Product Description

"Object-Oriented PHP" shows developers how to take advantage of the new object-oriented features of PHP. Working within the context of concrete examples, the book begins with code compatible with PHP 4 and 5, and then focuses on object-orientation in PHP 5. The author's practical approach uses numerous code examples, which will help developers get up to speed with object oriented PHP quickly, and show them how to apply what they learn to everyday situations. All code samples are available for download on the book's companion site.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #194470 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 216 pages

About the Author
Peter Lavin writes regularly on all things tech, from technology book reviews to web design, and runs a web development firm based in Toronto. He has been published in a number of magazines and online sites, including UnixReview.com and Doctor Dobb's Journal, and is a contributor to PHP Hacks (O'Reilly).

Customer Reviews

Sorry, but...
What forced me to write this review was the fact that the book is written and organised so poorly that I could have done it. It's worth a scan - a little bit on oop concepts here and there, some php tricks - but not many. Borrow it from someone, just don't buy it.

A flawed introduction to OOP
Several things let this book down. The first being its length, at only 190 pages, (Appendices start at 164) many details are simply briefly covered. The author gives serveral examples which are based on the internet... as i am reading a book this is not to helpful and putting it in the book might of made this review different.

The second let down is the complexity of the code. This is not a beginner book and anyone learning php should stay far away from this till they understand the majority of the language.

Finally at times you get the feeling that author has got a bit carried away with building his application. I sometimes felt like I was in science and the teacher had got wrapped up in a demonstration instead of actually teaching the class. There are several chapters where he simply further increases the functionality of his application without bringing anything new to the table.

Saying all this it does provide a good introduction to the topic of OOP with PHP and with the numerous examples you will find yourself learning about the topic. Is it worth £20? No. Either borrow it or try to get it for half the price.

Fantastic introduction to OO PHP
I felt compelled to write this review after reading the luke-warm reception it has received from the other reviewers, which I think is completely unjustified.

As a PHP developer by trade I have a pretty good grasp of procedural coding, but OOP has been gaining more and more momentum in the PHP community and I felt I couldn't ignore it any longer.

This book was an absolutely perfect introduction to the concept, and quickly taught me all the ins and outs of creating classes and objects in an easy-to-follow, jargon-free way. Most importantly I now finally 'get' OO PHP, and can see how it will benefit me in future projects. This is something that numerous online tutorials just didn't convey to me.

The book is split into 16 short chapters, each building on the last to cover new concepts. Through the course of the book you build a web application which makes use of several user-defined classes which interact with one another. The classes you build range from a database access class to an image thumbnailing class to a record pagination class, all of which are highly relevant to most PHP coders. I found that this use of real-world examples really helped to cement the concepts in my mind, and also allowed me to see where I could extend, adapt or improve the classes for my own needs.

This book is best experienced by coding along with the examples so that you produce your own version of the application. This really helps to clarify things in your mind. You can also download all of the example code from the companion website to help you see where you are going.

I couldn't recommend this book more - if you're looking to quickly grasp the key concepts of object oriented PHP, and to start using it in your own code, then look no further.