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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you're new to PHP, GET THIS BOOK! DONT GO TO www.php.net, March 31, 2005
This review is from: PHP 5 / MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)
I've been reading this book to learn PHP and it is undoubtedly the best book for beginners you're going to find. I've been trying to learn PHP since version 3 (yea, finally there is a book that I can understand). If you're new to programming, and new to PHP, do not listen to people who say 'oh, just go to www.php.net'
The online help manual for PHP is not geared towards beginners. It's geared towards the type of people who simply have to read the rules of a programming language and then can go and program with it effectively. Basically, it's for people who know what they're doing. They have the programming mind already. I am not that type of person and many people who are new to programming are not like that.
Andy Harris' book teaches you PHP, but you will have to have a solid foundation in HTML/CSS (which I have) and it says that in the book. The only errors I've noticed in the book so far are HTML and they're nothing major. If you know HTML you'll be able to see them right off the bat and correct them for yourself (it's not like the book is $50 or something, it's just a minor inconvenience you'll only encounter maybe two or three times in the entire 12 chapter book). Also, the examples in the book are sometimes different from the ones on the CD (which implies that the CD is much more up to date than the book). Those are usually only minor changes to the code.
In any case, while reading this book everything is explained and introduced in a way that is easy for me to understand. I think the way he introduces concepts is great. He doesn't simply say 'these are the rules and let me explain them' like the other books. No, he gradually works you up to them, preparing your mind. I find that this is more effective and this is a beginning programmer talking, after years of trying to find a good book. The one thing that I think is great is that this book uses examples that are relevant to what you will be programming. Too many times (back when PHP 3 and 4 came out) have I read those books that use boring examples that I'll never use (like some math formula for example). Instead, the examples in this book are challenging, yet fun and practical, and he goes over every part of the code so that you understand what each part is doing. Sometimes the examples are really big, but this isn't a problem. Even if there is an area where his explaining doesn't do it for me, if I simply go over everything in my mind and break things down on a piece of paper I'm able to understand. The only reason I'm able to understand is because the concepts have been introduced in a way that I can know what's going on. The only issue is then figuring out what a large example is doing and that's something you have to figure out for yourself. I haven't run into a problem I haven't been able to figure out so far.
This book is shaping my mind into a programmer's mind. I can now see the planning involved in each program and I'm finally starting to see the method. It's a lot more effective than other books that simply give you the syntax, explain it, and then give you a problem to do without giving you relevant examples on how to use what you just learning and shaping your mind so that you'll know when each tool is effective, when you'll need to use it, and how they work in different situations. I now know the reason why I couldn't get through those books. I knew the rules, but my mind didn't know how to think like a programmer. All those so-called beginner books don't teach you that at all. Andy Haris' book does. I feel like I can go on to other programming languages now because I finally read a book that taught me the method.
PHP5/MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner is not the PHP5 bible but it explains PHP5 enough so that by the time you're done you'll be able to do what you want and get out there and learn more without being intimidated. If you're a beginner to PHP5, don't waste your time with other books that won't introduce you to the mechanics of programming. Get this book!
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is what it says, June 7, 2006
This review is from: PHP 5 / MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)
I am an Absolute beginner. When I say absolute I mean it. My education was spent in the history department and reading through texts written centuries ago. I took my last math class as a college freshman and only in the past couple of years opened up a web design program and got to learning html.
Programming is an entirely foreign world for me. It is an entirely foreign way of thinking for me. I can happily write twenty or more pages on some obscure incident in the late Roman Empire but show me a bit of code and my brain fogs over.
This being the case I found Andy Harris' book to be exceptionally helpful. He takes you step by step, explaining key concepts and vocabulary, inserting bits of humor and the occasional tangent, keeping the lessons fresh.
The first seven chapters deal more directly with the basics of PHP. The rest deal mostly with MySQL.
I got into PHP through my wrestling with Wordpress, and my interest in working with other CMS systems for an education environment. Underlying these great open source programs are PHP and MySQL. Harris' book, then, serves as a wonderful foundation for my pursuits as I move past being an absolute beginner.
It may not be appropriate for those with a stronger foundation in programming, but then the title should give that away. There are the very occasional errors in the code, but these are fixed in the provided CD, so it gives a person experience in discovering how to fix broken code, another great lesson. As most of the errors in the code come from my own mistakes, not the book's, getting good at comparing my work with the cd is a useful lesson indeed.
Because of this book I am no longer an absolute beginner but instead someone able to both develop new projects and work much more effectively with established open source programs. Andy Harris has written what I consider a "fog-lifter" book, a rarity in the programming instruction world.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
VERY GOOD for the Absolute Beginner, September 8, 2006
This review is from: PHP 5 / MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)
This book is an excellent resource for people who have had NO programming experience or very little. For people (like some of the more recent reviewers) who do have programming experience in PHP or other programming languages, I imagine this book would be remedial as it covers basic programming concepts (which are the same in all programming language) like variables, loops, and arrays, in great detail. For the complete Novice, this is excellent. For the experienced, I'm sure this feels like a waste of time--but really--what can you expect from a book that says in its title "For the Absolute Beginner".
As it is titled "For the Absolute Beginner" and IS indeed for that type of person, I have no complaints whatsoever. And the other reviewer who said "The Code is outdated" is incorrect. PHP 5 is currently the latest version of PHP, and this book covers PHP 5. I've yet to have a piece of code not execute from this book (except when I mess up the coding...)
I'd highly recommend this book for a person with no real programming experience. I myself was 'hobbyist' programmer in BASIC fiften years ago...and this was an EXCELLENT book to remind me of all the things I had long forgotten as I delved into writing PHP and using MySQL.
There are TONS of topics and coding that is not covered here, but hey...for absolute beginner...this is THE PLACE TO START. After digesting this book, I would recommend going over to Jason Gilmore's "Beginning PHP 5 & MySQL". I purchased Jason's book first...was utterly lost...and then purchased this one. Now, after understanding these concepts much better, Jason's book makes MUCH more sense...and is a great resource in my PHP library.
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