Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

Matt Zandstra (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0672326191 | ISBN-13: 978-0672326196 | Publication Date: December 26, 2003 | Edition: 3

Think of all the things you could do in 24 hours. Go sightseeing. Read a book. Learn PHP. Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours is a unique learning tool that is divided into 24 one-hour lessons over five sections. Starting with the basics, you will discover the fundamentals of PHP and how to apply that knowledge to create dynamic websites with forms, cookies and authentication functions. You will also find out how to access databases, as well as how to integrate system components, e-mail, LDAP, network sockets and more. A support website includes access to source code, PHP updates, errata and links to other relevant websites. Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours is a quick and easy way to learn how to create interactive websites for your end user.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Consisting of 24 one-hour lessons, Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours is divided into five sections that guide the reader through the language from the basics to the advanced functions.

The first section of the book teaches the fundamentals of PHP. And then, building upon what has been taught in the first section, sections two through four shows the reader how to apply that knowledge in order to interact with the user by creating and managing forms, cookies and authentication. It also teaches how to access databases and how to integrate system components, e-mail, LDAP, network sockets and much more. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Matt Zandstra is a writer and consultant specializing in server programming. With his business partner, Max Guglielmino, he runs Corrosive (http://www.corrosive.co.uk), a technical agency that plans, designs and builds Internet applications. Matt is interested in all aspects of object-oriented programming and is currently exploring enterprise design patterns for PHP 5. When he is not reading, writing or thinking about coding in PHP and Java, Matt shoots alien invaders in the park with his four-year-old daughter Holly. He lives by the sea in Brighton, Great Britain, with his partner Louise McDougall and their children Holly and Jake.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 3 edition (December 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672326191
• ISBN-13: 978-0672326196
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #343,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for a solid foundation in php and programming, February 21, 2004

By 

Gene Ballard "wolfix" (Destin, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

3rd edition Published (December 16, 2003)
ISBN: 0672326191 Covers PHP 4.3

First I'd like to mention that a lot of these reviews are from earlier versions of this book which makes reviewing this Third Edition very difficult. So it may be safe to disregard reviews dated before 12/16/03.

This is an excellent book for beginners who know nothing about programming. However you must know XHTML before beginning this book. I have about 5 "Beginning" PHP books and this one is the best by far.

The author has a very clean, straight forward writing style as he teaches the very basics of php and programming fundamentals including Object Oriented Programming. This book is a solid and comprehensive piece of work. It is by no means a "Shortcut" to learning PHP. If you want a solid understanding of PHP, this is the book.

Something to note is that this book focuses on teaching the reader how to program and does not have comprehensive example applications. Rather, it has basic examples for each section that help keep the pace streamlined.

After reading this book, you'll wont to get something like, The PHP Anthology By Harry Fuecks Vol. 1&2... or PHP and MySQL Web Development, Second Edition by Luke Welling, Laura Thomson. These books will teach you by example and are excellent.

A note to beginners... Learning to program can be very difficult. Unless you are some kind of genius, you must be dedicated and patient with your quest. Programming is a totally different way of thinking and there is a lot to learn... I think this book is a great way to learn PHP and to learn how to program in general.

Good Luck!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Concern, November 3, 2002

By 

David L Neil (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

Not the first PHP book I've read. Good coverage of the incredible width of PHP facilities. Short on suggesting practical coding exercises. Sample code available (if you can find it).

However (in common with most other PHP texts)it has already been overtaken by change/developments (book (c)2002, claims to be release 4.0.5 'aware'). From releases 4.1.0/4.2.0 the (PHP.INI) register_globals directive has been set to 'off' by default, and recommended to be kept that way for security reasons. Doing so will 'break' the first practical chapter ("Working with PHP") Hour 9 (Forms), and impacts Hours 13, 20, 24 to a lesser degree (and possibly others) - per hundreds of cries for help on PHP Internet discussion lists.

Either wait for a book that refers to this MAJOR change in PHP, carefully study the PHP ChangeLog (not for the faint-hearted or raw beginners!), or trawl the discussion list archives to teach yourself about the new 'superglobals'.

Sorry!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the cash..., January 26, 2004

By 

Brian Scott O'keefe "randomblink" (Coweta, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself PHP in 24 Hours (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

I have 8-10 years of experience with VB(A) as a hobbyist programmer (ergo no college training). I understand OO Programming to a degree, at least as far as I have used it, and now wanting to move into web application development I believe PHP is that key. However, the language is so vast. There are an unlimited number of functions both internal and user-created that handle an insane number of programming situations. I needed something to walk me through the basics... this book did that, is doing that, and will probably continue to do that. Beyond that it also touches on some important features to wet-your-whistle, so-to-speak. Smarty and XML and XSL to name a few. Excellent book, I recommend it for beginners and intermediate users alike... beginners, don't read past what you understand... and all will go well!