PHP Essentials (Prima Tech Linux Series) 1st Edition

by Julie C. Meloni (Author)

56 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0761527299

ISBN-10: 076152729X

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Whether you're a first-time programmer or have been developing Web applications for years, this straightforward guide will open your eyes to the power of PHP. Using a learn-by-example approach to programming, PHP Essentials takes you from "Hello World" scripts to database-driven applications and e-commerce solutions. PHP is used on more than one million servers, and its popularity is growing rapidly. You will find this book an invaluable tool for creating dynamic Web pages using PHP.

Amazon.com Review

PHP is getting lots of attention as an open-source alternative to Microsoft Active Server Pages, not least because it runs on Linux and other Unix-like systems as well as on Windows. It is a server-side parsing engine that lets you put dynamic content such as online databases on your Web site. The beauty of server-side processing is that any browser can view the results, provided of course that you are careful with your Web-page authoring.

Few books on PHP are available, so PHP Essentials is particularly welcome. The author is a PHP enthusiast and also uses it professionally. Her aim is to provide a hands-on guide to installing and using PHP for those who have no previous knowledge of the product. The book's based on version 3 but covers new PHP 4 features too. Readers are expected to have a basic knowledge of HTML, though. Although databases such as SQL Server and Oracle are briefly discussed, there is a special focus on using PHP with MySQL, an excellent open-source database server. (This is a common partnership, so the focus is appropriate.)

After tackling installation and basic PHP scripts, the book gets straight to the business of linking with a database. The text includes a short introduction to SQL and a complete example of how to create and query a database table. Further chapters cover user authentication, session management with cookies, and Web-based database administration. Finally, a complete e-commerce example in included, with code both printed in the book and available from a supporting Web site. An appendix offers a PHP language reference.

This book teaches by example. It is manageable in size and has a friendly, real-world feel. It is not the last word on the subject, though, so it's best suited to PHP newcomers or those using rival technology who want an idea of what PHP can do. --Tim Anderson, Amazon.co.uk

Review

One of the best books that I have read and also enjoyed on this topic is PHP Essentials. -- Elizabeth Zinkann, Review Columnist for Sys Admin Magazine

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cengage Learning PTR; 1st edition (March 1, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 076152729X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0761527299
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.41 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1 x 7.5 x 9.25 inches

Customer Reviews:
56 ratings

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5 star		26%
4 star		26%
3 star		14%
2 star		14%
1 star		20%

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Regular Shopper

Not necessarily a beginners book

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2000

Verified Purchase

I disagree with the reviews that say this book is only for beginners. I am a PHP newbie, but code ASP for my day job, so I understand the basic concept. But since I am a visual learner, I find step-by-step examples much more helpful than a big paragraph going over the theory behind something. PHP Essentials is great for me in that respect. Yes, some of the html stuff is pretty basic, but it doesn't take up the bulk of the book! Besides, you can just skim those parts. The only reason I don't give the book five stars is that I have yet to find the be-all, end-all tech book that warrants it. It's very rare to find books that are timely, comprehensive, and useful day-to-day. But PHP Essentials isn't supposed to be the grand bible of PHP either.
I've also read some of the Wrox Professional books, but find them less useful because of the reason I stated before. Lots of text, few examples, so that I have to look elsewhere anyway just to find something specific. For me, it's usually a waste of [money].
The nice thing about PHP is that it's very well documented, which is to everyone's advantage. For [this purchase price] and a few hundred pages, PHP Essentials shows you just enough to get your feet wet. Most books, including some Wrox books, are one-thousand-page doorstops with information that becomes obsolete rather quickly.
If you're new to PHP but not new to the web, and you learn by example, PHP Essentials can be a very helpful intro. But if you prefer more text in your tech book, then by all means drop your money elsewhere. I think it's nice to have the choice.

60 people found this helpful

Helpful

John A. Koetsier

PHP Essentials - Good for Beginners

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2000

Verified Purchase

I'm a Linux newbie, MySQL newbie, and PHP newbie, but I'm currently learning all three.
PHP Essentials has been the most helpful resource I've bought, because it's written in an accessible, friendly manner that doesn't assume I know more than I actually do.
I'm sure that to be a PHP stud I'll have to get into it more, and maybe buy some more books, but this was the right place to start for me.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

PHP Expendables ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2001

Verified Purchase

The only persons who may consider to get this book are people with no programming experience. They should not. This book does not provide an extensive view of what PHP is about, and is not didactic enough to be considered as a primer. And it is sadly outdated.Even if the differences between PHP version 3 and 4 are not numerous nor extensive, you could find yourself disappointed.
....

Helpful

TABARRY

A Light-Weight Tutorial for Beginers and Professionals

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2000

Verified Purchase

PHP is a very light-weight but powerful server side scripting language. Similar is the case with this book. Explained in very light-weight manner, but still covering almost all the stong features.
Alas, I can only give this book a five star rating at Amazon site. If there had been 10 stars, I would have given it all 10.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Anthony Boyd

Pretty good for beginners

Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2000

I read the reviews of the Professional PHP Programming book, and noted a lot of people said there were typos in that book, even though it was very good otherwise. As a PHP novice, I cannot afford to muddle through a typo-ridden book. So I looked at Web Applications With PHP 4, and that book was so advanced that the *first* chapter is titled "Advanced PHP" -- no install guide or anything else.
This book, PHP Essentials, is geared toward not only PHP newbies, but also people who have never programmed anything in any language. That's a little bit basic even for me, as I do at least know Perl and JavaScript. But it looked better that the first two books I tried, so I bought it.
I don't regret buying it. It is written in such a simple, friendly manner, that I was able to breeze through the first half in about an hour. If you're good at HTML, and you're looking to get into programming, this may be just what you need. This book will teach you, in basic terms, how to create if-else statements, what the proper syntax is for PHP code, how it integrates into the HTML page, what variables are, how to capture form data and write it to a file or database, how to send email from a Web page, how to send HTTP headers (so you can set cookies and do redirects), and it will step you through building a shopping cart system.
Now, if that were it, this book would be a five star book. However, being that I do have some programming background, and did have some idea of what PHP could do, let me tell you why I gave it four stars instead of five. First, there are some technical inaccuracies, such as the statement that Netscape 3+ supports style sheets (Netscape 3 has zero support, it's only Netscape 4+). But that's not bad. Second, nowhere does she address the "gasp, mixing HTML and code" programming debate. And finally, as another reviewer said, this book really is just the essentials, and I think it's not even that. Because there is a whopping omission: how to create a file that pulls in other files, like Server Side Includes. While the book covers how to open a file and read/write to it, the book never goes into detail about just linking in a file. This is important, because it's a fundamental feature. In fact, PHP has two commands for doing it, and neither one is mentioned, not even in the commands listed in the appendix.
So, if you're new to PHP and new to programming in general, this is a good -- great -- introductory book. You could learn the basics of programming with this book, and put yourself into a better paying job! But if you have some programming background, or even some PHP background, this book isn't going to feel very thorough.

13 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Good for using PHP for web development

Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2001

Who says that a book has to have 1000+ pages to be of any use. PHP Essentials has shown that it is not so. In just over 300 pages, the author has given everything that one needs to know about PHP to start working on it and develop a full fledge web-based application.
This book is great for a new user who has never used server side scripting and also for intermediate user though the first four chapters may prove too basic for them. After that its all about web-based application development starting from database setup, user authentication and progressing towards session management and database management through web.
The example codes given in every chapter are explained very clearly. A complex problem is broken down into simpler problems. For each simple problem a PHP solution is given and at the end, all the parts are combined with HTML to come up with the actual code for implementation.
PHP is used for various purpose on the Web and 'PHP Essentials' does a great job of covering the web application development.
Do not take this book as a guide to learning all PHP features, because it doesn't, although the name is misleading.

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PHP Essentials (Prima Tech Linux Series) 1st Edition

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Julie C. Meloni

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