Customer Reviews

Build Your Own Database Driven Web Site Using PHP & MySQL

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

 

 

Following the code examples within this book is a sure-fire way to open yourself to massive security vulnerabilities. There isn't even a section on security, which would have been the only possible excuse for the unbelievably insecure practices in the examples. This is irresponsible on a surprising level exactly because the book is intended for beginners, those equipped the least to deal with the inevitable ramifications of using the code herein.

For Shame.

Those interested in this book would do well to read this post from the author on sitepoint itself. [...]

Of particular note, please see my comment on this post that details a very real SQL injection attack that would, if anyone has used the code, allow an attack to log in as any user without even the slightest worry about passwords.

This is a surprising black mark on sitepoint's otherwise decent reputation. For Shame.

Kevin seems like a super guy on sitepoint, but please, kevin, stop writing books. Boring read and far from being well structured. I'm sure kevin is a good coder, but if he happens to code like he writes, his script would be all over the place.

Sorry, I mostly gave it 3 stars because I really like Kevin, but if anyone wants to get a book on php and mysql this is not it.

p.s.

Sitepoint books lately have been bad. I'm starting to think they have a cookie cutter method of writing. I'm still a fan of the forum, but their books are not what they use to be.

Kevin Yank, Build Your Own Database-Driven Web Site with PHP and MySQL (Sitepoint, 2009)

I have just finished my first read through Kevin Yank's Build Your Own Database-Driven Web Site with PHP and MySQL. I can tell you that it will not be my last read through it, by any means. While there are a few places it glosses over and a few rather shocking omissions in the name of simplicity, it was (and I can rarely say this with a computer book) exactly what I was looking for.

Using simple, easy-to-understand tutorials, Yank takes you through the development of a very simple website that has a database as its back end. This should not surprise you, given the title of the book. Impressively, it neither manages to talk down to its reader (assuming a complete newb) nor spirals off into overly technical jargon (assuming a MySQL-certified reader). Granted, if you've been a database developer for ten years (that would be me) some of this will be redundant, but it's a good refresher course for basic database concepts and a perfect way to immerse yourself in MySQL if you're coming from a different DBMS. That said, my main problem with the book was Yank's breezy passing by the idea of using the InnoDB engine and letting your code handle foreign key constraints. That's workable (though very, very iffy) for the four-table database Yank builds here, but any real-life (read: complex) solution will quickly get unmanageable; any minor change to the table structure, depending on how many tables it relates to, could require hours of hunting and changing code. As any programmer learns within the first ten minutes of starting his first programming course, that is a recipe for bugs.

My other problem with it, though this is far more minor, is that (I think) content management systems like this usually store site settings in the database as well, and Yank doesn't address this at all beyond logins and passwords, choosing to refer the user to learning CSS. I thought CSS was dead, or close to it. I'd have expected that in a book written in 2004, but in 2009? But my inexperience with web apps--I've always been a back-end developer--may be more at fault than Yank's writing, so I'll defer judgment on that to those who actually know what they're doing with this stuff, who will hopefully get round to reviewing the book eventually. In any case, the stuff that's actually here, the parts on data access and getting your data from database to website, are clear as well as being very easy to understand and implement, and that's a rare thing in computer books. Highly recommended, though you'll need other books to cover the places where this is lacking. ****

I have read two books from different publishers and authors on this subject. The other is called PHPSolutions, i do not recommend that book. I believe sitepoint is one of the better publishers for beginners and their newer books are very well written. Compared to PHPSolutions I believe that this book shows much better methods of organization and gives the reader a better understanding of the subjects. His writing is very elegant and would be very good for a beginner but yet after reading another book on php and mysql i am still learning valuable techniques and strategies from this book.

While some people may find the absence of CSS in the book a drawback I find it very helpful, the authors goal is not to teach you CSS it was to instruct you in the art of mixing PHP and a MYSQL database to create functional webpages with data. What author does is creates a focus on the code and does not spend time elaborating example code, that will in all most all cases, never be used. A better approach to css is to pick up another of Sitepoint books such as The CSS Anthology where you will learn css that you can use to create your own webpage designs.

I hope this review will make you consider looking at the sitepoint website, and another great thing about sitepoint is they offer large previews of their books so you can see what you are getting into.

Understanding some of the basics and having knowledge somewhat of PHP and MySQL going in, I wanted a book that broke everything down to explain to me exactly what everything did, and on a recommendation, I bought this book and was not disappointed. Kevin Yank does a good job showing the reader, and giving them access to the actual code itself, how to execute and even some security flaws that one might encounter. I think after reading that book, that having a full understanding of php and mysql, that I will be able to write my own programs (but of course still looking back for reference).

I'm about half way through the book and I feel it is quite helpful. My biggest criticism, and one shared by many programming books, is that the author's first "follow along" project is overly ambitious, especially in the "admin" creation areas. Surely there are other projects which are more straightforward to illustrate the concepts being presented. Also, occasional lines of code are provided, especially where connections to MySQL are concerned, which are inadequately explained. So you need to supplement the steps you learn with independent research, not necessarily a bad thing but if the author were to at least acknowledge and provide a few suggested outside resources, that would be helpful. Taken as a whole the book is worthy of three stars and hopefully there will be a newer version released soon.

Please be aware that the Kindle version of this book, on both the iPad and Mac, suffers from a formatting issue which displays every word in bold text. I discovered a workaround: if you use the scroll bar to go ahead a page or two and then go back, the problem will go away, as long as you don't go back to the first page of any chapter. Once you scroll back to the first page of a chapter, the Kindle app goes into "bold everything" mode again. I noticed this complaint on other Sitepoint books, so they and Amazon need to work together to correct the problem.

I liked the book. It delves into pure xhtml+php+mysql syntax. The introductory chapters on PHP and MySQL are more than adequate. It even recommends the reader to use mysqli over mysql in PHP coding. There's even a chapter of regex'es for a good measure! (I always feel that beginners need to be exposed to them.)

Some things I didn't like; the 'jokes' database. I feel that a database that would mimic relevant, real-world concepts would help instill MySQL knowledge better, i.e., an address book system, a library catalog, a customer database. The chapter covering advanced SQL queries (along with relational database design), while nice, seems illsuited for a beginner's book. Ditto for a chapter on administering MySQL databases.

I didn't like the binary data chapter; as it reflects poor best practices. (I can never recall ever using a 'blob' type in a MySQL database.) Also, it had the idea that PHP could 'cache' dynamic pages by using a controller program to create static pages and serving them instead. That sounds nice in practice, because in theory, I would rather not have a PHP program with file system write access to my Linux server. In the alternative, I guess a PHP coder could designate a single directory w/ write access for this purpose. Again, this would be an advanced topic in its own right; large websites need caching solutions of some sort to manage traffic efficiently w/ a minimum of downtime.

The Appendices are gold; are well suited for reference material. If I had them in a searchable form, i.e., a PDF file or a Kindle file, this would be very good. Alas, I only got this book from the local public library.

This is a Great book to learn PHP & MySQL. It is written in a way that makes it very understandable. The examples used in the book make a cool starter site that you can build on as well as many scripts you can use for all sites you make.

This is a good book in an overall point of view. If you want to learn from the ground up without any help from any web editor this is your choice. It is a little difficult for a beginner but the examples in the book are pretty clear and straightforward.
What is most interesting about this book is the use of php templates and the coding style that the book wants the reader to learn. The book shows a wide use of php templates.

The book is written well enough but covers broad basics and isn't entirely applicable to getting work done. The info in the book can easily be found in online tutorials. Having a hard copy is helpful however and the book isn't bad. If you learn better from books than following things online it's worth buying but if you want to get moving on projects quickly I'd just find help online.