Mastering PHP 4.1 with CDROM (Paperback)

by Jeremy Allen (Author), Charles Hornberger (Author) "DEVELOPING APPLICATIONS AND SITES for the World Wide Web, or for Web-like uses such as intranets, has become one of the most extensive areas of..." (more)
Key Phrases: Binary Left, Hello World, Internet Explorer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Mastering PHP 4.1 is the resource you need if you want to build full-featured web applications with the leading open-source web development tool. This book is up-to-date for the latest version of PHP and covers a wide range of topics, including accessing MySQL and PostgreSQL databases, accessing LDAP servers, generating images and PDF documents on the fly, and creating your own classes. You also learn how to send email, build web-to-e-mail interfaces, close common security holes in PHP scripts, and parse and generate XML files. If you are a novice programmer, you can use the book to learn the basics of object-oriented programming with the PHP language. If you are a seasoned pro, you can use the book as an invaluable reference for expert solutions to common problems. The companion CD-ROM contains PHP 4.1.1, the sample code and projects from the book, the Apache web server, and the MySQL database.

From the Back Cover
Build Dynamic, Database-Driven Web Sites

PHP is a fully developed, server-side embedded scripting language, and its importance for web application development has grown with the rise of the Apache web server. Are you a novice programmer? This book starts with the basics and takes you wherever you want to go. A seasoned pro? You'll be amazed at how much you can capitalize on PHP's power and object-oriented support, and how it leverages your knowledge of other languages. Finally, if you're a PHP user in search of an authoritative reference, you need look no further. Mastering PHP 4.1 guides you through all levels of real-world web programming problems and provides expert advice on which solutions work best.

Coverage Includes: Reading and writing files Validating data with regular expressions Accessing MySQL and PostgreSQL databases Accessing LDAP servers Generating images and PDF documents on the fly Building authentication and access-control systems Sending e-mail and building web-to-e-mail interfaces Creating your own classes Closing common security holes in PHP scripts Parsing and generating XML documents Using sessions to store persistent data Debugging misbehaving scripts Encrypting and decrypting sensitive data

Featured on the CD The enclosed CD contains PHP 4.1 along with all the sample code from the book and projects that you can adapt and use in your own site. You also get all the official PHP documentation and full copies of Apache web server and MySQL RDBMS.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 800 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0782129242
• ISBN-13: 978-0782129243
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,499,695 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well written and comprehensive work., June 12, 2002

By	Joseph Patrick Breda (Baldwinsville, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I probably own more computer books than the local library. Some are very good, others are downright terrible. Mastering PHP 4.1 is in the former category.

For starters, this book covers the newest version of PHP. An added bonus is the coverage of connecting to a PostgreSQL database. Other authors seem to assume that the only database in use with PHP is MySQL.

The authors employ an excellent writing style. Important concepts are not "glossed over," and at the same time you are not continually reminded of the obvious.

Excellent work, and that you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than googling; code examples are not page-turners, April 14, 2004

By	Jon Wright (Vietnam) - See all my reviews

Scenario: I'm an experienced programmer and I'd tinkered with PHP a little bit but needed to get going on a serious project. Fast.

This book was the answer. It covers all the essential ground in a well structured way. Don't be fooled by the word "Mastering..." in the title. The author is not too frightened to give you another grounding in the basic principles behind web architectures - but he does it in such fluid fashion you won't get frustrated.

This book will teach you great conventions and techniques to ensure you program effectively and give you a firm foundation on which to build robust, extensible projects. The chapters: "Forms and User Interaction" and "Data Validation" are excellent.

Reading this book will incur a slight hit to your productivity. That's because the example projects are so illuminating that you'll just have to put the book down and try them out yourself. Within a few hours you'll have twenty-odd scripts open on your screen. That's pretty rare in a programming book. I usually rate them based on the brevity of the examples rather than vice-versa.

Prior to picking up this book I'd been looking up the answers to my queries using my faithful old search engine. Now I rely on this book almost exclusively. There's no crud to wade through. This book provides the answers to your questions and knits them together in a solid fabric of clear explanations, real world examples, and good style.

I think programmers of nearly every level would find this book useful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PHP made simple, September 19, 2002

By	James E Airey (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This book is a great book if you want to learn php. It goes through all of the basics and adds a lot of detail if you choose to really dig in. The index is huge and has answers to 99% of the questions I have. The attached CD really helps a lot too, since you can see the code and interact with it. A book doesn't always cut it. I recommend this book to any php newcomer and to anyone who wants a guide to this great language.
The section on SQL and database interaction also helps for those who want to work on interactive sites and storing user data. This book is the best php book I have come across yet.