanly possible, and even better, when you finish a chapter you actually know what you are supposed to know. This book gets an A+ from me. Edit, several months later. I have finished Ullman's book and have gone on to do a lot of PHP programming. I had little trouble putting together a comprehensive CMS when I was through. However, I have to change my rating to "four stars" after finishing the book. The section on MySQL is not nearly as good as the PHP sections, and a number of times I found I had use Google and find an online MySQL tutorial, in order to understand something. This seems pretty silly, as MySQL is a LOT easier than PHP, especially if you have the phpMyAdmin graphic interface. The chapters on combining the two, however -- i.e., using php with MySQL -- go back to the "five star" level. I wouldn't call it "easy", but he makes it logical and understandable on a patient, step-by-step basis. The later chapters on miscellaneous subjects, such as security, are very helpful. So, this get five stars for a php beginner and two stars for the introduction to MySQL. I would still recommend it but would also recommend an inexpensive MySQL book to go with it.

New Edition is Available

As the author of the book, I regret having to do this (submit a review) but it seems to be the most immediate and effective way to correct a misunderstanding. The first edition of the book is based upon PHP 4 and came out in 2003. The second edition came out in 2005 and covers PHP 5. So, the book HAS been updated, despite what other reviews incorrectly state. Just click on "All Editions" under "Product Details" to find the most recent edition of this (or any) book. [...] Thanks, Larry

Exactly what I needed to get started, and then some

I took this book out of the bookshop in the same bag as what looked like its obvious competitor on the shelf, 'PHP and MySQL for Dummies'. It is Larry Ullman's book that I am going through seriously, dipping into 'Dummies' (which is a good book) for an alternative explanation here and there. Whereas 'Dummies' starts with MySQL, Larry begins with some PHP basics before delving into the database, and this made more intuitive sense to me, since there were many things I wanted to do on my site (such as make an emailing form and add a readers' comments facility) with PHP before starting to think about what I could do with a MySQL database. Notwithstanding the comments of one or two other reviewers, I have no experience of programming in any language, and yet I found this book started in the right place for me. What really made it valuable is that every concept is demonstrated right away in a real example that you can try out yourself and invent variants on to see the difference. This helps to sort out all the stupid questions and confusions that an expert probably can't even imagine your having. Apart from Unix commands in the appendix on installation, there is not a single example in the book of something that has to be typed in 'on faith' (not quite true of the 'Dummies' book, though almost). In every chapter you are told what to type, what it does and why. Larry does move fast, and I had to puzzle over his explanation of database design and normalisation, along with his initial explanation of getting data output from the database in PHP. But this is only another strength of the book. He doesn't cut corners but he does ask you to think and not skip over too much. Like some other people here, I have been to the book's website and forum and asked a question, and like them, I got a useful answer straight from the author. I will definitely choose his books again, and have a good feeling about Peachpit's Visual QuickPro/QuickStart books in general. The design is equally well done. The fact that every script is shown both as an illustration and as annotated text makes the book much thicker than it might have been, but it is useful to see the script on its own and explanations (even if sidenotes to the script would have achieved both purposes, surely). The Comic sanserif used to show code is far better for long-distance reading than the monospaced font used in 'Dummies', and colour is used very effectively. I feel lucky I found this book!

BUY THIS BOOK! It's worth 50 STARS (if not more!)

This book is, to say the very least, the finest computer book I have read in a very, very long time. I have spent the last three months trying to learn how to use PHP and MySQL to build a website with a simple content management system, however, due to the grossly unethical practice that publishing companies have of releasing books that are filled with editing and other errors, along with authors who are completely unable to write even a simple complete sentence that may be understood by their readers, I had nearly given up. Specifically, I have already WASTED money on the following books: Creating Interactive Websites with PHP and Web Services by Eric Rosebrock - this book crashes around page 100 - it COULD have been a good book but is filled with errors that make it unusable. The publisher, Sybex, refuses to publish a real errata sheet and the book is NOT supported on the author's web site. Isn't that nice? PHP MySQL Website Programming: Problem - Design - Solution by Chris Lea, Mike Buzzard, Jessey White-Cinis, and Dilip Thomas. Good luck if you can get past page 30! Considering this book has been out for some time, there is NO REAL support or errata sheet for it. The "sample site" that one is allegedly able to build by working through this book is filled with questions such as "Has anyone made it all the way to the end of this book?" Need I say more? What a joke. MySQL/PHP Database Applications, SECOND EDITION. Gosh, considering this is the SECOND edition of this book, one might think an errata sheet and other help might be available. Forget that though - Wiley gets your money, you get plastered with errors so you can't get through the book. PHP and MySQL Web Development by Luke Welling and Laura - Another USELESS second edition. Not only does the code in this book NOT WORK but the examples that you can download doesn't match what's in the book! Not only that but, as to be expected, there is no errata sheet and the authors web site that is allegedly there to "support" this book has nothing but an advertisement for it with the promise that the "site is under development." Wonder if it will ever be "developed." As noted, ALL of the books above are USELESS. On a fluke, I decide to try one more - Larry Ullman's PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites by Peachpit Press. While a second edition is allegedly going to be released soon: I have the first edition. To be honest, I was ABSOLUTELY AMAZED that: 1. The code in this book WORKS! 2. The book is SUPPORTED by both the publisher and the author. The author's support site for the book actually contains an extensive list of errata for the very minor errors in it (unlike ALL of the books listed above which DON'T have an errata list). Furthermore, I haven't needed to check the errata because the errors in this book are so minor. 3. The author actually ANSWERS questions to problems on his site. 4. The author is capable of explaining everything, very clearly, and yet conveys a LOT of great information.

Good Tutorial

I'm a newbie to both PHP and MySQL on Mac OS X. I'm learning from this book and from the PHP/MySQL for Dummies. This is the better book. It has lots of good information, clear writing, and easy to follow tutorials. The graphic display of PHP code is very easy to follow: as the author modifies scripts to teach new concepts, the new code is presented in red in the code listings. In just a few days I've gone from knowing nothing about PHP and MySQL to writing my own PHP code. If you're trying to learn how to use PHP and MySQL this is the book to get (along with the MySQL users manual).