I agree with you about the wasted trees on configuration and all that. If I took all the chapters on how to install and set up Apache from just the PHP books I have and put them together, I have a dumpster sized pile of redundant material. Ditto for mySQL installation blah blah...
HOWEVER, there is merit to having a book, as opposed to online documentation. Yes, php.net rocks. It's open in another window on my screen right now - often is.
But this is a newbie/best practices book, and that is hard to get from a Google search.
I'm virtually entirely (hmm...there's a stupid combo of words) self-taught in PHP, Perl, Cold Fusion, VB, ASP, JSP and so on...which is fine -- I like that.
At the same time, working on your own, you tend to pick up some bad habits. After you work with the language for a spell, you (hopefully...) realize the errors of your earlier days (why not just have the header and footer as includes?!? Duh!).
But a book - well written by folks knowing what they are doing (in other words, they've already made the mistakes you're going to...) - helps you past some of those bad habits.
By reading and playing with a book's code, you can glean info that will port back into your own code - and THEN php.net and Google searches make more sense.
Example: Image you're using this book and you really don't know SQL. Would you even KNOW to do a search to see the syntax of an "EXISTS" clause on Google? No. You wouldn't even know such a thing exists (pardon the pun; unintentional).
I have a buttload of books around me as I code - a few that are VERY well-thumbed - and I use the Web. Both are valid. Depends on what you're doing and what you know about what you're trying to do.
Well, at least I have a RPMs for postgres that came with RedHat 6.2, 7.1 and 7.3 (I think the postgres on the 7.x are the same, the RH 6.2 was the older postgres release).
I personally am not fond of mySQL - though it's very easy to set up and maintain. Come on, a database with no subselects? (Never mind the other missing pieces, like no stored procs).
The reality is that mySQL has the larger installed base, so it it probably the best way to ease into dynamic development.
Also, what hosts even support Postgres? I run it at home, I've run it at work - on the companies' dedicated servers - but I don't know if there is a host out there that supports it. Which is too bad.
There is a PHP Developer's Cookbook -- by Sterling Hughes and with contributions by Andrei Zmievski (if that last does not ring a PHP bell, forget it...).
Not a good book, in my estimation. I've never thought I was king god of coding or whatever, but this book (and others) left me thinking..."Yeah, I learned [that] but...I already knew [this][that] and [the other thing]. I've never used it.
While people have posted saying to use the PHP manual (which rocks, don't get me wrong, especially for bugs), it's not a cookbook or a good guide for newbies (either to PHP or a particular function). This is where books shine: Show how this or that actually works in practice, not abstracted out to the API.
That said, use what works for you. PHP examples/code abound on the Web -- leverage this resource if it works for you. If you want a book, get a good on. (But view./ for info!)
I was going to pick up this book, based on the recommondation of friends (programmers) and online reviews, but when I thumbed through it in the bookstore, it just seemed...weak. Thin.
This is PROFESSIONAL PHP programming, not BEGINNING PHP. Why even have the 100 or so odd pages on installation? This book is not targetted at newbies, it is for the serious developer. OK -- you're a J2EE dude who want to check it out; doesn't have PHP installed. Lots of references on the Web, and if you can't find them...you're not a Web developer.
While the book probably would be helpful as a reference in some cases, I was just disappointed in it. The cookie/session section was a joke (and this is new in v4, so should be fairly rigorous).
I didn't buy the book. And I like having references around. I have 7-8 open on my desk right now, from Perl through DHTML to PHP. Oh well, as people have noted, v5 is coming, so I guess we shouldn't get our packets in a bunch...
Slashdot Mirror
I don't think Webmonkey will go dark, it's just that no new content will be added.
Webmonkey has a big name, and Terra-Lycos can probably still make ad money off it enough to cover the costs of keeping a server or two running.
At least, that's what I think (and hope)
I know, the new mySQL release (see the recent news.com story about the 4.1 release.
However, the work-arounds you mention (temp table etc) are just that. Work arounds. And the final release is still about eight months down the road.
And there are still no stored procs or foreign-key support. Those are show-stoppers for any highly transactional site.
But mySQL IS getting better. Which is good.
I agree with you about the wasted trees on configuration and all that. If I took all the chapters on how to install and set up Apache from just the PHP books I have and put them together, I have a dumpster sized pile of redundant material. Ditto for mySQL installation blah blah...
HOWEVER, there is merit to having a book, as opposed to online documentation. Yes, php.net rocks. It's open in another window on my screen right now - often is.
But this is a newbie/best practices book, and that is hard to get from a Google search.
I'm virtually entirely (hmm...there's a stupid combo of words) self-taught in PHP, Perl, Cold Fusion, VB, ASP, JSP and so on...which is fine -- I like that.
At the same time, working on your own, you tend to pick up some bad habits. After you work with the language for a spell, you (hopefully...) realize the errors of your earlier days (why not just have the header and footer as includes?!? Duh!).
But a book - well written by folks knowing what they are doing (in other words, they've already made the mistakes you're going to...) - helps you past some of those bad habits.
By reading and playing with a book's code, you can glean info that will port back into your own code - and THEN php.net and Google searches make more sense.
Example: Image you're using this book and you really don't know SQL. Would you even KNOW to do a search to see the syntax of an "EXISTS" clause on Google? No. You wouldn't even know such a thing exists (pardon the pun; unintentional).
I have a buttload of books around me as I code - a few that are VERY well-thumbed - and I use the Web. Both are valid. Depends on what you're doing and what you know about what you're trying to do.
Well, at least I have a RPMs for postgres that came with RedHat 6.2, 7.1 and 7.3 (I think the postgres on the 7.x are the same, the RH 6.2 was the older postgres release).
It is definitely available.
I personally am not fond of mySQL - though it's very easy to set up and maintain. Come on, a database with no subselects? (Never mind the other missing pieces, like no stored procs).
The reality is that mySQL has the larger installed base, so it it probably the best way to ease into dynamic development.
Also, what hosts even support Postgres? I run it at home, I've run it at work - on the companies' dedicated servers - but I don't know if there is a host out there that supports it. Which is too bad.
There is a PHP Developer's Cookbook -- by Sterling Hughes and with contributions by Andrei Zmievski (if that last does not ring a PHP bell, forget it...).
./ for info!)
Not a good book, in my estimation. I've never thought I was king god of coding or whatever, but this book (and others) left me thinking..."Yeah, I learned [that] but...I already knew [this][that] and [the other thing]. I've never used it.
While people have posted saying to use the PHP manual (which rocks, don't get me wrong, especially for bugs), it's not a cookbook or a good guide for newbies (either to PHP or a particular function). This is where books shine: Show how this or that actually works in practice, not abstracted out to the API.
That said, use what works for you. PHP examples/code abound on the Web -- leverage this resource if it works for you. If you want a book, get a good on. (But view
I was going to pick up this book, based on the recommondation of friends (programmers) and online reviews, but when I thumbed through it in the bookstore, it just seemed...weak. Thin.
This is PROFESSIONAL PHP programming, not BEGINNING PHP. Why even have the 100 or so odd pages on installation? This book is not targetted at newbies, it is for the serious developer. OK -- you're a J2EE dude who want to check it out; doesn't have PHP installed. Lots of references on the Web, and if you can't find them...you're not a Web developer.
While the book probably would be helpful as a reference in some cases, I was just disappointed in it. The cookie/session section was a joke (and this is new in v4, so should be fairly rigorous).
I didn't buy the book. And I like having references around. I have 7-8 open on my desk right now, from Perl through DHTML to PHP. Oh well, as people have noted, v5 is coming, so I guess we shouldn't get our packets in a bunch...