Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP and MySQL
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend Build Your Own Database-Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL is a practical guide for first-time users of PHP & MySQL that teaches readers by creating a fully working Content Management System, Shopping Cart and other real-world applications. There has been a marked increase in the adoption of PHP, most notably in the beginning to intermediate levels. PHP now boasts over 30% of the server side scripting market (Source: php.weblogs.com). The previous edition sold… Product details and pricing info |
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44 Customer Reviews Posted
- Train gives it 5 stars...
- This book was great!!! I have struggled for a while now to find a PHP book with such easy understanding of what you are actually doing. I bought the book and went to the authors website to download the small amount of error that have been corrected and went on my way. One of the great things about this book is that there code sniplets are right. In many books I have read about PHP code sniplets have had errors and wouldn't run. This book also provides great information about MySQL. From backups to access, it is presented with great knowledge. I highly recommend this book also to anyone who wants to understand Content Management. It is has two great changes on CMS.
- 2003-12-08, 4 of 4 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Second edition
- I recently purchased this book from sitepoint after people ranted and raved about how good it was. I can honestly say, that it is not that spectacular. There are far more other books on the subject of PHP that teach the same thing that are MUCH better than this.
Sometimes when you are complete NOVICE you need a book that will "hold your hand" along the way, this book does not do that it assumes you have an idea of it already.
My suggestion, is dont bother.. Look for something else instead
- 2003-08-30, 6 of 18 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Note that reviews below canNOT reflect SECOND edition
- Just a "heads-up": Hopefully you are looking at the Amz site for the SECOND edition, said to have come out March 2003, ISBN 0-957-92181-0. In that case there may have been significant enhancements to cover some objections mentioned below (which, by their dates must refer to first edition). I've not been able to find in a book store to evaluate it (hoping SOMEBODY out there will), but the SitePoint site says about this edition:
*Fully updated for PHP 4.3
*Installation instructions for Mac OS X
* Full index provided
* New WIDER book size
* Enhanced fonts
* Lay-flat spine
* All content revisited.Note also that at the publisher's site you can DL the First 4 chapters free - which, I guess, will need to be my next stopping point if none of you can find a physical copy to review either.
- 2003-07-17, 6 of 6 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Best practical intro guide to php & mysql
- My story could be interesting to those who need a head start on web script and database programming, specially in the php & mysql environment. Abouy six months ago I was stuck with my first real project regarding database manipulation in the web: I had lot of doubts where I should start looking for references, because the possibilities are inmense nowadays. I was crawling websites, reviews, forums, bookstores (even this one) for days in search for some help. I had no special bias for php or any other programming language, I just wanted to do some content management in the web.
At one time I stumbled with sitepoint.com website and I felt curious about the praise devoted to this book. I, convicted reluctantly, ordered the book and when it arrived at my door, my first impressions were: what size of book is this? this paperback is not even worth half the price! These days we're wrongly too much used to spend big bucks in thick computer bibles... then I felt so uninterested, I left ten days pass before I started to browse it. Meanwhile I kept on CGI programming, looking for some other solutions to my problems and sufferig them... but finally I decided to start reading this small treasure. Me being naive not only to php and mysql but also to the Open Source community in general, but with a long experience as a programmer... I found this book simply illuminating.
While practising it I felt like I had an experienced chap by my side teaching how to get introduced in this fantastic (and apparently disorganized) world of php programming and content management in the fastest and most interesting way. The "plot" is really smart, the scripts take you through a simplified but real scenario, and now I realize the whole idea is simply brilliant . If the author had chosen any other example everything would have been very much complex and the learning curve would have been really steepy. The number of concepts you're introduced in nearly every page are more than enough. Don't be cheated, this book is not for fast reading, although you'll enjoy every page. You have to digest all the very well crammed knowledge.
In thicker books you have to wait at least a hundred pages to start programming something useful. In Kevin's book, YOU learn at the fastest possible rate, not a single line is simplistic and before the end of the book you have enough knowledge to start flying on your own. In such small space you're introduced to quite powerful concepts like content management, relational databases, regular expresions, sessions, mySQL admin, and much more... of course this will not convert you in a top programmer in two weeks, but it will provide you the basic gear to start moving securely in php. Certainly is not a complete manual or formal approach to Programming, but if you're a newbee or even a somehow disoriented intermediate programmer looking for a practical hands on guide, you'll be grateful for the approach. After the sheer knowledge you gain in such a sort time, you'll find yourself learning and digging, programming solo, finding the right help and support in the Internet and in the Open Source communities. After this reflection I consider this book not expensive at all. One of the few things I missed was an index and as it has been included in the second edition, I think this is a great acquisition.
By they way I switched my project to php and, certainly, with a lot of further research and work, I was able to complete it and get paid. - 2003-07-10, 25 of 26 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- 2nd Edition of the book is greatly reviewed
- After reading some of the reviews here, I was hesitant to buy the book. However, since I was already ordering several other titles through Amazon and the shipping was free I decided to take the plunge because of the overall 4-star rating.
After spending a weekend reading the book and going through the examples, it seems obvious that many of the reviews I read refer to an earlier edition. The binding was solid, the typeface was good, there was a good index, and I didn't find a single typo. If mentions of those things are holding you back from buying the book, don't let them. It's obvious the publishers have taken the feedback posted here to heart in releasing the 2nd edition.
As for the actual content, I found it pretty easy to follow along even though I have absolutely no database experience - Yes, I still design static HTML pages.
Everything was straightforward, with relatively few snags. I do agree with the reviews here that this book isn't for advanced PHP coders (they'll be dissapointed). But newbies looking for a beginner, hand-holding book will love this title and will probably go onto purchasing more advanced PHP & MySQL books in the future. I highly recommend it!
- 2003-07-09, 10 of 10 people found this review helpful, Rated:
