Product Description

• Shows Web developers how to use two popular open source technologies, the PHP scripting language and MySQL database, to build Web database applications
• This updated edition covers changes in PHP 5 and the latest version of MySQL, including programming techniques for the new PHP default setting, methods for handling MySQL security problems, and extended information about Apache Web Server and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Explains how to install Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X versions of PHP and MySQL
• Includes two complete sample applications: an online catalog and a members–only Web site
• Features a companion Web site with code examples from the book and links to the author′s successful site
• Kevin Beaver has more than fifteen years of experience in security and information technology, specializing in security assessments and incident response
• Features a companion Web site with links to various utilities discussed throughout the book and practical security checklists

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #99158 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 456 pages

From the Back Cover
Updated for PHP 5 and MySQL 4

Create dynamic, interactive Web pages on Windows^®, Linux^®, or Mac OS^® X systems

Open up a whole new world of Web database applications with PHP and MySQL, the perfect open source pair! This handy guidebook shows you how, with sample applications of an online catalog and a members–only Web site. Get the scoop on security issues, set up your Apache Web server, design the ideal database, and more.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear–out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Plan and develop a Web database application
• Design and build the database
• Write custom PHP application programs
• Work with numbers and character strings
• Move information from one Web page to another

About the Author
Janet Valade has been a Web designer and programmer, a systems analyst, a builder of e–commerce Web applications, and an instructor of various computer topics.

Customer Reviews

Great stuff for newcomers to PHP
As a complete novice to the world of PHP and MySQL, I selected this book in the hope that it would provide an introduction to the subject that I could understand quickly, as well as providing me with enough information to begin coding the applications I needed to.

It didn't disappoint - I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who, like me, comes from a straight-up HTML coding background with no prior programming knowledge whatsoever. It provides a great introduction to both the SQL and PHP languages, and the real-world examples are very useful and straightforward.

Those who have prior coding experience of any kind would probably find it slow going and would be better off with a more advanced title - since reading this I purchased Greenspan and Bulger's 'MySQL/PHP Database Applications' which is a more in-depth and comprehensive affair but which may have overwhelmed me somewhat had I chosen it as my first book on the subject!

Anyway, as a measure of the book's success, within three weeks of receiving it I had successfully implemented a 'members only' fan club area of a website for a client based on the code examples supplied with the book, as well as creating an online competition application of my own from scratch.

There are a couple of errors in the code supplied, but spotting and correcting these is good practice! Otherwise I'm really hard-pressed to find any other criticisms - for the price it's got to be the best introduction to PHP out there.

Saved My Career
I'm an ideas man and at work I had an idea to use a .php page to connect to a MySQL database and retrieve store information, call notes, and much more. I would not have had this idea if it wasn't for this book. It taught me the basics - even helped me set up PHP and MySQL on my local machine so I now have a server! I had fun getting to the few errors - all part of the learning curve and could be the author, "just testing you". I'm going to move on to the next level of books now that this book has given me a firm foundation to build upon. Easy to understand and follow, not too heavy, free cd. This book is on my desk all the time as its great reference material once you've read it.

Very good, very readable, good value
This is a good intro to PHP and MySQL and I agree with my fellow Weegie.

It's quite a light read and getting all of Apache, MySQL and PHP on the CD is a positive bonus.

I knew nothing about either of these until I got this and I've picked them both up quite rapidly.

I think the next book will be the O'Reilly one but as a first book on the subject I think this makes a very good choice.

If I have one criticism it would be that it would have been nice to get a copy of the MySQL databases the book uses - then you could truly have played along with the examples in the text but really this would be a nice to have and it doesn't detract from the book in any great way at all.