PHP and MySQL are quickly becoming the de facto standard for rapid development of dynamic, database-driven web sites. This book is perfect for newcomers to programming as well as hobbyists who are intimidated by harder-to-follow books. With concepts explained in plain English, the new edition starts with the basics of the PHP language, and explains how to work with MySQL, the popular open source database. You then learn how to put the two together to generate dynamic content. If you come from a web design or graphics design background and know your way around HTML, Learning PHP & MySQL is the book you've been looking for. The content includes:

• PHP basics such as strings and arrays, and pattern matching

• A detailed discussion of the variances in different PHP versions

• MySQL data fundamentals like tables and statements

• Information on SQL data access for language

• A new chapter on XHTML

• Error handling, security, HTTP authentication, and more

Learning PHP & MySQL explains everything from fundamental concepts to the nuts and bolts of performing specific tasks. As part of O'Reilly's bestselling Learning series, the book is an easy-to-use resource designed specifically for beginners. It's a launching pad for future learning, providing you with a solid foundation for more advanced development.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 10 Ratings

Not for PHP Beginners - 2008-04-29
Reviewer Rating:
Maybe a genius or someone who already understands PHP basics will benefit from this book. I have made great progress with a number of instructional books, but got stuck in Chapter three of this one. It seems that important terms and concepts are not explained, not explained well, or explained in pages after the terms and concepts are first used.
I'm going to search for another book on PHP & MySQL.

Riddled with errors - avoid - 2008-07-20
Reviewer Rating:
This dreadful book is so far below O'Reilly's normal high standard that it's hard to believe anyone at the company saw it before publication. It is riddled from start to finish with typos, technical errors, bad coding practices, contradictions and statements that are just plain wrong. It's quite baffling that O'Reilly would let a book this bad hit the shelves.

What is particularly worrying is that this is the second edition. The first was also full of mistakes (see the reviews on the O'Reilly website) and the publisher seems to have acknowledged this by rushing out this second edition only a year after the first, but the new edition fixes few of the problems of the first while introducing a host of new ones. One of the worst books ever published by O'Reilly. Avoid at all costs.

Poorly wriiten - 2009-04-30
Reviewer Rating:
I bought this book thinking that it could teach me well and I could try to make a nice PHP & MySQL script on my website to manage news.

I was utterly wrong.

I am really a fan of the O'Reilly books, they are pretty well made, except for this one.

There are quite a few errors in the coding where I get a TON of parsing errors.

It would be really nice if they could completely re-write the book and take out using PEAR, It may be a useful tool, but I don't like it that much.

I would suggest not getting this book, but for one of the other O'Reilly books, like "Headfirst PHP and MySQL".

Stay Away - 2009-04-01
Reviewer Rating:
This book is full of errors and I never got any thing to work. Stay away from this book. I suggest the Friend of Ed series.

Outdated and many mistakes - 2009-03-27
Reviewer Rating:
This is definitely below the bar for an O'Reilly book. I am about 1/3 way thru and already have to spend hours searching the Internet for the right steps on phpMyAdmin and Apache2 config on MacBook Pro. I am debating if I should finish the rest of the book, best to avoid this book to begin with.

[update] The second half of the book is a bit better, I would recommend skipping the first few chapters and start at Practical PHP.

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Programming

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Databases > MySQL
Programming > PHP