Errata in Programming Books?

WgT2 asks: "I recently have set my mind to learning to code PHP. Not being a programmer, yet, I went out and got myself a book on the subject from a very trusted, at least in my eyes, publisher (and they still still are). So far so good. However once I got down to trying the code out myself I have found too much errata for someone who has just scratched the surface in learning the ins and outs of programming. I was wondering just how common place Slashdot readers have found errata in the code examples of programming books they have purchased?"

Comments

Look to the publisher's site

[babbage]

Most (all?) of the publishers today will have a web site dedicated to each title, and the better ones (all again?) will have an errata page somewhere in there. Look for it. Consider basing purchasing decisions on the presence & quality of that errata page:

• If it has such a page, and it's short (all books will have at least some typos -- that's life), then you're in good shape.
• If it looks like the errata page is updated often, that's also a good sign -- it means the publisher is paying attention. That may be even better.
• If it has an errata page, and it's really long, then maybe the book is just sub-par: be careful here.
• If it has no errata page, the publisher is lying, or hasn't gotten around to it yet: be careful here, too.

I don't know which book you got, but O'Reilly's Programming PHP has its own confirmed and unconfirmed errata pages. If this is the book you've got, feel free to go over the corrections noted on these pages and jot them down in your copy -- I've done that with a couple of my books, and would have missed many of the glitches without that hint. If you see an error that isn't on this page, O'Reilly offers a error submission form that you can use for that book (and others of course) -- so use it! If the publisher doesn't find out about these mistakes, they aren't going to get fixed. A good publisher will offer revised printings -- not that that helps you once you've got a copy, but it will prevent other learners from having to hit the same obstacles you did. :-)

You can't, unfortunately, expect books to be perfect & pristine. (Well, maybe Knuth's books, but everyone else has to deal with typos & thinkos :-). You can, however, and should expect the publisher to own up to their little mistakes and offer you corrections on their site. Go find that info and get the fixes into your copy and you'll be a happier camper.