Customer Reviews

Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am an absolute beginner when it comes to php/mysql, so my review should be helpful to the majority of people considering this book. I decided to buy it after reading the positive reviews here, and while I don't wholefully regret buying it, I can certainly tell you it's not worth the $35 cost.

Very first thing you should know about this book is that it's incredibly thin and small- about the size of your printer's manual, if you have one of those. So small in fact, I wasn't sure it was the book when I first received it (thought it was a booklet that came with the book). The 230 page count doesn't do this book's minute size justice.

The book is written completely in a top-bottom, tutorial fashion. It builds on a single example for the most part, first telling you how to view and define your database, then slowly populate and manipulate the tables inside. Such a style means that it's hard to get left behind, even if you're the absolute beginner and non-geek. Bottom line, I did learn how to create a database and add to it dummy values using PHP through this book. If that's your stumbling block- the absolute first step- this book will help you overcome it. The book's top-bottom/single example style is its allure, though ultimately, its fatal flaw too.

Now to elaborate on the reasons why "Build your own database driven site (php/mysql)" isn't all that great, and not worth the $[money]:

1) From the get-go, you can obviously tell it wasn't put together in a professional setting- lots of spelling mistakes, unprofessional font (for the example codes). "Not a big deal" I told myself as I worked my way through. However, I quickly realized the book doesn't even contain an INDEX at the end! Having read the book once already, it became a nightmare to try and quickly brush up on a particular syntax without wasting tons of time flipping through pages. I end up just going to [the website] often and looking up the syntax directly. This means the book is useful only for the first read, 2nd at most. As another irritating side note, the book is so small, I can't even get it to open up without having to press my fingers between the two covers to keep it open at all times. Otherwise, it'll just fold back up.

2) The book is truly for absolute beginners, and not just in its writing style, but amount of information contained inside as well. Having just read another beginner's book on mysql, I gradually realized just how much essential (not advanced, essential) information on mysql syntax was left out of it, info that's invaluable when you're just creating your first database. Syntax like variations of the various commands that make it so much easier to insert and modify tables, how to populate data via a text file etc, were all not included. And for the info that was there, as mentioned above, since there is no index, they're hard to look up.

3) This book is priced at $35. I guess the author thought he could get away with it, since there are currently no other php/mysql books written in such a tutorial and gentle style. Perhaps, though is that justification to price it at the highest price level of similar books, and for one that's 1/3 the size and amount of info as the rest? The amount of editing done is also significantly less than most other books (lack of index, spelling mistakes etc). I feel like being in the mix of a price fix here. The moment I saw the size of the book and to the end, I couldn't help but feel cheated, even though the info contained inside is good.

Bottom line, as mentioned above, if your stumbling block at this point is the absolute first step in creating mysql databases and using php to interact with it, this book is worth getting, though not "worth it" any way you look at it.

Do I have another suggestion then? Buy a couple of other beginner books on the subject first, and if you still don't get it, come to this one (buy used if possible). You're feel a lot more comfortable with your decision then, as it was your last resort anyway.

I'd like to recommend this book because there is a lot going for it. The text is readable. The illustrations and screenshots are well done. And the book presents a nice learning curve from beginner to reasonably high level concepts. But the book has some technical flaws that other beginning PHP books do not. An example is the authors use of SQL, a primary feature of this type of book, which is implemented using string concatenation. This type of SQL is not only inefficient, it's also prone to SQL injection attacks which means that any code based on this book will have serious security issues.

There are some very good parts, however. The chapter that introduces relational databases is very well done.

I recommend O'Reilly's Learning PHP 5 as an alternative to this book.

This book is for those who like step-by-step directions accompanied by explanations of how things work. I learned many things using this approach. This book is a stepping stone to creating dynamic Web sites.

Yank does a fine job covering a little of everything without overpowering the reader with too much. Anyone who has experimented with Perl, PHP, ASP.NET, MySQl, Access, some of them or all of them will like the book. Those who can write PHP and MySQL with little help need to find a more advanced book (don't have suggestions, but I am sure others do).

I rarely ran into problems while following the examples. I've worked with other technical books and hit a brick wall at times requiring a call for help or serious research. While working with this book, I only got stuck once and immediately figured out the problem with a little research.

Yank uses visual aids and avoids jargon when explaining the process of laying out the database tables. A reviewer commented that Yank missed important concepts regarding databases. This book is not meant to go into such details. There are other books for that.

This book is well-rounded in covering all the necessary components of building a Web site using a database. While adding data, viewing tables, and querying the database, you're learning tasks that will come in handy for future projects.

Not only do you get instructions for PHP and MySQL, but also advice on structuring code so that it's used effectively.

If you've never installed Apache, PHP, or MySQL or can't recall how to do it, the steps for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X are in the first chapter. Since the latest edition covers PHP 5, the author addresses the differences in PHP 4.3. When working on the first PHP script, there is no "Hello World!" for a change.

The early chapters provide a good overview of PHP and MySQL. By Chapter 4, the contents of the earlier chapters are integrated as the backend database connects to the Web page with PHP. The next chapters show how to use forms to manage, add, delete, edit, and search data. By midpoint, the reader has designed a database, organized it, created Web pages for the data, added administration pages, and administered the database. Yank also explains how to generate cookies and build a simple shopping cart.

The appendices include MySQL syntax, functions, column types, and PHP functions to use with MySQL. The book has an accompanying Web site that includes errata and four free sample chapters. Having edited a few tech books, I know how easy it is to miss things when you're working on different computer set ups and application versions. Check the site especially since it has the code from the book. When running into problems, compare your code to the code from the site.

One chapter has a challenge along with the solution (a couple of pages later, so you're not tempted to peek). Having a challenge like this in most chapters, I believe, would help cement the learning. Overall, it will make the purchaser happy.

The four free sample chapters give you a good idea of what the book is about and its style <http://sitepoint.com/books/phpmysql1/>.

Author Kevin Yank states up front that this book is intended for intermediate- to advanced-level Web designers. I think this is an appropriate designation, as a beginner would quickly become overwhelmed at the rate with which Yank introduces such heady topics as Relational Database Design (Chapter 5) and Regular Expressions (Chapter 7). It's important to note that this book is an introduction to server-side technologies, not web site design; therefore, I recommend that the reader have experience with creating web sites and with client-side coding (HTML, JavaScript). Consider the pace: Chapters 1-3 of the book cover installation, your first MySQL database, and your first PHP page. Then by Chapter 6, the reader is coding a (admittedly rudimentary) content-management system!

Is this book for you? Consider that for the price, you get a basic introduction to a broad number of topics: 1) PHP installation, 2) MySQL installation, 3) relational database design, 4) using server-side programming to reduce client-side coding, 5) database administration, 6) writing effective SQL queries, 7) structured programming techniques, such as using includes, and 8) implementing cookies and sessions. If you are already comfortable with at least half of the topics in this list, then you are probably ready to graduate to a more in-depth book than this one. If much of this sounds new to you, then you will find Yank's book an excellent introduction. Yank writes as if he was a friendly tour guide, at each step of the way walking you through what he has done and why he chose to do it that way. Because the style is so conversational, it's easy to go back and re-read a chapter, which many readers might find themselves doing.

While the cover of the 3rd Edition (February 2005 update) goes at length to point out that the book covers PHP5, there is negligible content that goes beyond PHP4.x. None of the coding, and none of the author's discussions on effective programming techniques, addresses OO programming at all, let alone how it's implemented in PHP5. This is not necessarily a negative aspect of the book since, again, it's essentially an introduction. Just don't let the packaging fool you into thinking you're getting more than you actually are.

For me, the primary value of a book like this is in the initial chapter, where it provides all of the necessary steps for installing PHP and MySQL in one place. While the online documentation for both technologies is excellent, I have found that it can be confusing to switch back and forth between the two sites to get your own set-up installed and configured. If you're like me and must add Apache installation to the process, it only compounds the problem. Yank provides clear instructions for Windows and Linux users, with a nod to Mac X users, on installation and post-installation tasks.

Mainly for this information, this book is an excellent way to get started with server-side technology, but it is not at all suitable for production purposes. As with any server or server-side technology, security is a major and much-debated topic of concern with PHP and MySQL. Yank does address some of the basic methods of protecting a MySQL server from attacks, including how to password-protect the root user account and how to grant only necessary access to new users. I'm sure many PHP programmers will argue with Yank's recommendation that PHP's "Magic Quotes" feature be left On, since turning it Off "exposes you to hackers attempting SQL injection attacks on your Website if you are not very careful to write scripts that protect themselves from such malicious behavior" (p. 24). Mind you, he is simply quoting the recommendation at php.net, since the On setting is recommended for beginners, but it points out why this book is not suitable for production-ready applications. Yank does provide abundant footnotes for the reader to find more detailed information, including the online documentation at www.php.net and www.mysql.com.

Yank very often invites the reader to consult the forums at [...] for further information and advice. Do not construe this as a mere marketing ploy. The SitePoint forums are indeed an excellent resource, with an active and often well-experienced audience.

All of the code listed in the book is available as a download from [...]. Simply provide your e-mail address, then you will be prompted with a question that you can answer only if you have the book in front of you.

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.

Sometimes you buy and read through two-three books that should teach you how to do something, but you read and read and do not understand what those guys are talking about. This books actually explains why and how things work in mySQL and PHP, explains mySQL interface and tells you how to stick thing together.

As complete novice to mySQL and PHP, I was looking for some help and there it was - a book, that takes you step-by-step of setting your system, database, PHP and tells you how to build a db-driven site from scratch in no time (O.K. you'd need to read the book first), gives an advice and shares some developer's secrets. If you wonder how things are working behind the scenes of back-end programming this book is for you.

I am not sure if PHP-mySQL Wiz would need the book but I found it absolutely essential.

Before I read this book I knew very little about PHP and MySQL. I had dabbled a little in ASP many years ago but foremost I'm a designer so coding isn't always second nature to me. I started reading this book on the train to work and again on the way back; after 2 hours reading I had the confidence to try to build my own basic content management system!

At just over 250 pages the book is rather on the small side compared to a lot of the other books on the topic, but it really does contain all the essentials. It also encourages you to think for yourself and it really helped me understand how simple PHP and MySQL really is.

This book is very much aimed at the beginner who hasn't dabbled before so I doubt it's of much use to established PHPers, but to newcomers to the field I can't recommend this book enough.

I was first introduced to this book on SitePoint.com (one of the BEST websites for web developers) when I downloaded the first four chapters. They were EXCELLENT and got me up and running with PHP and MySQL (on a Win2K box) in no time. This is simply one of the best tech books I own.

Kevin has done a fantastic job of clearly explaining AND teaching PHP and MySQL. He somehow found a way to cram as much useful information as possible into this small book but managed to organize it in a tech-friendly way. You WILL learn these technologies AND build a PHP/MySQL website by the time you finish (if not earlier). Even his chapter on installing the technologies is as good as it gets. How many times have you followed a set of installation steps and when you were finished had something work EXACTLY the way you thought it would? Well, Kevin does just that in this book. Sure, this may not be the largest book you'll ever buy but it WILL be one of the best!

Buy it and enjoy!!

Kevin Yank has done an excellent job in putting together a step by step guide to building a database driven web site. He starts by providing advice on how to get started in both MySQL and PHP; he goes on to outline the design of relational databases and then provides clear instructions on how to build a content management system.

The book is well presented, well written and full of useful examples. His explanations are straightforward and he includes lots of ready to use code samples. In fact the only thing that Kevin doesn't seem to provide is the finished database driven web site!

I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for an introductory tutorial for PHP and MySQL.

I bought this book and am very happy with it. I've bought a lot of books on PHP that really suck, not because the author didn't know the subject, but because the author stunk as a teacher. This isn't a reference book, it's a how-to tutorial and it succeeds at what it set out to do. It teaches PHP and MySQL to newbies. I've used it and have loaned it out to others in my company and they love it. Read this one first and then, if you want to, move on to more in-depth books on PHP.