Product Description

Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL® and Apache All in One

Fourth Edition

Julie C. Meloni

Starter Kit

CD-ROM includes a complete starter kit for Windows®, Linux®, and Mac® OS X

In just a short time, you can learn how to use PHP, MySQL, and Apache together to create dynamic, interactive websites and applications using the three leading open-source web development technologies.

Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson in this book builds on the previous ones, enabling you to learn the essentials of PHP scripting, MySQL databases, and the Apache web server from the ground up.

Regardless of whether you run Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X, the enclosed CD includes a complete starter kit that lets you install all the software you need to set up a stable environment for learning, testing, and production.

Learn how to…

• Install, configure, and set up the PHP scripting language, the MySQL database system, and the Apache Web server
• Get these technologies to work together to create a dynamic, database-backed website
• Interact with MySQL using PHP
• Work with forms and files
• Create a web-based discussion forum or mailing list
• Add a storefront and shopping cart to your site
• Optimize your MySQL databases
• Fine-tune the Apache server’s performance
• Restrict access to your applications
• Set up a secure web server

Julie C. Meloni is the technical director for i2i Interactive, a multimedia company located in Los Altos, California. She has been developing web-based applications since the early days of the web, and is the author of several books and articles on web-based programming languages and database topics, including Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 24 Hours.

CD-ROM Includes

• A complete PHP, MySQL, and Apache starter kit for Windows®, Linux®, or Mac® OS X.

Category: Web Development

Covers: PHP 5.2, MySQL 5, Apache 2.2

User Level: Beginning

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40370 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 648 pages

From the Back Cover

Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL® and Apache All in One

Fourth Edition

Julie C. Meloni

Starter Kit

CD-ROM includes a complete starter kit for Windows®, Linux®, and Mac® OS X

In just a short time, you can learn how to use PHP, MySQL, and Apache together to create dynamic, interactive websites and applications using the three leading open-source web development technologies.

Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson in this book builds on the previous ones, enabling you to learn the essentials of PHP scripting, MySQL databases, and the Apache web server from the ground up.

Regardless of whether you run Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X, the enclosed CD includes a complete starter kit that lets you install all the software you need to set up a stable environment for learning, testing, and production.

Learn how to…

• Install, configure, and set up the PHP scripting language, the MySQL database system, and the Apache Web server
• Get these technologies to work together to create a dynamic, database-backed website
• Interact with MySQL using PHP
• Work with forms and files
• Create a web-based discussion forum or mailing list
• Add a storefront and shopping cart to your site
• Optimize your MySQL databases
• Fine-tune the Apache server’s performance
• Restrict access to your applications
• Set up a secure web server

Julie C. Meloni is the technical director for i2i Interactive, a multimedia company located in Los Altos, California. She has been developing web-based applications since the early days of the web, and is the author of several books and articles on web-based programming languages and database topics, including Sams Teach Yourself MySQL in 24 Hours.

CD-ROM Includes

• A complete PHP, MySQL, and Apache starter kit for Windows®, Linux®, or Mac® OS X.

Category: Web Development

Covers: PHP 5.2, MySQL 5, Apache 2.2

User Level: Beginning

About the Author

Julie C. Meloni

is the technical director for i2i Interactive (http://www.i2ii.com), a multimedia company located in Los Altos, California. She has been developing web-based applications since the Web first saw the light of day and remembers the excitement surrounding the first GUI web browser. She has authored numerous books and articles on web-based programming

languages and database topics, and you can find translations of her work in 15 different languages. She is also a fervent blogger and is the author of Sams Teach Yourself Blogging in a Snap. Most days, Julie can be found wandering the halls of Avery Hall on the campus of Washington State University, where she is a Ph.D. student in English who is quite interested in digital/social scholarship in the humanities.

Customer Reviews

Great book for a beginner
I bought this book to get me started with PHP. I've used all the other web development languages like JSP and ASP before, but having heard good things about PHP I decided to give it a shot.

This book will give you a great introduction to PHP. I managed to install the included version of PHP /Apache without any hassle at all.The book covers accessing data from MySQL and gives you a quick and concise tutorial on SQL queries. Also covered is uploading, security, dates and times, php classes, and cookies/sessions.

I honestly can't believe that they managed to cover everything I can think of doing in a book this small. And its pretty good value for money as well.

If you are looking at getting into PHP, buy this book and you won't be disappointed.

Fantastic!
'SAMS Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL and Apache' is a brilliant guide whether you are a complete beginner or a pro.

I bought this with only prior knowledge of HTML and managed to sucessfully learn PHP with MySQL in a few weeks using only this book. A year later I am still using this book as a good reference.

The author covers everything from setting up a local server with Apache to manipulating images using PHP. And most importantly, talking to a MySQL database from PHP.
If you had no idea what I was just talking about don't worry because the book covers it all. There is also a handful of example projects to do using what you've learned from earlier on in the book.


I would recommend that you have at least some experience with programming, but it's not essential. However I would suggest learning HTML (or even better, XHTML) is essential before learning any server-side language, not just PHP.

Teach Yourself? You might as well...
Having bought many a title from the Sam's Teach Yourself range, I took this home keen to learn how to create dynamic web pages.

This book does do that, if you can get through the installation process. I eventually figured it out, but following the step-by-step guide for installing Apache led me down completely the wrong path.

The indexing in this book is poor, and the coverage of what MySQL can do, although stretching for many pages, is quite low.

But perhaps the most annoying discrepancy is the huge contradiction running throughout the book. The opening pages ensure the user that they will need "no programming skills, although some C++ would be an advantage". Great! But at the beginning of the MySQL chapter, it is assumed that the reader has "some knowledge of issuing SQL commands through MySQL". Actually no, I don't. That's kind of why I bought the book?!?

Getting this book will provide the user with a small understanding of PHP and MySQL, but there are many far better than this.