This is the Safari online edition of the printed book.

With PHP for the World Wide Web, Third Edition: Visual QuickStart Guide, readers can start from the beginning to get a tour of the programming language, or look up specific tasks to learn just what they need to know. This task-based visual reference guide uses step-by-step instructions and plenty of screenshots to teach beginning and intermediate users this popular open-source scripting language. Leading technology author Larry Ullman guides readers through the new features in PHP 6, focusing primarily on improved support for handling any language in a Web site. Other addressed changes include removal of outdated and insecure features, plus new functions and more efficient ways to tackle common needs. Both beginning users, who want a thorough introduction to the technology, and more intermediate users, who are looking for a convenient reference, will find what they need here--in straightforward language and thorough readily accessible examples.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 7 Ratings

A Comprehensive, Yet Simplified Jump Start for PHP Beginners - 2009-08-15
Reviewer Rating:
I started as not knowing much about PHP, and by the time I had completed reading this book and doing many of its exercises, the book had lived up to its promise of "Learn PHP the Quick and Easy Way!", at least for me.

PHP is actually easy, but it is somewhat involved! It is not like learning VBA where you focus on the language syntax and that is all you really need to learn. PHP, by its Client Server nature, requires us to learn some HTML, Forms, CSS, and Database as well. Being a Client-Server Scripting Language, this is only natural.

Larry has done an excellent job of keeping this book comprehensive by giving us enough first had knowledge to be effective in HTML, Forms, CSS, and Database. But most importantly, there is enough to help learn to write a useful program as a beginner. However, previous experience about other programming languages,we can get inventive and write more complicated ones using this book.

Chapter 1 gets us started nicely. Chapters 2 to 5 are basic things like variables and strings. Chapter 6, does a good job of giving practical, and clearly explained control functions. Chapter 7 on using arrays gives us a good start plus a lot of helpful things like how to convert an array into a string, and vice versa. I found Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11 containing all essential things needed to make a decent website including session management and cookies. Again, he clearly gives an excellent start, and empowers us to build on that. Chapter 10 is on functions and Chapter 11 introduces us to files and directories as seen by PHP Client Server approach. Chapter 12 is introduction to Databases. Databases and detailed explanation of them, to satisfy a DBA for example, will take a complete book focused on it. However, Larry has packed enough database information here that will get us started and more importantly operational on the Back End Database. Chapter 13, regular expressions, while important, was sort of icing on the cake for me.

Appendix A does a basic treatment of general installation for different operating systems. Appendix B, on the other hand is a good list of other resources.

As a suggestion, I would say that if the code for a more involved, ten or fifteen page website could be shown to expand on what is already in the book, would help put all in prespective. Also, there is a slight confusion at this time in this book. At the time this book was being written, there was some confusion about PHP 5 or 6 in the Regular Expressions Chapter 13. I would recommend that this be cleared up in the Fourth Edition. This book is well worth a Fourth Edition!

The pace of the book is good and it does not jump around, and it does not leave gaps that would be frustrating to a first time PHP programmer. It logically and systematically builds up on previous chapters as it proceeds.

Larry Ullman Did The Impossible: Got Me Excited About Learning PHP! - 2009-11-11
Reviewer Rating:
There is no shortage of people who understand PHP. But people who understand it at a high level, yet can explain it to beginners, are rare.

Hats off to Larry Ullman, for he has accomplished this. I'm a non-programmer, and opened this book with great trepidation. Yet page after page, chapter after chapter, Ullman took me by the hand at exactly the right rate.

I was amazed...after a few chapters, I was marvelling to myself at how FUN PHP was!

I'm not sure how you did it, Larry, but you have some powerful juju going for you!

What a fantastic book!

Decent Introductory Text - 2009-10-11
Reviewer Rating:
A relatively easy-to-follow series of lessons and sample scripts make for easy reading and rapid progress. Many sidebars contain excellent "Tips" which sometimes turn out to be more useful than the main text. Explanations and instructions are surprisingly clear, and this is a good introduction to PHP for beginners.

Issues include usage of old mysql library (instead of mysqli, in use since PHP 4.1), a somewhat stilted version of PHP redux, usage of now-deprecated ereg functions in regular expressions, and a few other minor anomalies. Lots of space is wasted showing actual scripts which are being explained simultaneously in adjacent pages, and are available for download on the book's website anyway. But the overall concepts are well-explained, and this text is less confusing than several others available. An economical and educational choice for a PHP beginner wanting to get their feet wet.

Best Beginning PHP Book! Period! - 2009-11-21
Reviewer Rating:
After mucking around and getting frustrated by several PHP books that were not written to be understood, I found this book. What a difference. Larry Ullman takes you step by step through all the processes and the code. He makes it clear, understandable and even intuitive. His examples are real world, practical, and useful. He covers all the theory but with a dialogue that is geared to the average person. All the scripts are on his web site and he keeps them corrected and up to date. He even updated against evolution in the code standards.

His content outline and flow get you quickly to being competent as opposed to frustrated. You can actually internalize the lessons. He explains the normal mistakes and tells you how to correct them. His descriptions of where PHP fits into the whole web process is crystal clear and eye opening.

No cryptic references, no showing off by injecting other language syntax, or arcane examples. He is a TEACHER! I could have saved hundreds of dollars and many months of frustration had I found this book first.

This book is worth many more stars but all I can give it is 5. Thank you Larry Ullman

slow shipping - 2009-10-24
Reviewer Rating:
considering this book came from 15 miles from me it took 2 weeks to get :(

Browse Similar Topics

Top Level Categories:
Internet/Online
Programming

Sub-Categories:
Internet/Online > PHP
Programming > PHP