Rating:  - cyberkid
This book has excellent coverage from database creation to web development with the most prominent open source tools available as the title implies. I used one of the models in the book to guide in developing a website for my Web Administration class project from start to finish earning an "A" in the project. I purchased this book as a supplement to the text book used in class that lack the explecit coverage that I found in this book.
Great job.
Rating: - Excellent Introduction to PHP and MySQL
Before reading this book I had an abundance of programming experience in C/C++ but none with HTML or programming a dynamic website. This book allowed me to quickly realize that there is not much difference between traditional programming and server-side web programming. True, one has to know a little something about html to present input and output, start a session, keep track of session and form variables, and interact with a database, but aside from this the programming is much the same: variables, loops, control statements, functions, and objects. And may be the strength of this book is that Welling's and Thomson's presentation makes this very clear. The presentation is no more difficult than it needs to be to get a web application up and running, whether it is a simple on-line survey, or an industrial strength e-commerce site. I was almost alarmed at how easy it seemed to zip through the chapters, or skim through later chapters finding the right tidbits of helpful information.
I found the chapters on MySQL very good, although I did supplement them with Parts I and II "The Relational Model of Data" from Christopher Date's "Introduction to Database Systems", as I wanted to have a slightly more advanced perspective on SQL database querying and a better understanding of what comprises a database system.
Finally, I should note that a benefit of using MySQL and PHP is that both tools have very good online reference manuals that will answer questions about advanced syntax and use that is omitted from this book (although I must say that this book covers a significant amount of both manuals, and places them well within the context of actual website development).
I couldn't have asked for a better book.
Rating: - Great book
This is a great PHP, MySQL book. If you are new to PHP and MySQL but have experience in other programming or scripting language, this is the book for you.
It does not bore you with reference information that you can find online, it explains the basics and then provides a vast array of example code that helps you understand and develop your own code.
If you want to develop PHP/MySQL web applications I strongly recommend this book.
Rating:  - A Beginner's Love
When I first got a job in the web development business I had no idea what I was getting into and, like many people out there, I was simply the most qualified person in the company. After 2 years of programming primarily with DHTML and XML I realized, painfully, that the knowledge I had just wasn't cutting it and began looking for alternatives. Thankfully, the server I had been operating on was running PHP and I was able to immediately begin testing scripts that I was learning through the internet. But learning through online tutorials wasn't enough.
A friend of mine who was getting out of the web development business gave PHP and MySQL Web Development to me and, after reading the first chapter, I fell in love. The great thing about this book is its multitude of examples. Spread throughout each chapter are sections of fully articulated scripts meaning that when I need to do something likeset up an array I can just flip over to the arrays chapter and take a look at the example and read the descriptions. Another great thing is that the explanations are focused on what something can do instead of on how it does what it does, a plus for a beginner.
All in all great book. The only reason I gave it only 4 stars is that it is a bit dated making it not as relevant today as it was when I first began programming with it.
Rating:  - Not for Newbies
Here you have this 3 inch thick book chocked full of information just waiting to be digested. In the introduction, the authors tell the reader that,"This book will teach you how to create interactive websites from the simplest order form through to complex, secure e-commerce sites." Well that is all good and fine, but what they leave out is the instructions on just how to accomplish that goal. What I mean to say is that they do not tell you where to place you files in order for the server to do its job. I think some basic instructions would have been great. I was not even able to get through the first exercise because the authors presumed that I knew what I was doing. Well that is why I purchased this book; to learn just where to put my files and how to get results.
So, if you are like me and have not idea of nuts and bolts of php you might what to search else where for a book with more basic instruction. Atter that, then you might want to progress to this book.
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