Build Your Own Database-Driven Website

Chris Beasley writes "I have a PHP book that's 567 pages long. I have two SQL books: one has 377 pages; the other has 719. Yet I consider 295-page 'Build Your Own Database Driven Website using PHP & MySQL' by Kevin Yank more valuable than any of these books. Why? Because, while I may find only a quarter or, at best, half of these books useful on a regular basis, all 295 pages of Yank's new release are of value to me on a daily basis." Build Your Own Database-Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL, 2nd Ed author Kevin Yank pages 295 publisher SitePoint rating 5/5 reviewer Chris Beasley ISBN 0957921802 summary A tutorial-style book for beginning PHP/MySQL Programmers

Unlike the arbitrary structure exemplified by so many programmers' references, Build Your Own Database Driven Website using PHP & MySQL is written more like an instruction manual, with chapters arranged in the order in which you should use them.

The first chapter explains the installation of PHP and MySQL; the next two cover usage basics. In Chapter 4 you're already pulling information from your database and publishing it on the Web. Chapters 5-10 refine what you've already accomplished, and delve into advanced topics in both PHP and MySQL.

If you're familiar with Yank's original tutorial, on which he based this book, your familiarity will end with the closing pages of Chapter 10. Chapter 11 addresses the storage of binary data in MySQL, a topic that was of great interest to me personally as I'd never done it before. In keeping with the rest of the book, Chapter 11 is a step-by-step guide, and explains the storage of binary data in a practical, down-to-earth manner that inspires you to give the book's teachings a try. Already I'm searching for an excuse to build a system, just to experiment with what I've learned. Chapter 12 covers cookies and sessions in PHP. The usage of cookies and sessions is essential to any online authentication or shopping cart system, and this topic makes a great final chapter that complements the book's other lessons.

This book makes good on its promise to teach you everything you need to know to build a database driven Website, but fortunately for us the author decided to throw in a few extras -- these take the form of four reference appendices. Appendix A covers MySQL syntax, which, while covered throughout the book, is easily referenced through this well-organized appendix. Appendix B explains MySQL functions, while Appendix C covers MySQL datatypes in considerable detail, so much so that I found this information easier to use than the official MySQL online reference. Finally, Appendix D covers the PHP functions that are used with MySQL.

If you progress in your programming skills you'll eventually need to buy a complete programmer's reference for PHP, although you probably won't need to buy an SQL reference unless you start using a more robust database solution than MySQL. However, if you want to build your first database-driven website, or even if you have built one before but want a practical reference, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL will guide you step by step through the development process -- who could ask for more?

You can purchase Build Your Own Database-Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL, 2nd Ed from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Comments

Re:Who wouldn't?

[K.]

Preprocessing pages and serving static html is one way of coping with high CPU loads incurred by having a popular dynamic site. So as in everything, the best path is the middle path. Or so my teacher Steven Seagal tells me.

Re:PHP Too slow

[odyrithm]

php is way to slow for big sites :*( unfortunately with out some state of the art cache.

obviously you dont know about this: http://apc.communityconnect.com/about.html

Nice, timely review - the book is out of print

[Anonymous Coward]

I just looked at Barnes and Noble and found the book is no longer available!

You know, it might be useful if Slashdot book reviews were limited to books that are currently in print!

Warning!! Lots of typos that stopps a learner cold

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi,

I bought this book a few months ago to learn just what the title says it teaches. Unfortunately, it had many, many typos in the code examples that resulted in me being stopped cold.

One would need to already know a lot about PHP to know what needed to be fixed. Sadly, there was no online "errata" for the errors that stopped me cold. I think there was an online errata, but it didn't list many of the errors that stopped me cold.

It was only due to my posting the non working code online and getting strangers who already knew PHP to point out what was wrong that I was able to proceed -- at least until the next non corrected error that stopped me cold again.

Finally, In disgust, I gave up and bought the Wrox book (by Welling?) that just came out with a second edition.

What's sad is there is no excuse for the lack of an online errata for the errors that stopped me codl time and time again. I had the latest edition of the book.

IMO, save your money and time -- buy the Wrox book instead and make PROGRESS learning PHP and MySQL.