Customer Reviews

PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is exactly what I've been looking for, for a long time. I have been creating web sites for years, but haven't had much PHP experience. Some, but not much. Each time I looked for a "solution" online, I came across sloppy articles, conflicting information, difficult to understand code--just generally unsatisfactory, frustrating info for anyone who didn't already know PHP really well. Or, the info might be good, but it would take forever to find it. Not any more. I bought this book a few weeks ago, and started using things in it the other day. I have not read the entire book, but I've already incorporated some of the things into some sites I'm working on, and it was a breeze. The book is really well-written. If you have experience in web design but aren't a programmer, you will really benefit from this book. You'll painlessly add a number of really useful tools to your repertoire and be able to offer your clients more the same day you receive the book in the mail. I highly recommend it.

I was probably about two books shy of giving up on ever learning anything useful about PHP so I'm thrilled to have discovered this book when I did!

I'm not a programmer by any stretch of the imagination but I know HTML, a fair amount of CSS, and I have a cursory understanding of how programming works. I've also successfully (but not often painlessly) installed and customized several ready-made PHP scripts so I've long been aware of how much more PHP could help me accomplish if I only had a better understanding of it.

I purchased several books on the subject over the years but could never get much past the first few chapters with any of them -- usually not even that much. Among my biggest problems was that it seemed I wasn't getting enough doses of practical information to stay motivated. This also made it difficult to be aware of any progress I might be making -- or if I even was. Sometimes the information didn't build up logically enough for me so it was harder to retain anything I might have learned. Often, even when a book claimed to be for beginners, in some areas it used jargon or presumed I knew things I didn't know at all while becoming excruciatingly basic in other areas. It was a constant struggle with little or no reward.

But none of this was the case with PHP SOLUTIONS.

I've been methodically reading just a few pages (rarely more) every night so as not to overload my circuits which were already weakened from so much frustration. The information is authoritative but the writing style is approachable, both of which made it so much easier for me to persevere. I also didn't allow myself to get too bogged down or frustrated: if there was something I wasn't getting, even after a few passes, I moved on with the hopes it would make more sense later, and it usually did. But I feel as though I'm at least grasping the majority of what's been presented. Although I have not been following along and performing the exercises as recommended (just reading and studying), I still sense definite progress and comprehension that I never felt with any of the other books. Once I decide on something I want to incorporate into a web site, I will revisit those chapters more thoroughly. This probably wouldn't work for most people, but it usually works best for me.

At any rate, I'm nearly half way through the book now and still eager to continue. That's enough to convince me. I can't say I expect to ever be able to write my own scripts from scratch (unless they're very simple), but if I'm at least able to find my way around many existing scripts (surely the ones covered in this book) and customize them for my own needs, it will be HUGE. And I CAN say I feel confident I'll be able to achieve at least that much, which I know will serve my needs and is much more than I expected after all the false starts and frustrations I've been through and how close I came to quitting.

I recently read PHP Solutions by David Powers, and have to say it has been one of the better ones I've come across in awhile - definitely one I will keep at arm's length. I think the best way to describe it is to use an analogy. What CSS Mastery is for CSS, PHP Solutions is for PHP. This book is full of practical PHP tips and tricks that can help you hit the ground running. It takes a learn-by-doing approach.

While this isn't a comprehensive how-to guide covering OOP, it does approach things with a future-proofing mindset. Powers is careful to point out where things are specific to PHP 5, and gives alternatives to making them work in version 4. He also talks about what features will be prevalent in PHP 6, such as PDO (PHP Data Objects) becoming the more standardized way to handle database connectivity.

The first few chapters start off with the basics, showing PHP syntax and explaining how to build dynamic templates using includes. He also shows how to protect includes from being accessed independently of their accompanying pages, storing them separately from publicly accessible directories. He also shows how to build a file-upload interface for use in a basic CMS.

He then goes on to build a photo blog, complete with auto-generated thumbnails. One cool solution he uses is checking the width of an image, and then using that numerical value to set the width of a paragraph which contains explanatory text. By constraining the width, it keeps the line of text from being longer than the image is wide. He also shows how to use PHP's date output to keep the copyright for your site on-par with the current year.

The latter part of the book gets into more advanced topics such as user management, remember sessions with cookies, and handling database security. By the time you complete this book, you will have the know-how to create a light-weight content management system that will uniquely fit your needs.

I really like that PHP Solutions takes you through the process of creating a dynamic site from start to finish, unlike many books which contain a slew of disparate examples. I would unreservedly recommend it to anyone looking to get into PHP. For another opinion, read the book review by Jonathan Snook [...]freelance web developer and member of the CakePHP [...] documentation team.

Wow, am I impressed! I've worked through about half the book and read part of the rest. I'll work through all of it, but I've already used some of it on a live website. I usee some of the code as-is, and the rest with only minor modifications. David is very security-minded, which I greatly appreciate.

I'm an experienced programmer, and have developed static websites, but was quite new to PHP when I started. I found the level of information excellently suited to me - enough introductory material, but not so much as to bog me down. Some of the code challenged me, but that's what helps me learn and put my own twist on things.

Thank you David!

I own and have read several PHP books of varying helpfulness, but PHP Solutions is one of my favorites because:

1. it's aimed at Web Designers with little, or no, PHP experience

2. the examples are practical and can be applied to actual projects (no joke databases)

3. doesn't neglect the design aspect of websites

4. the author uses web standards-compliant coding

5. there's a clear emphasis on security-minded coding (which is important with such a powerful and flexible language)

So if you're looking to delve into dynamic, server-side, scripting languages this may be the perfect book to get you rolling.

I decided I wanted to add PHP to my website to make it more dynamic and reduce maintenance. But I didn't know any PHP. So I picked up PHP Solutions and within an hour or two of opening the front cover, I had converted my website to PHP and added several dynamic features that were demonstrated in the book!

This book is brilliant. It provides a good background and understanding of PHP and the examples are easy to follow and apply straight away. It also shows you how to keep your code safe and avoid ugly error messages.

I am an advanced HTML and CSS developer, but PHP and mySQL is always an issue. I don't have much time either to read a book. But I have to say this is one of the best PHP books I have purchased. It is also the easiest to follow.

Instead of wasting your time with where PHP comes from, or a bunch of useless pages of information. The author focuses on providing you information with using PHP in a PRODUCTION ENVIROMENT! Which is the biggest thing of all. You have to know the difference between production and educational in a real world enviroment and he nailed it.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to strengthen their PHP and mySQL knowledge.

I have been designing with php for a little over a year now and after looking at many books on the subject, i must say that this one is one of the best. it has practical solutions that are current and that can be easily implemented into a site.

However, as good as this book is, it's not a good book for beginners. it's resonalbly fast paced, and for the php newbie, i could see it being a little overwhelming. But if you have a little php experience behind your back, this book is a must have.

I purchased this book to begin learning dynamic web design in php/mySQL. The early chapters in the book do a good job of explaining the basics of programing in php and walking you through step by step the how and why.

My only complaint is toward the end of the book, particularly when more complex mySQL programming is included (which is great) but there wasn't enough explanation as to why these lines of code go next, or what exactly it is each line is really doing.

If I were to do it over again I would absolutely purchase this book, it is a good resource that I'm sure I will refer too time and time again.

I brought "PHP and MySQL Web Development" under the course instructor's requirement. And I found it is very difficult to read.
I'm a designer, don't have a strong programming skill. Then another teacher introduced this book to me. I borrowed from library and I'm reading this book now! This is a best PHP book. Unlike the "PHP and MySQL Web Development" book, this "PHP Solution" is trying not to use too much programming terms. It interpreted all the programming concept in a easier way which normal people can understand it.
For example: array.
"PHP and MySQL Web Development"---- Array: used to store multiple data items.
"PHP Solution"---- Array: PHP lets you store multiple values in a special type of variable.

I just found this book is so much easier to understand!
Recommend to all none-programming people!