Rating:  - Amazing book to get you up to speed in no time!
At first, I was a little apprehensive about the book - I was thinking it was a repackaged 'Teach Yourself in 5 seconds a day' kind of thing where you end up flying throughout through the content without really learning anything. I needed to actually learn this topic and I needed to do it quickly - I bought this book on a Monday and had a MAJOR project for my Database Systems class due Friday night at midnight.
I got started writing every piece of code in the book and finished on Wednesday. By Thursday, I had extended it with the functionality I needed to complete this project and it looked and worked GREAT! I went from zero to hero in just under a week with this book. All the code works and everything is downloadable from the book website!
I'll definitely be buying more of Larry's books in the future!
Rating: - This book delivers exactly what it promises
As a beginner in the PHP & MySQL world, this book provided everything I needed to go from nothing to a fully functioning dynamic site within days. Great examples, and most importantly he covers security concerns as well as best-practices for keeping everything running smooth.
I was also happy that he answered my questions on his support forum within 24 hours of posting. I'm very happy I bought this book, it's been a great learning experience.
I will be ordering more books from this author in the future, and if you are looking to extend your knowledge of dynamic websites, this is certainly a great first step.
Rating: - Excellent Resource for Learning PHP
As a whole, the Visual Quickstart and QuickPro guides are a great series, and this title - now in its second edition - is no exception.
Ullman provides an excellent overview of PHP, from the basics of the language to advanced features such as implementing shopping carts and using PHP to send email. Ullman's writing style, combined with the easy-to-follow design that this book shares with the rest of the series, make this text easy to follow and learn from.
In addition to PHP, Ullman also covers MySQL development - a necessary secondary skill for PHP developers - over the course of several chapters.
The final three chapters of the book are essentially labs that allow readers to pull together the skills learned through the rest of the text into actual sample applications, including an e-commerce site and a content management system. This seemingly obvious step of creating a practical, realistic site is missing in the vast majority of texts, which leave it up to the reader to pull together the information gleaned in the rest of the book, and they alone would make the book worthwhile.
The book also provides an excellent appendix that provides step-by-step instructions for downloading and configuring PHP, MySQL, and the Apache web server. Here again, many authors seem to think that this is a simple and intuitive process and tend to skip it altogether, leaving readers not left in the dark, unable to even get started, because the software isn't working. Ullman never makes this assumption, and instead makes sure that he covers all of this bases.
Given the popularity of PHP, the market is flooded with books on the topic, but I would never hesitate to recommend this one above the rest, and think that this is the one PHP book every new developer should have on their shelf.
Rating:  - Very Good Resource
I'm a PHP/MySQL developer with around 7 years of experience. I felt I knew a lot of what was in this book, but it was good to see the "layering" of concepts, where each new concept built on the previous one.
There were a lot of suggestions that influence how I'm developing sites now. I'd have liked a little more on the MySQL optimization, but there are plenty of other books for this.
Overall, if you're not an expert, I think there will be plenty to learn. If you're knew to PHP/MySQL, this is a great resource to walk you through the basics of building some robust applications.
Rating: - Worth it's weight in gold!
This book is amazing. I say that being an HTML programmer entering into the world of PHP and mySQL. The steps are simple, well thought out, and current to today's technologies. Not to mention, there is an onlineforum with the author, Larry Ullman, as moderator which he is usually online and ready to assist with any questions within his book. Fantastic buy and the best beginner to intermediate PHP/mySQL book out there... Period.
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