PHP Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004

by David Powers, Rachel Andrew, Allan Kent

This is a concise, compact, no-nonsense book that teaches the reader how to develop accessible, standards compliant PHP-driven web sites using the latest technologies: PHP 5 and Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 is the development tool. This book presents PHP Web development with Dreamweaver in real-world tutorials so you can expect fast results as you progress through the book. Full book support will be available online and via email.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590593502
• ISBN13: 9781590593509
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Apress
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 7.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Book that Finally Explained it!

I use Dreamweaver MX 2004 and had been struggling for months trying to build my dynamic website using PHP and mySQL. This book took me through every step. I was able to finish my site in a week. If you use Dreamweaver MX 2004 and are trying to build a dynamic PHP site this is hands-down the book you need! I've recommended it to everyone I know who are in the same position I was - frustrated and thinking I would never finish my site. Thank you Kent and Powers!! I'll be looking for additional books from them.

My Most Useful Web Design Book

I am only halfway through this, but I have already picked up many invaluable tips in using Dreamweaver to automatically insert handy javascript and PHP code. With most technical books I'll read a chapter or two and then put it aside for reference, but with this book I have been able to plow right through it, using the examples to learn different techniques.

Great book on creating dynamic web sites

I had a little knowledge of PHP and MySQL and had worked through part of an introductory book on the subject, but I really hate programming (even though it seems I'm forced to learn *something* as I progress in my web development career). So I picked up PHP Web Development w/ Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 because I thought it would take some of the pain out of creating a dynamic web site (database-driven) from scratch. While the stuff I learned from the other book (syntax basics, etc.) gave me a pretty fair foundation, this book opened up new horizons. It's so great to be able to use Dreamweaver to automate so much of what goes into a dynamic site. Also, this book discusses the free PHPMyAdmin which makes creation and administration of databases a snap (BTW I'm a Mac OS X user). Not only was I able to work through the exercises in relatively short order, I was pleased to find that one of the authors (David Powers) checks into the Apress forums on the Apress.com website and personally helped me when I got to hurdles. That may not always be the case, but it was an extra benefit I found after purchasing the book. I think the book was written in just the right style. I had a little bit of PHP/MySQL experience (which helped) but the book went detailed each step I was supposed to take so even if I didn't have that experience, I was able to follow along. The great thing about PHP and MySQL is that they are both FREE and open source so IT COSTS NOTHING to put together a dynamic, database-driven site. This book helps you do just that. I still have a long way to go as far as being able to put together my own site from scratch, but this book was fantastic. I will go back to page one and re-read it just to make sure Iget the concepts down. I recommend this book very highly (and have never written a book review before so that speaks for itself).

At last... a designer's guide to web development!

If you are a graphic designer without any background in PHP, MySQL and database-driven web applications wanting to charge more for your work, this book is for you! Static websites are commonplace but if you really want to be able to offer your clients the chance to manage their own content and build thousands of pages themselves using simple forms, you will not only be able to charge more for the services you offer but also have the knowledge that as a designer you are more likely to get more clients. This book will help you through the use of practical tutorials to build dynamic websites, linking design to database. It covers simple steps, from showing you how to set up your local or home computer to test all your dynamic pages (this is a HUGE help to anyone who has attempted to get PHP, MySQL and Apache working under both OSX or Windows), to building a fully-functioning site with restricted areas and pages built on-the-fly from a database. In short, I highly rate and recommend this book to anyone wanting to get up and running in the world of web development with no prior knowledge of programming but a real desire to expand their skill set.

The single most valuable book on web design that I own.

As the title to my review suggests, if I had to describe this book in one sentence, that is the sentence I would have to use. If someone with a rudimentary understanding of web design (someone that knew the basics, such as what (X)HTML tags do, and someone that has a decent grasp on how to put together static web pages) asked me what one book they should buy in order to better their web design skills, "PHP Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004" would be the book I would suggest to them. The reasons for this, I cite below. I also cite below the reasons why I would recommend this book to anyone who -- like myself -- has been hesitant to delve into designing dynamic websites, and in particular anyone who has been hesitant to put their feet down and take the plunge into PHP; the most popular scripting language in the world today for dynamic website solutions. First off, I think that the authors of this book go above and beyond the call of duty of their subject matter, in that they included several chapters in this book that -- strictly speaking -- didn't have to be included. Had they followed a similar route to a lot of technical books out on the market these days, they could simply have included the bare-bones amount of information needed to do what the title of the book implies: develop dynamic PHP websites in DWMX 2004. However, the book would have been half the size, and so much the worse for it had they decided to take that route. I, and I'm sure many other readers of the book are thankful that they didn't take that route. Instead, they include four chapters that make this book an invaluable addition to the shelf of any web designer who uses Macromedia Dreamweaver software to design websites. These four chapters are: Web Standards in Dreamweaver; Code Reuse with Dreamweaver and PHP; Dreamweaver Extensions; and Debugging and Error Handling. If you buy this book, even after you have finished it I guarantee that you will be coming back to it, to one or more of the above chapters. Why?, you might ask. The reason is simple: In "Web Standards in Dreamweaver", the authors wisely enlisted the expertise of Rachel Andrew (one of the leading advocates of Web Standards, who is the Web Standards Project's "Dreamweaver Task Force" Member) who provides readers with a crash course in web standards with Dreamweaver. Calling it a crash course is not an overstatement -- in 70 pages Rachel covers a vast array of difficult topics ranging from the basics of working with Cascading Style Sheets, to authoring web pages that comply to current web standards (XHTML and CSS) in Dreamweaver; not to mention the fact that she offers guidelines for producing table layout webpages in DW -- and *then* shows how to move to constructing CSS layout webpages in DW. I own complete books on web standards (all useful for various reasons), but trust me when I tell you that Rachel Andrews essentially packs all of the practical design advice from these books into one chap