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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
The master returns: the best short course on PHP available
Larry Ullman brings two major talents to the task of writing "PHP": a) a thorough knowledge of PHP, and b) the ability to write on technical subjects clearly and concisely.
Ullman himself considers this edition "a relatively light revision of the book, tweaking some things, solidifying the discussion of PHP 5 (which was just out when the second edition of...
Published 20 months ago by Jerry Saperstein
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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Not the best... Could be better...
Being a little new to programming, I thought this book was for me. However, I was dissapointed. I have a good working knowledge of HTML... I had to refer to various other sources to learn...
Definitely not for beginners... Also the layout of text is just too complicated.
Published 7 months ago by S. Coutinho
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
The master returns: the best short course on PHP available, December 23, 2008
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
Larry Ullman brings two major talents to the task of writing "PHP": a) a thorough knowledge of PHP, and b) the ability to write on technical subjects clearly and concisely.
Ullman himself considers this edition "a relatively light revision of the book, tweaking some things, solidifying the discussion of PHP 5 (which was just out when the second edition of the book was written), and addressing some of the changes forthcoming in PHP 6 (whenever that may be)". I have the earlier edition(s) in my library and there aren't any super-major changes visible.
I suspect that a non-programmer would have litle difficulty learning how to program in PHP using this book. But I think a working knowlede of HTML and perhaps even Javascript would be helpul.
Ullman begins at the beginning with the basic concepts of programming and PHP. His writing style is very comfortable, very clear and the beginner will not feel lost, though the experienced programmer may do nothing more than skim these first pages.
He moves forward into functions and control functions, working his way to interaction with databases, one of the most widespread uses for PHP.
All in all, this is great learning tool for those coming with experience in other programming languages and those who are neophytes. Ullman has done it again: excellent work.
Jerry
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Decent Introductory Text, October 11, 2009
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
A relatively easy-to-follow series of lessons and sample scripts make for easy reading and rapid progress. Many sidebars contain excellent "Tips" which sometimes turn out to be more useful than the main text. Explanations and instructions are surprisingly clear, and this is a good introduction to PHP for beginners.
Issues include usage of old mysql library (instead of mysqli, in use since PHP 4.1), a somewhat stilted version of PHP redux, usage of now-deprecated ereg functions in regular expressions, and a few other minor anomalies. Lots of space is wasted showing actual scripts which are being explained simultaneously in adjacent pages, and are available for download on the book's website anyway. But the overall concepts are well-explained, and this text is less confusing than several others available. An economical and educational choice for a PHP beginner wanting to get their feet wet.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A Comprehensive, Yet Simplified Jump Start for PHP Beginners, August 15, 2009
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
I started as not knowing much about PHP, and by the time I had completed reading this book and doing many of its exercises, the book had lived up to its promise of "Learn PHP the Quick and Easy Way!", at least for me.
PHP is actually easy, but it is somewhat involved! It is not like learning VBA where you focus on the language syntax and that is all you really need to learn. PHP, by its Client Server nature, requires us to learn some HTML, Forms, CSS, and Database as well. Being a Client-Server Scripting Language, this is only natural.
Larry has done an excellent job of keeping this book comprehensive by giving us enough first had knowledge to be effective in HTML, Forms, CSS, and Database. But most importantly, there is enough to help learn to write a useful program as a beginner. However, previous experience about other programming languages,we can get inventive and write more complicated ones using this book.
Chapter 1 gets us started nicely. Chapters 2 to 5 are basic things like variables and strings. Chapter 6, does a good job of giving practical, and clearly explained control functions. Chapter 7 on using arrays gives us a good start plus a lot of helpful things like how to convert an array into a string, and vice versa. I found Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11 containing all essential things needed to make a decent website including session management and cookies. Again, he clearly gives an excellent start, and empowers us to build on that. Chapter 10 is on functions and Chapter 11 introduces us to files and directories as seen by PHP Client Server approach. Chapter 12 is introduction to Databases. Databases and detailed explanation of them, to satisfy a DBA for example, will take a complete book focused on it. However, Larry has packed enough database information here that will get us started and more importantly operational on the Back End Database. Chapter 13, regular expressions, while important, was sort of icing on the cake for me.
Appendix A does a basic treatment of general installation for different operating systems. Appendix B, on the other hand is a good list of other resources.
As a suggestion, I would say that if the code for a more involved, ten or fifteen page website could be shown to expand on what is already in the book, would help put all in prespective. Also, there is a slight confusion at this time in this book. At the time this book was being written, there was some confusion about PHP 5 or 6 in the Regular Expressions Chapter 13. I would recommend that this be cleared up in the Fourth Edition. This book is well worth a Fourth Edition!
The pace of the book is good and it does not jump around, and it does not leave gaps that would be frustrating to a first time PHP programmer. It logically and systematically builds up on previous chapters as it proceeds.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
easy, clear, step by step ....., March 26, 2009
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
excellent for beginers, to complement perfectly html and css. Become a web application programmer and not only a web designer. In today's job market it has become necessary not to only have an advantage but to find a decent work place.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A great book for "regular folks" who want to learn programming, April 13, 2010
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
I reviewed this book as a text possibility for my Basic Web Programming course at The Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula, Montana. My students are people off the street - not CS students - who have day jobs in areas like heating and cooling, local government, sole proprietor businesses, graphic art, etc (all across the board.) If I were to teach this course like a CS course, these folks would never come back.
So, I needed a textbook that explains absolutely EVERYTHING, repeatedly. And I needed a textbook that would refer new skills back to previous material. My students aren't going to "get" the full meaning of any principle in one explanation. This book explains the little pieces and nuances that were a total mystery to me, when I was a CS student. Of course, as a CS student you are supposed to be very smart and just naturally understand everything without explanation or review, but that won't work in Adult Education.
Some Features that Make the Book User-friendly
- I like the fact that the code is shown in entirety and then also in pieces. This is a design feature that makes the book usable in my classroom situation.
- The explanation of principles is placed in Tips and boxes. In the design principle of "proximity," that means that the tips are right there, next to the relevant material. However, by pulling them out, they are easy to find, if the reader isn't going through the exercise. Neither does the extra instruction stop the flow of following the material.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1000 Stars. Best PHP Book for Beginners! Period!!!, November 21, 2009
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
I can not say enough good things about this book. After mucking around and getting frustrated by several PHP books that were not written to be understood, I found this book. What a difference. Larry Ullman is a TEACHER! He takes you step by step through all the processes and the code. He makes it clear, understandable and even intuitive. His examples are real world, practical, and useful. He covers all the theory but with a dialogue that is geared to the average person. All the scripts are on his web site and he keeps them corrected and up to date. He even updated against evolution in the code standards.
Most importantly everything is relevant! Everything works! Everything is practicable, and everything builds knowledge and confidence. The chapters build progressively and by the time you get to databases and MySQL you can't wait to apply it.
His content outline and flow get you quickly to being competent as opposed to frustrated. You can actually internalize the lessons. He explains the normal mistakes and tells you how to correct them. His descriptions of where PHP fits into the whole web process is crystal clear and eye opening.
No cryptic references, no showing off by injecting other language syntax, or arcane examples. I could have saved hundreds of dollars and many months of frustration had I found this book first. Not only did I learn PHP but I learned how to program and build real commercial web sites. Plus, it is actually fun.
This book is worth a thousand stars but all I can give it is 5. Thank you Larry Ullman
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Larry Ullman Did The Impossible: Got Me Excited About Learning PHP!, November 10, 2009
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
There is no shortage of people who understand PHP. But people who understand it at a high level, yet can explain it to beginners, are rare.
Hats off to Larry Ullman, for he has accomplished this. I'm a non-programmer, and opened this book with great trepidation. Yet page after page, chapter after chapter, Ullman took me by the hand at exactly the right rate.
I was amazed...after a few chapters, I was marvelling to myself at how FUN PHP was!
I'm not sure how you did it, Larry, but you have some powerful juju going for you!
What a fantastic book!
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Great, August 8, 2010
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
Still working through it but it has given me a great understanding of PHP. Great starter book ;)
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great book to begin php, May 9, 2010
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
Coming from a OOP language perspective, I was trying to get up to speed with PHP programming while learning Drupal module development and theming. I wanted something to familiarize myself with PHP and this book was it. Excellent explanation, very detail-oriented, and the examples are clear and concise.
The only complaint I have is on the cookies chapter where the code pieces are a bit broken up and you're not really sure how much more code you need to complete those examples. But other that, I'm very happy with it and would recommend it to anyone looking to dwell into PHP.
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Very useful book!, December 12, 2009
This review is from: PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition (Paperback)
I borrowed this one from the library, and ended up purchasing a copy. This volume is even more useful and readable to me than the PHP for Dummies book!
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