Web Database Applications with PHP and MySQL 2nd Edition
PHP and MySQL go hand in hand; the former has been carefully adapted, through the efforts of the open-source community, to the latter. For situations that require dynamic content but don’t merit the complexity and development time of Java or .NET enterprise applications, the PHP language and the MySQL database server fit the bill perfectly. That’s the point Hugh Williams and David Lane make in Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL, which combines language tutorials with application design advice to yield a comprehensive picture of its subjects at a reasonable price. Williams and Lane–both Australian academics who use an online wine store in many of their examples–deserve tremendous kudos for their way of presenting recommended coding strategies. Though the code listings themselves aren’t remarkably well commented, the authors do a commendable job of explaining in prose what the code is up to.
Case in point: The ever-essential task of using PHP to open a connection to a MySQL database, submit a query to that database, receive a response, and format the returned rows, if any. The book addresses this problem with a straight code listing, followed by text that explains what’s happening in five numbered steps. Similar care goes to the other popular applications of the PHP/MySQL duo: session management, shopping carts, and authentication of users. –David Wall
Topics covered: How to use the PHP server-side scripting language and the MySQL database engine to underlie dynamic Web sites (those that rely on database queries) and full-on Web applications, such as those that require session management and maintenance of user rosters. Tutorials in both subjects begin with the basics and proceed through moderately complicated stuff, though there’s no absolutely comprehensive reference here.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars I really like this book
I really like this book–direct, no-nonsense, and intelligently written with a minimum of jokes.
One thing that seems strange, that I’m hoping someone can clarify:
In the section of chapter 8 dealing with transactions and concurrency, there is no mention of setting transaction isolation levels (SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL command in MySQL). Instead, concurrency is achieved solely by setting table locks.
I can sort of understand this in that the authors are using MyISAM tables. But why no mention of transaction isolation levels using INNODB tables, given that this is the more standard way of dealing with concurrency issues?
3 Stars Good Book, Serious ERRORS
This is a good book with a nice overview of the stated subjects.
However, I cannot evaluate the application presented because the appendix on installing Easy PHP on Microsoft Windows has SO MANY ERRORS that I simply cannot get this software running. In particular the PEAR installation instructions are just completely wrong.
I will try a Linux environment next, since I can debug better in that environment.
4 Stars MySQl-PHP textbook
As usual in text books, there is a lot of useless information that is not necessary, but since writers are paid by the word, this is to be expected.
I wish there was a section on MySQL commands.
4 Stars Buy this book
If your having trouble deciding on a book for your php & mysql development buy this book. It covers all major aspects of php and mysql web development and then some. You will find something useful on every page of this book, and theres a good amount of book here.
3 Stars Fairly Useful
The book got me off the ground with my first client application, a rudimentary database maintenance system. Most valuable were the techniques and thorough understanding required to build a satisfactory security component.
However, it falls way short as a reference tool and could have included a more comprehensive list of mysql functions.
