Reviews for Professional PHP5 (Programmer to Programmer)

1. FoB - Full of Bugs

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, January 12rd, 2009

   I was persuaded to order this book on the basis that it claimed to take a 'procedural' [ PHP4 ] developer through an in-depth introduction to PHP5, including Object Design, Patterns, UML, abstraction layers - in short, the works.
   
   The reality is totally disappointing. 12 pages in, the authors ask you to create a table - using PostgreSQL, in the process, cheerfully announcing,
   
   "As with most of the examples in this book, this one uses PostgreSQL as its platform. The authors firmly believe that the advanced features, transaction support, and robust stored procedure mechanism of PostgreSQL make it superior to MySQL and other open-source RDBMS for large scale enterprise software development. If you don't have a PostgreSQL environment at your disposal, feel free to make the appropriate modifications for the database platform you use."
   
   Perhaps the authors didn't realise that the M in LAMP stands for "MySQL", or that the vast majority of hosting companies and ISPs out there [ the good ones, too ] prefer to use MySQL over PostgreSQL.
   
   I went to the Wrox Publications web site, hoping to find that Wrox had relented and published an errata section with work-around code for MySQL users. Instead, in the forums, I found an endless string of complaints about bug-ridden examples that just don't work.
   
   I wish I had done a little more homework before handing over £27 [plus postage] for this useless guide. I have a smattering of Wrox books on my shelf, but this will be the last. It seems peverse that a book proclaiming to teach users the power of PHP5 should have such a narrow perspective.
   
   Complete waste of money.

2. Too much in not enough depth

   Rated 2 out of 5 stars, September 12nd, 2008

   I think this book tried to cover too much and didn't go into enough depth on PHP and PHP best practice. It's left me feeling like there should be a follow up book called "Really Professional PHP5".
   
   There are some pretty good code samples based on some well used software patterns. I've found their Debug class really useful.
   
   A lot of the book tries to introduce you into more general computing topics such as writing specifications and dealing with clients. Useful, but you'd be better of getting a book specialising in these topics, as the chapters by themselves are not really enough. Also, it's not what I bought this book for.

3. Helps but with errors

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2006

   I don't like to be critical of people willing to share their hard earned knowledge but the number of errors I have come across in this book are annoying. The Errata page for this book on the official Wrox site is far from complete. I tried to pass on errors but they insist on registration etc etc. I didn't even get a reply from them when I emailed.
   
   Code errors are really frustrating. Relying on the code straight out of the book for some of the examples will leave you pulling out your hair. I don't know why they can't just run the code and once it's working, cut and paste it into the book's draft.
   
   You will learn from this book however don't panic if something doesn't work if you've entered code verbatim. You should spot the bugs with a little effort.