PHP & MySQL For Dummies 3rd edition (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

• #19 in Best Mysql Books

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The basic concept of the web was that there would be a bunch of documents around, each document would have a unique name/address (called a Uniform Resourse Locator or URL) and when you wanted to read that document you would browse to that URL and get the document. There was no thought of connecting the documents to a database so that the information being presented to the visitor would vary depending on what he wanted.

Then beginning a dozen or so years ago, it kind of instantly became obvious to everyone that database connectivity was needed. And we got several competing approaches. Some like Cold Fusion were commercial packages. Some like Microsoft's ASP were nominally free (if you used their operating system). And there were other approaches using Java, Perl, CGI, etc.

Conclusion. If you are starting out to set up a web site using a database to supply the data being displayed, you would not go wrong to use PHP and MySQL. The packages are free, reliable, fast, and easy to use.

This is a book to use when you are getting started. It gives you the basic concepts of web/database interconnectivity so you can understand just what's going on. After this, you'll want more specialized materials: the MySQL reference manual for instance so you can go much deeper into it's version of SQL; and something that goes deeper into PHP.

But start with this one. Once you get a site doing some simple database connectivity you can go deeper into your own particular application.

I just finished PHP and MySQL for Dummies last night. I took C++ about 7 years ago in highschool and I think that helped with following the PHP part. Here are the pros and cons I found.
Cons
1.Not enough info on PHP and Mysql setup. One of the reasons I picked up this book was for help in getting everything configured. I had tried numerous how-tos on the web that weren't working, this did not offer much help either, although you can email the author for additional support. Solution: save the headache and download WAMP5, everything is configured for u with php, mysql, and apache server.
2. I found it annoying that the author would throw in lots of functions that were not included in the chapter into her example programs. Sure, they're there (some of them) in the last chapter, but they are not referenced so some of the examples are hard to proof unless you change them or read ahead.
3. Read the chapter "PHP Gotchas" at the beginning of the php chapters intead of at the end. If you follow along in order you will already know everything in that chapter, with much frustration, by the time u get there.
Pros:
I now know how to design a fully functional web program and have already figured out in my head how to do 2 others, plus modifications to the sample programs.
This is not the last PHP/MySQL book you will buy but it's good to get your feet wet.

I've read many Dummies books, and like the "Monkey read, Monkey see, Monkey do" approach. This monkey learns better when all the steps are clearly shown and executed in the text. Unfortunately, this book is more like "Monkey read, Monkey lost". For example, Chapter 4, "Building a Database". The author describes 2 sample databases then discusses the various operations (queries) that can be performed on the databases without detailed, step by step instructions along the way. With some trial and error, the steps can be deduced, but this can be very frustrating and may not always work.

p.s.: Janet Valade has written several beginner books on PHP/MySQL. Maybe, eventually, she will get it right. She is so close...

I wanted to learn how to programme in php/mysql. This seemed to be a good book to start with. It does tell you all about the different things about php and mysql but it doesn't go into enough detail. The way the book works is it builds up into two projects. The first is to make a website that can register users. And the second is to make a online catalogue which the users can buy from. Thats all well and good. But I had no need to make these projects. I wanted to make my own specific project. Thats why I was learning php.

As a result I had a hard time using this book. Specific stuff that is not important to the above projects was left out. Thus I had a hard time finishing my own project. I had search in several other books and websites so that I could finish my project. And my project was really not a complicated one. A simple questionnaire type form that then displays something depending on the number of points you score.

Very practical material that can also be used for reference while working on projects.

I found that the mateials are consummed very quickly and the developer may have to research further deeper into some areas.

Beware of differences in function names and uses in different PHP versions. (v. 4 vs. v. 5), which is described by the author.

Hope it helps.

I normally like the "for Dummies" series because I know that it'll start me out at "zero" knowledge and get me through to an understandable/workable level of the subject. PHP & MySQL for Dummies seems to think I'm a programmer who doesn't know html instead of the reverse, which I am. The author spends pages, pages and chapters telling the reader how to format syntax and characters without running through examples for the reader to replicate. I'm about halfway through the book now and hope to eventually run into those examples.

I own this book, personally I think its awful. The way it is structured doesn't seem to work too well for the purpose. I read the entire thing once and still felt like I knew nothing. I found some tutorials online easier to follow and the lack of working examples didn't help either. Perhaps if it we're written by a programmer and not a professional author it would have been easier to follow. It didn't help me much however you be the judge and read it for your self maybe you'll find it more useful.

I brought this book for my girlfriend to help her with her web designing. She found it to be very helpful and easy to understand what it was trying to teach you.

I recommend this book for anyone that doesn't already have some printed material on PHP and MySQL. It's great for beginners and paves the road of programming. It's pretty easy to read and I find myself constantly looking back through this book when addressing certain concepts or functions.

I think this is a very good book to get if you want to learn how to make your website work with databases, (eg: make your website have a password system on it, or a cataloge of products.) Also I think PHP and MYSQL are the best ones to learn.
This book tells you exactly how to set up Apache, Mysql and PHP environment. It uses all the latest up to date PHP. I would say this is the book to get if you want to be able to create Web Database Applications and be a Web Developer.

If you're looking to learn the basics of PHP and how it connects the web with databases, this is a very good starting point. The author takes the time to teach all of the basics of MySQL and PHP (even referencing differences between versions) and provides clear examples of two common uses of PHP - online catalogs and member-only sites.

One note though - you most definitely want to have a decent grasp of HTML and at least the basics of SQL before you start into this.

Overall it was well worth reading.

I picked up this book to build a registration and payment page for my group's website. The only web programming experience I have was an html class I took in '96 and a little bit of javascript I learned in 2001 for a short term job. I am however and expert VBA and intermediate C# programmer.

I found the book very easy to read. There is a lot of repetition of some concepts that can get annoying, but they are always things that you really need to remember!

I had a couple minor issues in getting Apache and MySQL set up on my XP machine, but a short google search fixed my problems very quickly. I would definitely recommend that either you do all your testing on your actual webhost or that you make sure that you install the same versions of Apache and MySQL that they are using. I installed the latest MySQL, then found out when I tried to run it on our site that the MySQL version the host is running was an older version that required some alterations to my code. Nothing major, but annoying.

The chapters are laid out very well to bring from the most basic "Hello World!" program to a fully functional interactive website. If you don't know HTML, some of the code may not make much sense at first, but the book uses such a small amount of HTML that a quick google search will answer most of your questions. To get a slick, professional looking website, you certainly need to know HTML, CSS, etc. (or someone who does), but I wouldn't say that you'll be stuck if you get this book and don't know HTML. As I said, just google each of the tags you don't know and you'll likely find a satisfactory answer.

This is a fairly basic book in terms of what php and MySQL are capable of, but it's designed to be an introduction.

After reading it, and developing my own site based on it, I feel confident in picking up a more advanced php book.

This book really got me on my feet. I had never programmed with server side languages before and this book taught me everything I needed to know. Now, I'm a professional web developer and I make pretty good money.

The title of this review says it all. I bought my first copy of this book in 2001 and when I lent it to a friend, I couldn't wait to get it back so I bought another copy. Although not for the novice (despite the name) this is a good resource for people who are not professional programmers. To get the maximum benefit from this book, you need a basic knowledge of programming in general, but with that capability you can follow the text to get where you want to go.

There are some good examples of how to use the concepts covered in the book, and the information can be used in order, or by need (the author even tells you that the book is designed this way).

From this text, I was able to build my first web application, just the way I wanted it and this is just a hobby for me. Highly recommended.

I liked this book and it's great for starters. The book had minimal errors. You learn how to program complete projects. When you're done with the projects, you are off to the races coding your own projects. I e-mailed the author and recieved a reply! The author cares about her work and it shows in this book. Happy coding and welcome to the PHP world never to look back...

This is the first book I have ever felt the need to review. I am writing this because I am back on amazon to try to find a book that actually teaches me what I am trying to learn. The book has halfass examples with incomplete information to work from. When you do run into a snag during part of the examples, there is no guidance on how to resolve common errors. In short the book sucks and makes me not want to ever buy another book from the "for dummies" series. If you buy this book, you truly are a dummy.

I had a little experience with both PHP and MySQL before I bought this book. While the first few chapters make it seem easy enough, I found that using most of the information in the book - even copied letter for letter - led to error after error. Frustrated, I finally used my DREAMWEAVER textbook which, with as little information as it provides ABOUT both PHP and MySQL was a lot more helpful.

Picked this up after reading two worse books (there are many) and found the first explanations clear, possibly because I was already familiar with some of the terms.
After the first two or three chapters, however, Valade gets complacent, doesn't explain minor issues which can leave you puzzled.
The examples are not very useful and, although she explains some of the steps, she leaves out details. Again, confusing.
The book has numerous errors, one which left me reading the same page for about half an hour. Rather than approaching the topic for beginners, she does assume some programming knowledge at time.
After reading the explanations of object oriented programming (classes), I nearly gave up.
The author is not a good teacher. There are scripts on her own web site with corrections.

Unfortunately the author of this book is so engrossed in her knowledge she isn't able to step back and tell the beginner (after all this is the Dummies guide) what to do step by step. She informs you 'about' PHP and MySQL with little comprehensive instruction on how to build a database website in a logical clear step by step order.

Overall in my opinion this book is far from 'even a dummy can do it if they follow the steps' guide but more of a poor attempt by an expert to teach people a complex topic without the understanding of what is means to be a beginner.

I knew nothing about PHP and very little about MySQL at the start. I wanted to build an application that used both so I could see the code level details of how they worked together. This book did an EXCELLENT job of meeting those requirements.
It took me about 3 weeks at about 1-2 hours each weekday to complete the 418 pages of text.
The book has some sections that aren't intuitively obvious. This turned out to be both bad and yet good because I had to work through the problems. And I was able to do that, thus learning even more in the process. I used my MySQL reference book, "The Complete Reference MySQL", and an HTML reference, "The Complete Reference HTML & XHTML Fourth Edition".
I now have the Pet Store application working with Membership Login and it was a great learning experience. I think anyone with previous programming experience would benefit from the challenges as well as the many solid, good sections of this book (especially includin the installation appendices).
I don't think this would be a good book for a true "Dummy" who has no programming experience - the flaws in some of the code examples and the steps that are sometimes out of sequence would probably prompt them to pitch the book before completion.