Developing Web Applications (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Building applications for the Internet is a complex and fast-moving field which utilizes a variety of continually evolving technologies. Whether your perspective is from the client or server side, there are many languages to master – X(HTML), JavaScript, PHP, XML and CSS to name but a few. These languages have to work together cleanly, logically and in harmony with the systems they run on, and be compatible with any browsers with which they interact.

Developing Web Applications presents script writing and good programming practice but also allows students to see how the individual technologies fit together. It includes recent technical developments to provide a practical and modern introduction to building web applications.

Assuming no prior programming experience, this concise, accessible book ensures that essential concepts on the client side are quickly grasped, and goes on to examine the server environment and available languages, including discussion of dynamic, modern scripting languages such as PHP. Network and security issues are also discussed. The aim of this book is to deliver exactly what is needed to start producing working applications as soon as possible – and have fun along the way.

Ideal for course use or self-study, this book includes practical suggestions for mini-projects which encourage the reader to explore his or her own imaginative solutions, as well as more theoretical end-of-chapter questions. It can also easily be used as a reference work as each section is self-contained, amplifying the key aspects of its particular topic. Most software covered is freely available in the public domain and no particular development environments are required. It is a direct, contemporary and extremely useful resource for anyone interested in learning how to program applications for the World Wide Web.

From the Back Cover

Building applications for the Internet is a complex and fast-moving field which utilizes a variety of continually evolving technologies. Whether your perspective is from the client or server side, there are many languages to master – X(HTML), JavaScript, PHP, XML and CSS to name but a few. These languages have to work together cleanly, logically and in harmony with the systems they run on, and be compatible with any browsers with which they interact.

Developing Web Applications presents script writing and good programming practice but also allows students to see how the individual technologies fit together. It includes recent technical developments to provide a practical and modern introduction to building web applications.

Assuming no prior programming experience, this concise, accessible book ensures that essential concepts on the client side are quickly grasped, and goes on to examine the server environment and available languages, including discussion of dynamic, modern scripting languages such as PHP. Network and security issues are also discussed. The aim of this book is to deliver exactly what is needed to start producing working applications as soon as possible – and have fun along the way.

Ideal for course use or self-study, this book includes practical suggestions for mini-projects which encourage the reader to explore his or her own imaginative solutions, as well as more theoretical end-of-chapter questions. It can also easily be used as a reference work as each section is self-contained, amplifying the key aspects of its particular topic. Most software covered is freely available in the public domain and no particular development environments are required. It is a direct, contemporary and extremely useful resource for anyone interested in learning how to program applications for the World Wide Web.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 410 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (February 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470017198
• ISBN-13: 978-0470017197
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #619,008 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars basic introduction and survey , April 6, 2008

By	Flathead McGee (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

For what this book was written to do, I think it succeeds. It is a BASIC introduction to the most common Web technologies, including HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript, PHP, Web Servers, MySQL and a few other topics. You have to understand that if someone is going to cover all that ground, AND very clearly states "assuming no prior experience" on the back cover then you won't get in depth coverage of any particular topic.

I found it well organized and a pleasant read. I've been programming for 10 years, but not Web applications, and this was a good re-introduction to a few topics I've seen before, a few I was not familiar enough with, and this book tied the whole set together quite nicely.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Out of date and lacking vital information, February 24, 2008

By	Kelly Tanguay "junior web developer" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am new to web development and learning SQL, Apache, RoR, PHP, Ajax, etc. I was looking for a general book that tied together all the different elements I'm learning. I picked this book up at a bookstore without reading any reviews or doing any research.

Unfortunately, this book is full of out of date and just plain wrong information. For example, the author talks about how lucky we are that all the web browsers now follow the same standard (news to me), and he speaks of how Netscape Navigator and IE both follow the W3C standards. He also spends a chapter explaining how to make non-compliant html pages before he does a chapter on XHTML.

I felt that in addition to the misleading information, there was a huge lack of information on many important technologies such as Ruby on Rails and Ajax. I would definitely not recommend this book.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No Web 2.0 context?, May 7, 2007

By	Mike (CA) - See all my reviews

If you develop web applications, there are a few technologies that you will be using in 2006/7.
You will be using either AJAX, JSP/Servlet, Ruby on Rails or Flex/Actionscript. There is no mention of AJAX, which is surprising as it deals with some of the technologies behind it, Flex or Rails and spends about a paragraph on JSP and servlets. This is really surprising as the print date is 2007!

IMHO this book is not about what it say's on the cover! If you are looking for something on Web 2.0 development, look elsewhere. here are some suggestions:

AJAX:
Ajax in Action
Bulletproof Ajax (Voices That Matter)
Professional Ajax, 2nd Edition (Programmer to Programmer)

JSP/Servlets:
Head First Servlets and JSP: Passing the Sun Certified Web Component Developer Exam (SCWCD)

Rails:
Agile Web Development with Rails (Pragmatic Programmers)

Flex:
Programming Flex 2: The comprehensive guide to creating rich media applications with Adobe Flex (Programming)