Feb
13
Product DescriptionThis new release in the popular How to Do Everything series explains how to build open source web applications with MySQL and PHP 5. Using these two tools, you’ll be able to create highly functional, interactive web sites easily. Follow along with a step-by-step sample application and, as a bonus, download three full-length case studies complete with code trees. . . . More >>
I found myself looking elsewhere for the information I needed to understand just about everything in this book. I bought this book a couple of years ago and gave up on it, then came back to it recently as I needed to learn some of the information. It is very difficult to glean a thorough understanding of the subject matter from this book. BTW, it is not well-structured. I would have moved all of the mysql content to the front, with a thorogh explanation of those commands, and maybe adding a brief html overview, then explain the php. This guy makes a lot of references to stuff he hasn’t explained yet.
Rating: 1 / 5
So far, the book has been very helpful although I would have liked to have seen more screen shots showing the results of the code. My first impression is that the book could have been better laid out, but otherwise it’s a great reference book.
Rating: 4 / 5
I was assigned this book for a class on CMS development. It was a poor choice on the professor’s part because it is not accessible to the novice, unless that person is unusually curious about the abstract logic of the language itself.
The great flaw in Vaswani’s concept is that the PHP is explained only in terms of its own architecture – not divided into applications or tasks. Go down the Table of Contents for the PHP section and you see no “how to’s” – only variables, operators, loops, etc. And after you learn a piece of PHP (if you do) you’re given next to no applications for the code you’re learning.
At least the book was distributed free of charge as a PDF thru my department. It cost about what it was worth, plus a considerable toll in frustration.
Rating: 1 / 5
Great book. It really got me started when I first had started my trek on learning PHP. It goes more in depth than other books I had read before. The only thing I would recommend is a better chapter on error coding and security. Over all I recommend this book.
Okay, I am back about a year or so later after leaving my original review (see paragraph above). This is still a great book. I have used it so much that the binding has broken and I have a hard time keeping the pages together. I have sticky notes all in it and actually use it in my office to refer to MySQL dates and other little things. Great, great book. If you really want to get your feet wet with PHP and MySQL, please don’t pass this book up.
Rating: 4 / 5
Material is poorly presented. Author assumes programming knowledge on your part. You are often left floundering, wondering what the author meant. Found a much better book at my local library but it was, as you can imagine, seriously out of date. I have made it 1/3 of the way through this book and am considering tossing it in the trash.
Rating: 1 / 5