PHP and MySQL by Example (Paperback)

~ (Author), Marko Gargenta (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Quickly master dynamic, database-driven Web development—no experience necessary!

Even if you’re completely new to PHP, MySQL, and Web database development, this book will guide you through every step of building powerful, database-driven, dynamic Web sites. Direct from the world’s top scripting instructor, Ellie Quigley, PHP and MySQL by Example illuminates every concept with tested code examples, screen shots showing program output, and clear, line-by-line explanations.

Classroom-tested in Ellie Quigley’s Silicon Valley training courses and at Marko Gargenta’s Marakana training company in San Francisco, this book takes you from the simplest PHP scripting and SQL querying techniques all the way to dynamic, database driven Web site construction with PHP and MySQL. From simple fill-in forms to program security and debugging, it’s the only PHP/MySQL book you’ll ever need!

This book covers

• Complete PHP fundamentals, including operators, strings, conditionals, loops, arrays, functions, and more
• PHP QuickStart for more advanced readers—makes you productive with PHP in the space of just fifteen book pages
• Essential Web development techniques, from file handling to validating user input with regular expressions
• Powerful PHP features, including user-defined functions and self-processing PHP Forms
• Day-to-day MySQL administration
• A complete SQL tutorial for creating queries, retrieving data, and writing data with MySQL
• Session management and cookies
• Object Oriented PHP
• Best practices for using PHP and MySQL together

Nearly 100,000 professionals and power users have relied on Ellie Quigley’s books to master scripting languages. With PHP and MySQL by Example, you can, too. And once you’ve become an expert, you’ll turn to this book constantly as your go-to source for reliable answers, solutions, and code.

About the CD-ROM

The CD-ROM contains versions of PHP and MySQL for Windows and UNIX/Linux, plus a comprehensive code library for creating your own sites and database-enabled Web applications, including this book’s powerful Art Gallery case study application.

Lab Solutions

Solutions to the end-of-chapter labs are available at www.prenhallprofessional.com/title/0131875086.

About the Author

Ellie Quigley has taught scripting languages in Silicon Valley for more than twenty years. Her Perl and shell programming classes at the University of Santa Cruz Extension program have become part of Silicon Valley lore. Her best-selling books include UNIX^® Shells by Example, Fourth Edition; Perl by Example, Third Edition; and Javascript by Example, all from Prentice Hall.

Marko Gargenta has worked as an e-commerce consultant and instructor since 1996. He has created the Marakana Ecommerce Seminar Series, consulted with Sun Microsystems Educational Services, and designed and delivered PHP and MySQL courses for OpNet Community Ventures and AcademyX. For more on Marko’s training company go to http://marakana.com.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 912 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (December 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131875086
• ISBN-13: 978-0131875081
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #424,058 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #97 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Databases > Specific Databases > MySQL & mSQL
  #98 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > Software Design, Testing & Engineering > Structured Design

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great layout but contains numerous errors and zero support., March 19, 2007

By	Shannon P. Cronin (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this book for the retail price of $49.99 at my local bookstore. I did this based on the preface that states an errata, as well as the lab solutions, can be found online. Since I know all code books contain some errors, I usually look to see if these errors, when discovered, have been posted on the book's site.

Well, even though the book states there there is an errata, truth and in fact, there isn't. When I emailed the publisher they stated "Thank you for purchasing our book. I'm afraid we've not yet compiled an
errata. Would you be willing to share the errors you found with me, so
that I can inform the author?" Strike One.

The preface also states that the solutions to the labs, that usually end each chapter, can also be found online. Truth and in fact, only 4 of the labs can be found online while the other 10 or so are not posted. Strike Two.

The last problem I had with this book is the amount of errors. As I stated before I expect books to contain errors. We are all human and I hold no grudges for this. But to be honest, this book contains the most amount of errors I have ever seen. Did they have someone proof read this? The publisher told me "I apologize for the errors you're finding, but I admit that in a first printing, which is what you have, this is not unusual." Strike Three.

I will say that the publisher did deliver excellent customer service, and while not refunding the money for this title, they promised to send another book based on the same subject. I have not received it as of today, but if I don't by Friday, I'll update this review.

As for the book itself. The first few chapters are done really well and explain to a beginner, like myself, the concepts of PHP. But when you move past Chpater 5 you start finding numerous errors, one of which had me thinking I did something wrong and spending over 2 hours trying to work it out. (The errors in the book are also on the CD-Rom files that come with it!)

This book has a lot of potential, but because this is the first printing I would suggest staying away until they either fix the errors or keep their word and publish the errata and lab solutions.

Oh yeah, and beware of the first review... isn't he also the co-author? He might be a little bias.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Too many errors!, May 7, 2008

By	B. Clark - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book and cd code are error prone. The co-author writes a five star review trying to come off as an instructor in a php boot camp. Come on!! This book should not even have been published in this state.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars should give more discussion on PHP AND MySQL, December 7, 2006

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Quigley's book acknowledges a major usage of PHP. To write some kind of front end user interface program that hooks to a back end MySQL database. Both are free and open source, and the combination has proved popular. Especially where the front end involves making an HTML web page with embedded PHP commands.

Not every example involves both PHP and MySQL. Though all examples have PHP. Many demonstrate how to use PHP inside an HTML file. Like writing user-defined functions, or nesting functions. Or making or using function libraries. The functions are a key idea in PHP, that take you beyond the elementary syntax. Functions also let you gainfully use code by other PHP programmers. Important if you are part of a coding group that has to divide up the programming effort in some manner.

Actually, the book has a serious drawback. Despite the use of MySQL in the title, it is only relatively late in the book that you encounter MySQL. Chapters 13 and 14 give a quick guide to MySQL, as a standalone entity. Out of 17 chapters, it is only Chapters 15-17 that involve both PHP and MySQL. Perhaps the book should have a more extended discussion. To this ends, maybe some of the earlier chapters could have been shortened or dropped. Because the reader is getting a book mostly on pure PHP. I suggest that given the very title, it is a reasonable expectation of most readers that the book will devote most of its attention to both subjects. Especially when there is "and" in the title. Readers are programmers, and the "and" has a very precise meaning to them.