MySQL/PHP Database Applications [With CDROM]

Being a Civil Engineer by training, I needed a book that quickly put me into PHP/MySQL with the least possible hassle and maximum efficiency. This book did it! I started just reading through without highlight anything (to be able to return it if not convinced), but liked it much that by Chapter 2, I put my name on the book.I would certainly recommend it to people with little or some programming experience that are more comfortable with a procedural approach. Starting from zero knowledge of PHP, I read the book in about three weeks and got the shopping cart operating in about five, great for someone like me doing this as a hobby.Areas where this book can be improved is its managment and explanations regarding Regular Expressions. Also, the section in the Appendix that deals with intalling Apache web server needs improvement. Jay, you need to walk the reader step by step (as you do in the body of the book) through the coldness of Apache. Is kind'a scary to have a DOS window in Windows with Apache sitting right there with no clue of what's next! I look forward to Jay's 2nd edition of this book to see this corrected.Good job Jay!

This book is just great to quickly get a grip of simple to intermediate applications using mySQL and the powerful "web language" PHP. This book is not for beginners in web development or programming, though. If you are a web programmer that really need serious in-depth knowledge about PHP og mySQL, this book is not for you either.

The chapters are easy to follow with real examples of how aspects of the languages work. Right away, the authors show you how to write a guest book, ending with how to write a shopping cart. I highly recommend this book to anyone with prior programming experience that wants to learn a new language.

This is surely great book. For the very beginner it can be a little difficult, but if you have some understanding of what the programming is, this book will move you to the state where you have power to create almost any PHP+MySQL application. Covers many aspects of PHP4 and MySQL application development in both procedural and Object Oriented approaches. There are lots of useful references for further improvement. After reading this book you don't need another one.

Overall, I found this book to serve as an excellent introduction to development using PHP and MySQL. The authors have a refreshing, no-nonsense approach to presenting information on MySQL and PHP quickly and in an easily understandable manner. However, on the flip side, this book is definately not for the beginning programmer. It is clear that the authors assume at least some familliarity with procedural programming languages, especially when presenting their examples. In the end, I heartily recommend this book to its target audience- programmers with some experience looking to learn how to use PHP with MySQL.