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Books Databases Media PHP Programming Software Book Reviews

Beginning PHP and MySQL 228

Posted by timothy from the getting-a-start dept.
norburym writes "W. Jason Gilmore and Apress have put together an impressive volume, both in girth and content, in Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL, From Novice to Professional. At first glance, it appears that any technical manual that tries to approach such heady stuff such as PHP and MySQL for an audience ranging the span from beginner to the uber-geek is headed for failure. Happily, I can report that Gilmore and Apress have given the world one book that will replace many other PHP and MySQL volumes. This is one that the reader will consistently rely on and keep near to hand." Read on for the rest of Norbury-Glaser's review.
Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional
author W. Jason Gilmore
pages 800
publisher Apress
rating 9
reviewer Mary Norbury-Glaser
ISBN 1893115518
summary PHP and MySQL

One key to the book's success is the manner in which Gilmore approaches his subjects. The text is split neatly into three sections: the first deals exclusively with PHP and comprises the bulk of the book's content, the second section goes into depth with MySQL and the final chapters deal with PHP/MySQL integration. This layout is where the promise of appealing to such a wide range of user abilities succeeds admirably. The beginner can read cover to cover and come out of the pipe with a solid, practical knowledge of PHP, MySQL and how to combine the two to build advanced web applications. An experienced MySQL or PHP guru can skip the area of his expertise and gain much from the chapters on the other. A more advanced user can use this book as reference material, skim the chapter outline, pick and choose topics of interest and quickly find the answers they seek. Everything is cleanly written, with little or no anecdotal filler or asides. Each chapter begins with a nice overview of what will be covered and ends with a brief but concise summary.

Gilmore begins with nine chapters specific to the PHP language and its many core features and extensions, taking particular care over installation and configuration issues (platform specific instructions are included for UNIX/Linux (Mac OS X users can swim in this pool very easily) and Windows), basics (data types, variables), functions, arrays, PHP's object-oriented functionality and expressions. The next ten chapters delve deeper into PHP's file and operating system functions, web form integration, http authentication, file upload management, LDAP, session management (one of the best aspects of PHP and incredibly easy to use), Web Services (SOAP, SimpleXML extensions as well as NuSOAP and MagpieRSS -- cool stuff!), security and PHP's SQLite database extension. SQLite is an exciting multi-platform database engine that will most likely prove to be hugely popular in the near future. It's interesting to note that Apple plans to integrate SQLite into their next release of OS X, Tiger. Also of note is Gilmore's well-written chapter on PHP and LDAP. He provides an extremely competent introduction to LDAP and PHP's LDAP extension. If you work in an enterprise environment, this knowledge will become an integral part of your mindset and vocabulary.

The SQL section of the book is compact and concise. Gilmore manages to take the reader through a fast but detailed introduction to MySQL. Installation and configuration, clients (the standard set and some GUI based administration clients), table structures and security/user management are all explained with precision and an eye toward practical expectations.

Chapters 26 through 30 stand out, with an integrated approach to both PHP and SQL. This is where Gilmore pulls it all together. The reader is introduced to PHP's MySQL functionality, creating MySQL database classes, indexing and searching, transactions and importing and exporting data. There are numerous excellent real-world examples throughout this section that will enable the reader to create elegant, advanced web applications.

Gilmore removes the complexity and ambiguity inherent in many technical books and gives the reader a detailed approach to these two wildly popular open source packages. Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL will definitely serve the novice, the professional and those in between. For anyone wondering what all the fuss is about with PHP or MySQL or for anyone who has wanted that one volume that will explain it all, this is definitely the book for you. It is at once an excellent tutorial and an indispensable reference manual.

You can purchase Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
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Beginning PHP and MySQL

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  • other training materials here... (Score:5, Informative)

    by ubiquitin ( 28396 ) * on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @04:50PM (#10454076) Homepage Journal
    For the basics, there's an online course that I put together for an undergradute class last year here: PHP Consulting training [phpconsulting.com].

    • Re:other training materials here... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      only on slashdot could these assholes complain about the format and font sizes of free documents. get a life guys and produce something yourselves instead of ripping on someone who offered up his creation for free.

      thanks to ubiquitin for the free docs.
    • Hey, thanx for the course. I recently decided to learn PHP as it seems to be a very powerful language for doing web-based stuff.

      ttyl
      Farrell

      • Powerful it is not. In fact, it's a fricking mess [ukuug.org]. The only thing it has going for it is that it's popular and available on almost every web host.

        • Uh, this article on "problems" I found rather "looking for trouble"ish. You can create crap code examples in any language. If the article is meant to keep beginners from learning PHP, they fail because PHP is easy tp pick up for simple stuff. If it is to warn against it in professional / enterprise environments, they fail, because professionals don't do a lot of the stupid things the examples show. However, people going from newbie to cluie might bump into some of these problems, but for heavens sake; menti

          • I think you missed the point of the article I linked to. You're talking mostly about the use of a language and its users. Of course a good/bad coder can write good/bad code, that's what makes them good/bad! The point, as I see it, is that PHP is really a very simple language that has been extended and hyped beyond its capacity. Of course there are places where it is well suited. Mostly simple homepages. Even Yahoo! is switching to it, but only (as I understand) as a template language. The underlying logic

  • Why MySQL? (Score:4, Informative)

    by Megaweapon ( 25185 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @04:51PM (#10454081) Homepage
    I've found PostgreSQL [postgresql.org] to be an easier database to work with and admin. When properly tuned I can't tell the difference between the two for most queries. Just my $0.02.

    • Re:Why MySQL? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by arevos ( 659374 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @04:54PM (#10454113) Homepage
      My guess is that more hosting firms offer MySQL than PostgreSQL. If I'm correct, then it would make sense for them to appeal to the wider audience.
      • More hosting of MySQL means more books. More books means more hosting.

        So when are people going to step back and realize, "Hey! This isn't very good?" Although with PHP 5.0 it looks like that community is trying to clean up their act, MySQL is still a steaming pile with hackish functionality tacked on top.

        The string "the giant purple crayon" should never be allowed in an integer field let alone without at least a warning dammit!

    • Why MySQL? create user foo createdb; (Score:5, Insightful)

      by temojen ( 678985 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:03PM (#10454189) Journal
      Creating a postgresql user who has the ability to create databases makes that user a superuser of ALL databases. This makes postgresql tricky to use in a mass virtual hosting environment.

      Also, most web applications are not written to take advantage of features such as stored procedures. This is probably partly because the developers don't understand them, and partly because MySQL is so common already.
      • I should point out that I prefer PostgreSQL.

      • Re:Why MySQL? create user foo createdb; (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Unordained ( 262962 ) <unordained_slashdotNOSPAM@csmaster.org> on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:16PM (#10454319)
        Last I heard, the same sorts of reasons were involved in Firebird (the dbms) not being commonly available from hosting companies -- the admin side of things isn't quite geared toward hundreds of independent DBA's all on the same server and all needing to be kept out of each others' stuff. I'm pretty sure hosting companies would also want to make sure you can't load your own modules (user-defined-functions) out of fear you might load something that crashes a lot, or has nasty side-effects. Stored-procs seem safer though. Then there's managing CPU/memory/disk resources trying to make sure no single user's queries monopolize the server (particularly badly-written queries.)

        From what I've seen, people who use MySQL rarely have a good understanding of even the fundamentals of normalization, joins (all types), the difference between WHERE and HAVING, etc. -- stored procedures, constraints, domains, triggers, etc. are just entirely lost on them. They might start to see some benefits to another server system when they run into the quirks of MySQL (and particularly its data-integrity issues, silent conversions, "transactions", etc.)

        But where's my C++/Firebird book? Or my Java/PostgreSQL book? Or my Cobol/Oracle book? What we really need to figure out is how we can learn from this duo (PHP/MySQL) what makes a good set of language bindings, a good database interface, and in general a good programmer experience. I'm sure we can improve these aspects in other languages, giving ourselves more (good) options.

        • From what I've seen, people who use MySQL rarely have a good understanding of even the fundamentals of normalization, joins (all types), the difference between WHERE and HAVING, etc. -- stored procedures, constraints, domains, triggers, etc. are just entirely lost on them. They might start to see some benefits to another server system when they run into the quirks of MySQL (and particularly its data-integrity issues, silent conversions, "transactions", etc.)

          That's funny, I generally find the opposite.

        • "...what makes a good set of language bindings, a good database interface, and in general a good programmer experience."

          Amateurs can get by with minimal investment of time. Demand for simple scripting features like forums has been on the rise for years, but the demand has a low-price point. To meet this demand, a massive supply of low-end webhosting hit the market. Now the amateurs have a lot of ready-to-go PHP scripts to use and dirt-cheap webhosting. They have what they and the majority of the Inter
        • Funny, I feel the same way about people who use PHP. They seem to have no concept of variable types, or memory allocation, or anything. *g*

          On the other hand, I only feel like I have a handle on about half of the concepts you mention - care to suggest a good place for me to learn more?
      • mySQL (seems) to have the same limitation. Every virtual host setup I've seen uses a seperate tool for DB creation (which is highly restricted to only create DBs with the username or similar before it).

      • Why on earth would a vhost user ever need to create databases? You create their db when you create their account, give them control over their db and they can create as many tables as their little heart desires.

        Hell with namespaces it can appear like they have completely separate databases if they really need that illusion.

      • Re:Why MySQL? create user foo createdb; (Score:5, Insightful)

        by discord5 ( 798235 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @07:06PM (#10455139)
        Creating a postgresql user who has the ability to create databases makes that user a superuser of ALL databases.

        Not jumping to the defense of postgresql or anything (although I do have to use it quite frequently), by why would want to give a user permission to create a database anyway? Most hosting companies will provide you with one database, and that's it. If you need another one, you pay extra.

        Also, most web applications are not written to take advantage of features such as stored procedures.

        So instead of stuffing their database logic where it belongs they write complicated "sql libraries" that are a pain in the behind, riddled with bugs, and eventually just make your code more complicated.

        I've been involved in a couple of projects where I had to maintain other peoples code, and I've seen bad code, really bad code, and really really bad code when it comes to databases. One project involved a database that was supposed to keep track of visa clearing, and for each step that happened in the clearing process (there were 3 if I remember correctly) a log had to be kept in the database. The original developer had a good table design but the library that did all the logging sucked bad. Somewhere he forgot to mark a 'status' field as false and in certain conditions the shit really hit the fan (read: some customers got billed twice, or too much).

        If he had taken the time to write either stored procedures for that table (over the course of the 3 years I ran that project, the table itself never needed to be altered) his code wouldn't have been such a mess, and the modifications to that project wouldn't have taken so long.

        This is probably partly because the developers don't understand them, and partly because MySQL is so common already.

        Let's not forget the most important factor in webdevelopment projects: cost. Customers want results, and they want them fast and cheap. Having to explain to a customer that you need to design a solid database before you can write a letter of code alone is more than enough excuse for that customer to go to another developer who claims he doesn't spend that much time on his database.

        Even worse, to most customers application development couldn't possibly be more complicated than Visual Basic. Webprogramming can hardly be any more difficult than drawing boxes on your screen and the program you draw those boxes in does most of the work. Explaining to people with that attitude that a solid database design will save them possible problems in the future is like banging your head against a brick wall. The wall doesn't understand what you're trying to do, and you're left with a headache at the end of the day.

      • This is not correct -- postgresql users who can create databases are *not* superusers. Those that can create other users are.

        Regardless, as stated elsewhere, why would the general vhosted account be given either createdb or createuser privs?

        Pre-set 'em up their own database + user account. Maybe even, if they're high dollar, give 'em access to a webapp which could create their own schemas within their database (only superusers can create schemas), and then they could go wild and crazy.

  • Switch from asp - php(5) (Score:3, Informative)

    by Albert Sandberg ( 315235 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @04:52PM (#10454093) Homepage
    I'm a good asp programmer with a lot of access and sql server experience, how will this book help me from that standpoint, will it help me to set up php and mysql with at least some pointers on a linux system?

    Anyone who has done the above step and can recommend this book for me? Other suggestions?

    Thanks
    Albert "thec" Sandberg

    • Re:Switch from asp - php(5) (Score:5, Insightful)

      by yohan1701 ( 779792 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @04:59PM (#10454151) Homepage

      If you are unfamilar with linux and only want to learn php just install mysql and php on a windows box.

      The setup is pretty easy getting php send email is the most difficult part.

    • Re:Switch from asp - php(5) (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I'm a good asp programmer with a lot of access and sql server experience

      You have condolences.

    • Re:Switch from asp - php(5) (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Either you just got slashdotted or you really need to join the rebellion hasta pronto. :)

      thec.org reads as follows:

      Microsoft JET Database Engine error '80004005'

      Unspecified error /include/session.asp, line 9
    • What would motivate you to switch?

      I've done quite a bit of both ASP and PHP. Both languages are pretty good for web development, and in a lot of ways they're comparable. However, PHP5 moves PHP in the right direction, especially in terms of object orientation and XML. And personally I think .NET moves ASP in the wrong direction.

      In terms of moving from one to the other, you could probably move to intermediate PHP proficiency quickly, with just a good PHP book and a few projects to build. The two langua

  • I used to swear by MySQL (Score:3, Insightful)

    by suso ( 153703 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @04:53PM (#10454100) Journal
    but now I'm using Postgres and am lovin it. It's one of those things when you didn't know what the hell you were doing before you knew about it.

    Postgres is where it is at.
    • Postgres is where it is at.

      Postgres was the revision of Ingres; PostgreSQL was Postgres with SQL. Minor oversimplification, but good enough.

      It's been PostgreSQL for years- please call it by its proper name :-)

    • They each have their place... But doesn't it seem like they're converging? MySQL used to be the "fast" one, great for reads but not writes, while PostgreSQL was the "advanced" one with transactions, views, subselects, etc. But now PostgreSQL is getting faster, and MySQL has transactions and subselects, with views and stored procedures on the way?

      So what separates PostgreSQL from MySQL these days?
      • There are quite a few differences, most succinctly described at http://sql-info.de/mysql/gotchas.html [sql-info.de] and http://sql-info.de/postgresql/postgres-gotchas.htm l [sql-info.de]

        PostgreSQL is under a very clear license: BSD.
        MySQL is under a very clear license, too: Whatever MySQL AB Feels Like Doing Right This Minute.

        I do not need to repeat the earlier comments about the differences between what MySQL AB promises and what it delivers, but suffice it to say that those differences are comparable to any other sleazy proprieta

        • Those two pages are a great source of information. Notice how short the PostgreSQL page is? :)

          What always struck me with the MySQL gotchas page was that the SQL parser and the underlying attitude of MySQL is the real problem. Everyone always brings up *features* like triggers and stored procedures when criticizing MySQL, but look at all the gotchas where it will accept invalid data and not throw an error. It will even change your table definition in subtle but important ways, still without throwing an e

    • Hear, hear!

      Since I started using triggers, checks and functions/stored procedures when modelling my databases I can no longer understand why people use MySQL.. PostgreSQL is so much better than MySQL in every single way I can think of! Looking at the MySQL TODO-list I will take a look at it again after 5.1 is released but until then I consider it a toy. At least for applications more advanced than a personal blog..
    • Postgres is where it is at.

      You're telling me. For a long time, I'd been using PHP + MySQL for web-based data-entry programs for my company. (Because, well, I basically have zero budget.)

      I just started playing with Postgres a few weeks ago, and it's a godsend. The databases I work with are spaghetti-piles, even after normalization, that have lots of relationships that must be maintained between tables. Foreign keys + cascades = serenity. Not to mention stored procs, triggers... for my purposes, there's

    • Postgres is where it is at.

      No, I'm sorry. SQLite is where 'it' is (at).

  • register_globals = off (Score:5, Informative)

    by Neil Watson ( 60859 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @04:53PM (#10454103) Homepage
    I hope line one tells us to always leave register_globals = off. Better yet, I hope PHP5 always runs that way.

    • Re:register_globals = off (Score:2, Informative)

      by Nos. ( 179609 )
      Not only that, but for new people,
      magic_quote_gpc = On
      For those not familiar with php, this will escape single quotes in GET/POST/COOKIE data. Helps protect the unfamiliar from things like SQL injection attacks. Once you know what you are doing they can be a bit of a pain in the ass, but for new people, it can help make your code a bit safer.

      • Ack! (Score:2, Informative)

        by Nos. ( 179609 )
        that should be
        magic_quotes_gpc = On
        That's quotes, plural. Sorry for any confusion.
      • It will prevent those kinds of attacks at the expense of not teaching you how to write around them. It's really very easy to avoid sql injection attacks. magic_quote_gpc also has this "magic" thing, and you don't always want your data escaped. Sometimes, you do happen to do things other than database work with form data.

      • I disagree. Your suggestion is the way the US education system tends to work - teach kids the easy way first, then teach them the right way later (and explain why the easy way is wrong).

        The magic quotes feature escapes data for use in a query. There are lots of things you can be doing with data, and storing it is just one.

        Also, the escaping that magic quotes does is equivalent to the addslashes function. This is a good last resort, but better options exist for many databases - for example, mysql_escape_st

      • Re:register_globals = off (Score:5, Funny)

        by Ford Prefect ( 8777 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:38PM (#10454503) Homepage
        magic_quotes_gpc = On

        Switch the damn thing off. It\'s a bloody annoying hack which may (or may not be) switched on for a particular web host, meaning that for security reasons your code has to check whether it's switched on or off, and massage data accordingly. :-)

        I\'ve got two functions which automatically strip incoming data of any added escaping, because with my form validation stuff the text may either go into an SQL query or back into the form again, with missing fields highlighted. Text might have come out of the database sans escaping, for editing purposes, and I don't want to have to write my forms code to treat data differently depending on its source. If everything\'s plain, unescaped text, it makes things so much simpler...

        A couple of simple rules - firstly, when creating a database query, always (integer )$record_id or '".mysql_escape_string( $input_string )."' all variables in your queries, having previously checked them for sanity.

        Secondly, keep as much code as possible in defined functions, out of the scope of register_globals idiocy. Yes, it can be switched off, but always assume that it's switched on, and is your enemy. Plus, it's a lot easier to track incoming data in your code when it's all defined at the beginning...

        page_record_input( ACTION_EDIT, array_unescape( $_POST['input_record'] ), (integer )$_GET['record_id'] );

        And lastly, always assume that your users are out to get you. Validate all data, and assume everything and everyone is hostile. :-)
      • No. Just do the right thing and use addslashes on the input when it is appropriate to do so.
    • This little aspect is one sure way to find out if the guy doing your PHP is competent. There is no reason to use register_globals unless you don't care about security. If you have an application that uses this feature; if you have a subcontractor "needing" this feature, you might want to save yourself some future trouble and dump them.

      • " This little aspect is one sure way to find out if the guy doing your PHP is competent."

        Yep, if your PHP guy or host tells you that you need to turn register_globals off for security reasons, you know that the twit doesn't know how to code properly. register_globals is only a security problem for badly written code. One reason that applications will use it is because it simplifies PHP3 compatibility for some uses. Of course, there shouldn't be too many PHP3 installs left now, so they should probably ph
        • All of my code I've used that makes use of register_globals sanity checks everything...strip all codes, tags, slashes, etc. out of every input, and check to make sure the submission comes from a valid established and authenticated session.

          Those things make it pretty good, in my experience.
        • Yep, if your PHP guy or host tells you that you need to turn register_globals off for security reasons, you know that the twit doesn't know how to code properly. register_globals is only a security problem for badly written code.

          Bull. There's no good reason to use register globals unless you don't know how to program secure applications. There's NOTHING that can be done with register_globals on that can't be done with register_globals=off, except expose slacker, lame programmers and lame applications.
          • I think the grandparent was correct. Register_globals really is only a security problem for badly written code. The question is, where to find a programmer who can guarantee that all of their code is well written. I know mine isn't...
          • "There's no good reason to use register globals unless you don't know how to program secure applications."

            That is entirely bass ackwards. If you don't know how to program properly, you should have register_globals turned off. If you do know how to code properly, then it doesn't matter if register_globals is off or on. Well written code is inherently immune to exploit of register_globals.

            With the demise of PHP3, there is no reason not to write code that is compatible with register_globals off. However,

  • It's cheaper at Amazon than at BN (Score:5, Informative)

    by civilengineer ( 669209 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @04:54PM (#10454107) Homepage Journal
    $26.39 at Amazon.com. $31.99 at BN.com

  • Poor choice of scope? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Jason1729 ( 561790 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:00PM (#10454161)
    When starting out in a new language, I like a book like the Teach Yourself series which starts out by taking you through installing and setting up environment at a very simple level, and then goes on to examples I can skim through and quickly graduate to a referrence book or the online docs.

    Most referrence books and advanced books assume you already have a working environment and sometimes (think Java) installing and getting everything working is the hardest part.

    Once I'm passed the initial bumps though, I want a book that's aimed at advanced users, mainly because the more "beginner friendly" a book is, the lower the signal-noise ratio in the writing.

    Jason
    ProfQuotes [profquotes.com]
    • Strange. The chapter about installing the software is the one I always skip. With todays ["user friendly"] installing routines [for popular software] these advices seem to be obsolete for me. Additionaly, if you are installing from the sources, you probably have to read some up-to-date instructions anyhow. So I don't see any reason to print OS-specific, release-dependent details in a book about a software product [for developers].

  • Books? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by jargoone ( 166102 ) *
    Books are so 1980 to me. I know that some people rely on them, but it seems so much easier to me to find what I'm looking for on the web. Just curious: who disagrees with me, and why?

    • Re:Books? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Nos. ( 179609 )
      Honestly? Because I can read a book in the john. I have an old Unix Power Tools book in the basement bathroom, and I'm still learning new command line tricks. I have to admit though, I've skipped the chapter on Emacs.

    • Re:Books? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Saeed al-Sahaf ( 665390 )
      I tend to go for books for two reasons. First, I'm not tied to my computer, sometimes I go out, ride a bus / train / plane, and like to read a nice fat tech book. Second, I like to have the book open WHILE I'm working on a project, and I don't have two monitors side by side. Oh, and I think I'm able to access the info faster. That's three.
      • Of course there are those few books with crappy indexes that cause me to sit and wish there was a ctrl-f option with printed works.

    • Re:Books? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Kralizec ( 627733 )
      I love the Internet for teaching myself something new, there are a few reasons I'm still glad books are around, though:

      1) Sometimes online resources that give a comprehensive overview are hard to come by. The web usually offers more reference-oriented materials

      2) I live in the boonies, and don't have broadband. Searching for information on the Internet is a slow and painful process when you're dealing with 28.8kbps connections.

      3) Sometimes I just get sick of looking at the computer screen.

    • Re:Books? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by kfg ( 145172 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:20PM (#10454361)
      . . .it seems so much easier to me to find what I'm looking for on the web.

      What you are looking for is not always what you need to know.

      KFG

    • Re:Books? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Luddite ( 808273 )

      To read enough about any subject to know it in depth, I'll take a book thanks. A lot of days I'm 12 hours in front of the monitors. After a while the screens start to bug my eyes - I find myself printing a lot of stuff just so I can sit back from the desk and read it off a page...

    • Re:Books? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by kanotspell ( 520779 )
      disagree...
      I find the web great for getting started on a project and for getting to a more advanced level, but it's that middle ground that a book shines. Most how-to or informational sites just don't have the helpful fluff that a book carries, sure you can assemble the same amount of info from various web sources but a book is just easier.

      Plus there's just something wierd about sitting on the can with a laptop.
    • Portability, durability, permanence (will that web page be there in a year, or am I going to have to save it to disk, and if I do so will the links work?), ability to write in the margins and cross out things I know are wrong.

      The web is a different kind of tool, and important information is occasionally very difficult to find or just not there. Same applies to books.

  • My PHP reference... (Score:2, Informative)

    by Darth Maul ( 19860 )

    http://phpbuilder.net/

    All you need. Includes all the MySQL functions, too.

  • Stick with PHP 4 (Score:5, Interesting)

    by The_Real_Nire ( 786847 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:11PM (#10454280)
    As an experienced PHP programmer, I'd HIGHLY recommend coders, especially beginners, tick with PHP version 4. I know its tempting to get the 'latest and greatest', however, v5 is still too new, and the majority of servers out there still only support v4 code, so you will run into problems if you already start using functions/methods available in v5 only, and dont own/operate/have root on the server in which your code is going to run, and only ever run.

    I don't plan to make the switch to version 5 for at least 9 months or so, when v5 becomes the true de facto.

    • Re:Stick with PHP 4 (Score:5, Interesting)

      by mgkimsal2 ( 200677 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:18PM (#10454344) Homepage
      This is a great point. I think/hope that PHP5 has a faster adoption rate amongst hosting companies, but it'll still take some time.

      PHP5 *does* make sense for corporate/internal developers, or anyone else writing for a more controlled environment. For average joe, however, widespread PHP5 support is still minimally months off, if not years (I hope not!)
    • Windows users will definately want to stick with PHP4. The MySQL support in the PHP5 win32 binaries seems to be broken out of the box.
    • I have to disagree. Sure if you're a novice, just banging together a few web pages there are more resources available on PHP4

      Or if you're going to be writing the next Gallery/Wordpress/etc that will be installed on every concievable 2-bit hosting outfit you certainly need to keep PHP4 around for testing. (for reference MagpieRSS [mentioned in the review] required no changes to be compatible with PHP5)

      However if you a programmer with some experience, or you're interested in building a well architected sys

  • For those who wish to buy this book (Score:4, Informative)

    by Pugio ( 816116 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:40PM (#10454515) Journal
    Cheapest price I've found is $23.52 (this includes shipping) from here [overstock.com]. Now the question is... PHP or Perl? Which do I choose? (Old debate I know.)
  • PHP and MySQL are "heady"? What sort of head do you have?

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @05:59PM (#10454656)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • I'm wondering if there ever was a book review on slashdot that had as a title "Don't buy this, stay clear, vaporware". I know that the general intention of book reviews is to recommend good books to others, but what about the really bad ones? Not the obvious bad ones like "Teach yourself linux in 25 minutes" or "Cooking with Penguins".

    It's just that I've never seen someone say something negative in the first paragraph of the article. It just seems like authors registered a slashdot account and started pro

  • Problems while reading the book. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Mr_Icon ( 124425 ) on Wednesday October 06, 2004 @08:18PM (#10455645) Homepage

    Something I've noticed: if you flip the pages too fast, they all become blank with the only message showing:

    Warning: mysql_connect(): Too many connections in /usr/hand/book.php on line 4431.

  • Finally! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Qbertino ( 265505 ) <moiraNO@SPAMmodparlor.com> on Saturday October 09, 2004 @06:44AM (#10478108)
    Finally someone writes a book on PHP and MySQL. And it's even a newbie book on PHP and MySQL! Now I can get to learn this high-end stuff. Crickey, that's so cool.
    BTW: I actually plan do do something really cool: I wanna write a Web-CMS in PHP and MySQL. How does that sound, hmm?

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