Customer Reviews

Apache, MySQL, and PHP Weekend Crash Course

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I had no problems following any of the author's steps in the book for Windows and I'm sure anyone who's competent with Windows can do the same. I didn't actually spend a whole weekend with the book as the title suggests, but each lesson takes about the amount of time prescribed and getting through the book in several evenings over the course of a week or two is pretty easy. be sure of course to get the right versions of MySQL, Apache, and PHP. The combination of the 3 can lead to problems if you don't use the exact versions with all the right patches applied as the author suggests. I had tinkered with IIS some in the past but never before had I done anything more complicated than HTML web pages. From the examples in this book, I was able to set up my own web site with a database.

Today: December 13th, 2006.
This 2004 book is great....for older versions of PHP and mySQL. It took me a long time to figure out how to install PHP correctly...and the mySQL screenshots and setup instructions are outdated too.

If this book were up to date with the current versions of the software, I'd be giving it a rave review and 5 stars.

The current versions of the software are:
Apache 2.2.3
PHP 5.2.0
mySQL 5.0.27

I had no problem installing Apache & running it (this is on Windows, btw). However, the others took some web searches to figure out.
If you do intend to buy this book, here are 2 revisions:
Page 26: you can skip step 2.
Page 28: LoadModule php5_module c:\php\php5apache2_2.dll

I really bought this book for the calendar project at the end of the book. But I was absolutely apalled at what the publisher claims to be "focused sessions". If you need to learn mySQL and PHP look at Anny Harris' "PHP/MySQL Programming for the absolute beginner."

I am an ASP programmer looking to break away from the hold microsoft has over everyone. But you couldn't learn PHP with this book if your life depended on it. And if you need to learn Apache, I don't know what to suggest. But don't buy this book.

The publisher would be doing the world a great service by either removing this book from the market or actually make the format of the book into something instructive.

I am giving this 4 stars because I am still near the front of this book. From the other reviews I've seen here, most people are giving bad reviews because they are having trouble just setting up Apache, PHP and MySQL. Let me tell you, I have zero experience with any of those technologies, but I have the drive to figure things out. The versions of all three programs listed in the book are older than what is available now, but anyone worth their weight in scripting tags will be able to figure out how to install the newer versions. If you can't get past that part, then developing dynamic web content is not for you. In any case, it's not the book's fault if the programs have changed layouts and added new features that make the reader dig a little deeper to figure out how to implement the code. As for the code itself, the mySQL code I've worked with so far is spot on. It remains to be seen how the PHP coding turns out, but I have high hopes for this book

Attempting to install Apache following the authors' instructions will not amount to getting started anytime soon. However once you get past these issues, you will find he has done a decent job of providing an entry level for the complete newbie.

Mind you, if you have any previous experience coding PHP or SQL the provided examples are not for you: buy a different book.

Has the author actually tried to do a PHP/Apache installation on Windows2000? Strange he didn't come up against any of the same errors I got when I followed his instructions (several attempts)