PHP Master: Write Cutting Edge Code [Paperback]

Davey Shafik (Author), Lorna Mitchell (Author), Matthew Turland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2011

PHP Master is tailor-made for the PHP developer who's serious about taking their server-side applications to the next level and who wants to really keep ahead of the game by adhering to best practice, employing the most effective object-oriented programming techniques, wrapping projects in layers of security and ensuring their code is doing its job perfectly.

• Create professional, dynamic applications according to an object-oriented programming blueprint
• Learn advanced performance evaluation techniques for maximum site efficiency
• Brush up on the best testing methods to refine your code and keep your applications watertight
• Protect your site against attacks and vulnerabilities with the latest security systems
• Plug in to some serious functionality with PHP's APIs and libraries

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Davey Shafik is a full time PHP Developer with many year of experience in PHP and related technologies. An avid magazine writer and book author, Davey keeps his mind sharp by trying to tackle problems from a unique perspective.

Lorna Mitchell is a freelance web development consultant and developer based in Leeds, UK. Lorna is a lead on the Joind.In open source project, an organizer of the PHPNW conference, and a prolific blogger.

Matthew Turland has been working with PHP since 2002. He has been a technical editor for php|architect Magazine, spoken at multiple conferences, served as an instructor for php|architect training courses, and contributed to Zend Framework. He currently works for Synacor.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: SitePoint (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0987090879
• ISBN-13: 978-0987090874
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #325,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Computers & Technology > Web Development & Design > Programming > PHP

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Ask Felgall - Book Review November 29, 2011

By Stephen Chapman

Format:Paperback

This book is an ideal choice for anyone who has a moderate knowledge of PHP to start them on the path toward a much higher knowledge of PHP. The book covers a range of topics such as object oriented programming, databases, APIs, design patterns, security, performance, testing, and QA. With each of these the chapter starts out assuming that the PHP programmer reading the chapter has little or no experience with the material the chapter is covering but does assume a reasonable knowledge of PHP and the content of the preceding chapters. For example the database chapter covers how to rewrite all your database access to use the PDO object oriented approach.

While I have many years of programming experience covering most of the concepts covered by the book, most of that experience is with other languages. My level of PHP experience is probably just about at the level that the book is directed at and I expect to be able to dramatically improve my programming in PHP as a result. The one topic that the book covers where I have perhaps already gone beyond the level covered in the book is "security" as that has been one of the top priorities that I had with the few PHP applications that I have written so far. This allows me a slightly different view of that chapter to what I have with respect to the rest of the book. While applying the information that the chapter provides would make an application far more secure than one that doesn't apply those techniques, not all of what the chapter presents is completely accurate.

One example that is provided in the chapter uses htmlentities to esc ape the action attribute of a form. While this provides the security that is being discussed it is not the most appropriate function to call to provide that security. Since an attribute cannot contain a tag at all and that particular attribute should never contain anything that could be mistaken for a tag, using strip_tags would be a more appropriate solution as then it would be less likely to crash the application if the value was compromised. Later in the chapter it mentions reverse hashing with a rainbow table being prevented if the salt is unknown whereas it is also prevented even when the salt is known (as it would be in the situation being discussed at that point).

Despite these minor flaws (and any similar flaws that the PHP masters may see in the other chapters), the book still fulfils the purpose it sets out to achieve and that is to present those with a limited experience of PHP with the information that they need to take the next step toward becoming a better and more efficient PHP programmer.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book March 19, 2012

By C. Lenard

Format:Paperback

I've read a lot of PHP books... probably well over 30, to be honest. Anything from basic PHP stuff to Patterns, Tuning, etc. I've read A LOT of PHP books. This book, PHP Master, was actually one of the best PHP books I've read, though. The content is perfect for anyone looking to take that next step forward and learn more about more advanced topics. I enjoyed the book and thought it was well worth the money I paid for it.

7 of 21 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Impressed February 5, 2012

By webdev

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The book doesn't include many working projects. Most of the book is just about the concepts with much of the code incomplete. The author covers only certain parts of a project, leaving out other major parts that are needed to make the project run.

This is not a tutorial focused book. If you're looking for a book you can read from an armchair, only then might this book be a good fit for you.