PHP 6/MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner [Paperback]

Andrew B. Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1598637983 | ISBN-13: 978-1598637984 | Edition: 1

If you are new to programming with PHP 6 and MySQL and are looking for a solid introduction, this is the book for you. Developed by computer science instructors, books in the for the absolute beginner™ series teach the principles of programming through simple game creation. You will acquire the skills that you need for more practical programming applications and will learn how these skills can be put to use in real-world scenarios. Everything you need to complete the tutorials is on the companion CD--there's no software to buy and you can get started right away. By the time you finish thebook you will be able to apply the basic principles you've learned to the next programming language you tackle.

Product Details

• Paperback: 491 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598637983
• ISBN-13: 978-1598637984
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Computers & Technology > Databases > Specific Databases

More About the Author

I live near Indianapolis, Indiana.

I am a lecturer in computer science at Indiana University / Purdue University - Indianapolis (Yes, that IS officially the longest university name on the planet... we call it IUPUI)

I was an army brat. I grew up in many parts of the Eastern United States and in Japan.

I've been interested in computing since the early eighties, when my brother and I took the money we were saving for a car and blew it on a TRS-80 model 1 with the built-in Japanese character set. (That machine is still in my garage. Don't tell my wife.)

My first career was as a special education teacher. I taught young adults with severe disabilities for several years. I really enjoyed my job and my students. I learned a lot about teaching through that experience.

While doing special ed, I kept my interest in computing, doing some freelance programming and writing about computer topics. Eventually, I became a lab instructor in the computer science program at IUPUI.

I moved to IUPUI as a full-time gig in 1995. Since then, I have been involved in creating a certificate of applied computer science. I have also worked on building a distributed education program. I especially love designing curricula using emerging and interesting technology and ideas.

I have taught many applied CS topics, but there is always more to learn.
Right now my focus tends to be on applied computing in programming languages, game programming, and mobile computing.

My favorite part about writing is hearing from readers. It's great when somebody sends me a link to a game or project they've written using one of my books. I'd love to get a line from you about one of my books, what you'd like to see me work on next, or just to say hi. I hope my writing feels like a conversation, and I'm looking forward to hearing from your side of the talk.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good book but not a teacher for a beginner!, October 27, 2009

By 

Robert (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: PHP 6/MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)

I am giving this two stars because this is actually not a good book for beginners but really a book for more intermediate PHP users or those programmers interested in gaming development. It suffers from too much reliance on arcane examples plus a first couple of chapters that really provide more frustration than value to a real beginner.

Chapter one actually does nothing to really help you set up a php server. The book assumes that you know a good deal about local server technology and that you are comfortable setting up a local server on your machine. It assumes that you know the subtleties of how a local host file system works. It also assumes extensive experience in static web page development xhtml coding, CSS, etc.

In chapter two the book jumps from being very basic to using some advanced tools as examples. The concepts used require that you spend some extremely careful time reading the provided code used in the examples to understand the relevance of specific functions. The examples are interesting but are not directly applicable to a beginner.

In chapter 3 the book becomes a reasonable teaching tool yet its reliance on dice games as examples makes it somewhat irrelevant for what most users are studying this to do on the web. It does provide the new programmer, and even more experienced ones, with some foundation of how php code works but not in a web related context. It does develop good practices and explains how and why the programming works. It explains very well the differences in control structures, and where one shines over another. It makes arrays accessible but not friendly and provides a basic introduction into MySQL. With very careful study you can probably actually put all of it into practical applications but many times you will be left cold when applying it to more day to day web applications.

My advice is if you already have this book then use it as an auxiliary in conjunction with another book that will give you a more grounded perspective without so detailed reliance on complex game type examples. My personal recommendation is "PHP Visual Quick Start Guide Third Edition" by Larry Ullman. This is a real beginners book that actually teaches and will have you proficient in PHP in no time.

5.0 out of 5 stars Read the title carefully and stop blaming the book!, February 8, 2012

By 

ObjectiveCat (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PHP 6/MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)

This book is in fact an absolute beginner's guide to PHP/MySQL!

This does NOT mean that my grandma would be able to learn how to make dynamic web sites by reading this book, despite the fact that she's never touched a computer in her life.
The scope of this book does not encompass a beginner's guide on how to use a computer nor the basics of web development (such as HTML and CSS) - those things are EXPECTED of those who want to learn PHP.
Without understanding HTML, the very basis of any web document, there is not much point in attempting to learn a web scripting language, such as PHP, which amongst other things deals with dynamically creating HTML by processing various user and browser inputs.

The negative reviews are quite annoying, because the people are voting not on the quality of the material, but on it's subjective incomprehensibility, caused by their own lack of preparation for the consumption of the knowledge contained in this book. It's like you're disappointed that you weren't able to fly an F-15 fighter jet, even though you've never driven a car!
Try performing a modicum of research on various web technologies and how they interrelate before buying the first book you see.

As the old adage says: "Learn to walk before you run".

For those who have had some experience in static website creation, this is an excellent book, full of useful examples.
If the code give you errors - check the version of PHP you have installed (type: "php --version" into your server's shell (without the quotations)).
I tried most of the examples (used this book in a class) and they ran just fine under PHP 5.2

And if you encounter some material that's challenging, well that's just a little side-effect of trying to learn something new. It's not always easy, nor should it be.
Contact the author or ask your instructor for clarification (if you're using this at school) and they will surely abide.

3.0 out of 5 stars Ummm... What?, October 22, 2011

By 

Jack (Simpsonville, South Carolina, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PHP 6/MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)

This book isn't for an absolute beginner, but that wasn't an issue for me because an absolute beginner shouldn't start by learning PHP or MySQL. Also, I don't know why they named it PHP 6, when the current beta release atm is 5.4. That rally doesn't make sense. Once PHP 6 acutally comes out, there will be a whole new engine that they are saying they are designing, so this book, won't help in the future.