PHP and MySQL Web Development

Review
The PHP server-side scripting language and the MySQL database management system (DBMS) make a potent pair. Both are open-source products–free of charge for most purposes–remarkably strong, and capable of handling all but the most enormous transaction loads. Both are supported by large, skilled, and enthusiastic communities of architects, programmers, and designers. PHP and MySQL Web Development introduces readers (who are assumed to have little or no experience with the title subjects) to PHP and MySQL for the purpose of creating dynamic Internet sites. It teaches the same skills as introductory Active Server Pages (ASP) and ColdFusion books–technologies that address the same niche.

Authors Luke Welling and Laura Thomson’s technique aims to get readers going on their own projects as soon as possible. They present easily digestible sections on specific technical processes–”Accessing array contents” and “Using encryption with PHP” are two examples. Each section centers on a sample program that strips the task at hand down to its essentials, enabling the reader to fit the process into his or her own solutions as required. Tables that list options and other nuggets of reference material appear as well, but the many examples and the authors’ commentary on them take center stage.

For reference material on MySQL, have a look at Paul DuBois’s MySQL. On the PHP side, Web Application Development with PHP 4.0 is excellent. –David Wall

Topics covered:

* The MySQL database server (for both Unix and Windows)
* Accessing MySQL databases through PHP scripting (the letters don’t really stand for anything)
* Database creation and modification
* PHP tricks in order of increasing complexity–everything from basic SQL queries to secure transactions for commerce
* Authentication
* Network connectivity
* Session management
* Content customization

Review
“This book by Welling & Thomson is the
only one which I have found to be indispensable.
The writing is clear and straightforward
but never wastes my time.The book is
extremely well laid out.The chapters are the
right length and chapter titles quickly take
you where you want to go.”
—Wright Sullivan, President,A&E
Engineering, Inc., Greer South Carolina

“There are several good introductory
books on PHP, but Welling & Thomson is an
excellent handbook for those who wish to
build up complex and reliable systems. It’s
obvious that the authors have a strong background
in the development of professional
applications and they teach not only
the language itself, but also how to use it
with good software engineering practices.”
—Javier Garcia, senior telecom engineer,
Telefonica R&D Labs, Madrid

“This book rocks! I am an experienced
programmer, so I didn’t need a lot of help
with PHP syntax; after all, it’s very close to
C/C++. I don’t know a thing about
databases, though, so when I wanted to
develop a book review engine (among
other projects) I wanted a solid reference
to using MySQL with PHP. I have
O’Reilly’s mSQL and MySQL book, and
it’s probably a better pure-SQL reference,
but this book has earned a place on my
reference shelf…Highly recommended.”
—Paul Robichaux

“The true PHP/MySQL bible, PHP
and MySQL Web Development by Luke
Welling and Laura Thomson, made me
realize that programming and databases are
now available to the commoners. Again, I
know 1/10000th of what there is to know,
and already I’m enthralled.”
—Tim Luoma

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Tagged with: MySQL • PHP

Filed under: PHP

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