Customer Reviews

Building a Web Site with Ajax: Visual QuickProject Guide

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The author succeeds in leading the reader through an example application utilizing techniques that have been lumped under the name "Ajax". I suspect that many readers learn as I do by testing and experimenting with code examples. To get the most out of the book, these readers should have access to a desktop or ISP web server with Php capability.

Throught out the book, the author refers the reader to other resources that cover topics referred to briefly or noted as simply not in the scope of the book. Examples are installing Apache/PHP, verifying data input, security considerations etc.

The book is a excellent read for those who have already delved into one of the pre-Ajax volumes that covered MySql/PHP in depth and want an Ajax upgrade. Others with basic application implementation needs will benefit from the overview, example code and resource tips provided.

The book jacket lists it as a beginner level book. It says: "Familiarity with HTML, JavaScript, PHP and CSS would be helpful but is not required." It's true that the project doesn't involve anything terribly complicated in any of these areas. Still, if ALL of these are unfamiliar to you, I'd guess it would be quite difficult to follow what is going on simply because there are so many components interacting. (Actually there are a few more involved as well: MySQL, SQL and XML).

Every step of the project is explained at a level that assumes you might not have seen that type of code before. But the exact syntax of each line of code isn't always explained so you may have to follow up with more reading and research if you want to adapt what you've learned to your own project later.

Several things I thought were particularly good about this book. One: given that browsers do a good part of the processing with AJAX through JavaScript, and given that you can't count on consistent behavior across browsers--or even on JavaScript being enabled, I was pleased to find that the project was designed to create a non-AJAX version first and then to add the AJAX layer on top of that.

Two: there was a good amount of error-checking built in to the application even though it is a fairly simple one. That's something as a not-so-proficient programmer I often find myself overlooking.

And three: tips on debugging in PHP and in JavaScript are included. Although they are pretty basic tips, if you are a beginner, they will be helpful.

I'd say this book can give you as much for your investment of time as many a day-long workshop would and at much lower cost.

I already have a book from Larry Ullman (on PHP5 and SQL). So I know the man is both a great programmer and an excellent teacher. I already know the basics of Ajax (XMLHTTPRequest object, asynchronous requests etc). But I'm always interested in studying case studies. The book was unexpensive and short so I went for it. And I'm really happy I did. The project developed in this book clearly shows how to deal with server side problems and even to deal with a client on which javascript is disabbled (or blocked by a security app).
Two thumbs up for this book.

I had eagerly awaited the release of this based on the quality of Larry Ullman's other books and outstanding support, and a niggling desire to learn about Ajax.

This is written in the same easy-to-follow style of the author's previous publications and well worth the purchase price. It takes the reader through creating a single Ajax example with PHP and MYSQL, and clearly explains the concepts as you go. As usual, there is an accompanying web page with downloadable files and other information.

Highly recommended!

I received the book promptly from the seller. It was received in new condition. As for the contents, the entire 150 page book contains less information than a typical chapter of 40 pages or so of a REAL book. This book uses very large type with a large potion of white space on each page. Also, The examples have no continuity and seem to be missing portions of the code. This is so bad that it makes the examples detriment to learning the information the example represents. Some of the explanations were good but weren't integrated into the examples in a way that the reader can understand the proper usage. I could not recommend this book to anyone and wished I could recover what I spent for it.

Larry Ullman has done another excellent job in writing this book. Larry consistently produces products that are easy to understand and implement for any level of web designer/programmer. I highly recommend any book written by Larry, and suggest visiting his website, which is extremely worthwhile and fun.

His examples are easy to understand, and pertinent to the job at hand. I own several books by Larry, and have found them all to be very helpful, not matter what the task may be. Keep up the good work Larry, and I look forward to your next release.

I must admit I was disappointed when I first opened this book. Large fonts, half-empty pages, I thought they just wanted to extend 20-30 page text to 140+ and make money.
I was wrong, I mistakenly thought that this was going to be like PHP6 & MySql5 from the same author. That book is a heavy one with 600+ pages where author goes into every single detail.

However, this book is 100% practical guide. It's like Larry is teaching you a lesson how to implement that darn Javascript/Ajax that you tried but couldn't and explains to you everything he does! Clean, simple and elegant.
So for 13-14$ you can't ask for more and definitely is worth it!
I like his attitude, his style and he REALLY *knows how*!

very concise yet descriptive illustrations for creating a project with AJAX. Of course it is not a Bible for this technology, but a very very handy book which gived the basic idea.

For the money this is a good purchase. One needs to have some experience with web design and a basic understanding of how html, javascript, php and MySql relate to each other, but where the author acknowledges he can't cover those subjects in depth he gives excellent references to other publications.

He uses a unique format to show the concepts of building pages in two steps. 1) a straightforward html page without ajax and 2) adding ajax code in a way that the final version is still compatible with non ajax supported browsers. The printed code examples are supported by an on-line site where the code can be downloaded to avoid typing.

He also includes a brief but excellent discussion on the differences in XML, JSON and Frameworks. And, since I am a Mac aficionado, it is refreshing to see screen shots that show he uses a Mac and makes no apologies for it.

Generally I find the Visual QuickProduct series quite useful and well organized. They are for those who want to just scratch the surface though, so some more-in-depth material is useful if you want to get down to the nuts and bolts of an application. This particular Visual QuickProject has one slight flaw in that it presents each project step by step - usually each step occupies two or more pages - so you have flip back and forth to put the steps together to get the big picture. The projects are generically useful and cover many areas where AJAX is a useful tool.