Reviews for Web Database Applications with PHP and MySQL: Building Effective Database-Driven Web Sites

1. Obsolete and not fit for purpose!

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2010

   I am a complete newcomer to PHP and MySQL and I bought this book only a few weeks ago upon recommendation. I tried following the newest version of the Mac Installation Guide dated 30 June 2004 (!) but, as I suspected, I immediately ran into difficulties. The very first line asked me to open NetInfo Manager from Applications, Utilities, but, of course, as I found out, Mac Os X Leopard now has this function on Directory Utility. This was just the beginning of my confidence being slowly eroded as to the usefulness of this book. When I got to the next part about choosing which server version of MySQL to download where it states that:
   
   If you choose Server version 4.1 or later, then the material in this book that
   relies on the standard MySQL library can't be used at the time of writing.
   
   I wrote an email to Hugh E. Williams asking his advise on 6th March 2010 as it stated on the books website that he was available to help. It is now the 17th March and I am still waiting for a reply!
   
   I tried to gather the information required from various online resources but eventually gave up after numerous frustrating hours spent going round in circles.
   
   I have now sent the book back to Amazon requesting a full refund and have since ordered "Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Websites" by Robin Nixon and I am hoping that this will be a more up to date equivalent.
   
   In 2004, when this book was published, it may have been the most brilliant book on the subject but as far as I'm concerned now, this book is not fit for purpose and you have been warned! If I could have given this book zero stars I would have.

2. Excellent but Dated!

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, August 12st, 2009

   This book is very well, and clearly , written.However, when attempting to use the examples , the PHP versions often conflict with the MySql versions.
   This excellently written book could do with an update!
   

3. What's PEAR got to do with it

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2008

   I wholly concur with the comments of D.Lloyd "TVT". I bought this book with the intention of building a website using PHP and MySQL only. I don't want or need PEAR. Not a good book. Steer well clear if you are looking for a book on PHP and MySQL.

4. Should have been called "Pear and MySQL"

   Rated 2 out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2008

   How annoying! Yet another book that professes to be about PHP, but is in fact about an extension of PHP which I for one don't really want to use. I don't need PEAR for my site. I am quite content with native PHP Mysql support. I want a book that explains the ins and outs of that.
   
   This book assumes you will be using PEAR. All the DB stuff is done using PEAR. Native PHP MySQL support doesn't get a look in.
   
   Also, this book assumes you will want to use templates. I don't I keep my php apps as lightweight as possible, so templates are not needed for me.
   
   In my mind, a good learning book will teach you the basics you need to get the job done, and leave you in a better position to explore the extensions etc for yourself, or with the help of dedicated reading matter. Had this book set out to teach you PEAR, I am sure it would have been pretty good. But it didn't. It set out to teach PHP. And it failed.

5. Doesn't really lead by example

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2005

   It's a good and thorough book, and as far as it goes or any other book goes on this subject I would recommend it. There are however some caveats to this. The first is that there is a huge chunk in the middle which just lists a whole bunch of functions. It is essentially a reference section in the middle of the book. They do the same for MySQL as they do for PHP. So what are we upposed to do with this? Read amd memorise the whole lot?
   It would have been a lot more helpful to bash through and construct a database application (which is what this book is about actually) and explain the code and have a reference section or a pullout at the end.
   I now regularly use phpfreaks.com for their tutorials as this is what they do. Take a chunk of useful code, break it down bit by bit, line by line. when properly structured this is a much better way of learning as one really digests the commands and syntax. Just reading an incredibly dry list of commands and functions or being expected to do this is pretty unreasonable. I am still looking for that book that has a complex web application project that includes nearly all of the fnctions and syntax of PHP and MySQL where the reader is led through and comes out of the other end with a thorough understanding of all that is involved.
   Summary: great reference book with an example of a web application towards the end of the book.