Customer Reviews

PHP and MySQL LiveLessons (Video Training)

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

 

 

You can find free video tutorials of similar quality on the internet.

Fatal Flaws:

*The paperback book does not follow the video properly. It acts as two different sources of information. Neither is very good.

*The software used in the video is outdated and the newer versions no longer function the same way. PLUS there are better utilities available now.

*The video lessons use examples that are not provided for you, so you can not easily work on an application together.

*The only web resource, [...], is just an affiliate redirect to another site where you can by more books/videos. The creator of[...] will get the commission.

I will NEVER buy any live lessons products.

I would suggest starting w3schools intro to php/mysql, it is not a video, but still very helpful.

Twenty years ago I took some video classes given by the IEEE. These were delivered via satellite. So at a given time, all over the US, people interested could go to some site hosting the event, and then get a lecture on a typically abstruse topic. Unidirectional, because the lecture was prerecorded. Reviewing these livelessons on PHP and MySQL reminded me of those now distant classes. The format is essentially the same. Though perhaps more convenient here, since you have the DVDs in hand and can play and replay them at your convenience.

This video appeals to those people who have trouble studying strictly from the printed word, be it in a book or webpage. I never had any problem with the latters, but there are definitely people who need something like a human tutor to nudge things along. For you, the video can be helpful.

The 18 lessons are about half an hour each. Short and focusing on a precise topic. The accompanying book, well actually it is a slim booklet, summarises the lessons. What the booklet shows is that the lessons don't really have much in them, compared to a fully fledged book on PHP and MySQL. But those books might easily be 500 pages or more and very forbidding to some. If this is your case, then these videos are a far easier and gentler introduction. After which you can move on to more indepth texts.

This instructor knows this subject. However, he moves along very fast, and he assumes the student has a fairly substantial background in programming. If a student does not have substantial programming savvy, more elementary lessons first might be in order.

I feel I have learned PHP better with this product than the previous few books I have read. The author really does know his subject and is able to communicate his ideas well (for me at least). He goes over a few different aspects of an item to really help drive the information into your brain. My previous review suggested there were no controls, but there are. I ignored the opening window suggesting a resolution (thought mine was already as high as it could go). You can play/pause video and fast forward, backward with a slide bar (awkward but functional).

This is a good product for someone who just needs that extra push to get going on learning PHP. I hope they make more!

Top Web developer and author Marc Wandschneider shows how to build secure Web applications with PHP and MySQL, offering a blend of booklet and video lessons package showing how to set up PHP on Windows and Mac OS X, and then how to apply development projects. The intense video approach - some 8 hours of video paired with instruction - makes for a powerful learning tool any PHP and MySQL learner needs. Very highly recommended.