Rating: 
Summary: there must be better books available
Review: a php novice, i purchased this book and immediately set out to do two quick php projects, the first with MySQL and the second with PostgreSQL. the MySQL project went fairly well; the flaws in the book didn't become clear until the PostgreSQL project when i realized that the author had apparently never used the PHP3/PostgreSQL API and never tested his examples. Additionally, for a 700+ page book, it doesn't cover many things that might be encountered in reading older php code.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Resource - A little organization would make it perfect
Review: I have been using PHP in various forms for over a year, and would not consider developing a site without it. I have the complete PHP manual printed out on paper and the HTML version stored in a sacred place on my hard drive. I refer to both often.Like most burgeoning open-source technologies, PHP has the technology developed first, docs second -- sometimes a very distant second. Although the manuals at the PHP site are very good, they do leave a bit to be desired when it comes to real-world examples. They're primarily academic in nature and aimed at folks who already understand programming. This book starts with some programming basics applied specifically to the PHP enviroment, fleshes out the manuals with real-world exmaples, and much more. It's a must-have for anyone developing in PHP or even considering it. The examples are clear and concise. I learned quite a bit from a quick scan, and I considered myself a bit of an expert. My only criticism would stem from the layout of the book istelf. There are many many source code listings, and references to these listings in the text often occur several pages before or after the listings themselves. This necessitates quite a bit of really unncessary page turning. Many of the source cod listings are very short and could have easily been contained on the same apge as the references. If not for this, I would rate the book 5 stars -- the content is worth it. Given the price and complexities of competing technologies (ASP, Cold Fusion, etc.), PHP is a steal -- it's free. We need books like this to help keep that community alive. Good job Leon!
Rating:
Summary: A thick disappointment
Review: I have grown to love the Core series. I learned Java from Core Java 2 and Servlets/JSP from Core Servlets and JavaServerPages. Occasionally the Core series has disappointed me a bit (Core JSP) but never this badly. This book is awful. I have experience doing serverside Java/JSP, using MySQL, Tomcat and other Open Source products/libraries. But when I needed info on doing stuff with PHP, I got nowhere with this book. It is a non-comprehensive reference, when other Core books have been good and to-the-point guides. I bought the book by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson, "PHP and MySQL Web Development" and found it to be a LOT better. Actually, it is one of the best programming guides I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Code -- No Doughnut!
Review: I have the second edition. I have used it off and on over the last year or so. I wish I had never bought it. Much of the code examples are either incomplete or flat out wrong. Obviously none of the code was actually tested to see if it worked. The two primary examples of this are the sections on PostgreSQL and file upload. Neither of that code is correct. File upload especially. I do not recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Clear, conversational, makes PHP look easy.
Review: I wasn't going to review this book until I read Robert Peters' review. It is factually incorrect. I had to respond. I can only guess that Robert got a copy of the FIRST edition, which apparently ... This second edition is great. First, Robert suggests that the book is "just a fat manual that lists functions" -- like a reference. Part 2 of the book is indeed titled "Functional Reference" and consists of 450 pages of functions (with sample code for most functions, organized into logical sections, like "Image Functions" and "Database Functions"). However, the book has THREE other parts, consisting of 300 more pages! Part 1 is titled "An Introduction To PHP" (7 chapters, about 120 pages). It teaches the fundamentals of programming, has tons of screenshots and sample code, and is written in a conversational style that makes it easy to understand the technical stuff. The author's explanation of variables (page 16) is good, and he also covers loops, functions, arrays, etc. If Robert's other criticism of the book, that "it won't teach you how to use the language" is true, then what is all of Part 1 for? Part 3 is titled "Algorithms" (5 chapters, about 100 pages). It steps you through real-world examples, and while none of the examples are huge (like "here's a complete e-commerce shopping cart solution"), they are all practical and can be combined to create what is needed. For instance, modify the discussion forum sample on pages 635-641, combine it with the code samples for session handling, and you could allow users to enter and store "preferences" for your Web site, or you could allow users to append comments to articles, like ZDnet does. Part 4 is titled "Software Engineering" (3 chapters, 80 pages). It addresses one of the big controversies with server-parsed HTML, and that is: "gasp, you've combined code with HTML!" The author talks about why it is an issue, and outlines different ways to embed PHP in HTML. I don't like his conclusion (turn everything into PHP and use "print" to output HTML), but I must admit I am elated to see someone discussing the issue. In conclusion, Robert's other criticisms of the book -- that it doesn't show how to "build dynamic web sites" and that the book doesn't explain how to use functions "within the context of a script" -- just shows he didn't bother to actually read it. Almost EVERY function has a code sample. And almost ALL the database examples are used precisely for building dynamic Web sites. Perhaps Robert thinks "dynamic Web sites" is the same as "Dynamic HTML" -- if so, he should get a book on JavaScript and leave Core PHP Programming to those of us who are ready to learn about database-driven sites. Because as far as I'm concerned, this book is great for learning and using PHP. Better than the PHP Bible.
Rating:
Summary: Great work for intermediate level users
Review: One deniable fact of the book is the presentation. The presentation is simple and easy to understood. Language used is simple , attractive and not complicated as others. Explanations are clear and direct to the point , embedded with examples which makes the book worth. Its a rare ability in programmers/ developers to put into simple words, but the author has possed such skills. Another added advantage is the organization of the book itself. Organized in such way , thats to introduce PHP and Web based developments efficiently to newbie or intermediate users whom is seeking to improve the coding style. Explains are so beneficial with so many functions explained by using example and thats great for beginners. But if you are a experienced and advance level user, this book might not satisfy your need, but rather a quick reference with example for advance users. Chapter on Software Engineering is another strentgh, presented in simpler way on how someone could achieve/acquire the designing skills as the desinging skills is equally important with coding. An intelligent coding could be handicapped with a poor design. Basically , new users and intermediate users will benefit alot from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Updated PHP3 missing the finer points of PHP 4.x
Review: Spent 2 hours trying to get the debug_on function to work before I discovered that PHP 4.x does not support it. The code from 7.2 is not the correct code, in fact if you look at the example and read the chapter they were talking about the wrong code.
Even the broken PHP on line Windows Help file from PHP.org is by far more usefull then this poorly edited update. I paid list price for this and I don't mind paying for something that is usefull but this is a joke, I purchased another Wrox book to get the job done.
Rating:
Summary: a great way to start
Review: this book is a great way to start programming php. it is the book I used to learn php. It goes into the basics well, and doesn't dig too deep into the code. it's definately not your choice when looking for a detailed reference. it *is* your choice when looking for a book to learn php from, or to use as a reference when just starting out.
Rating:
Summary: Big Book Little Content
Review: This book seems to have a very low content to page ratio. It uses a large font, wide margins. I counted several pages, and found it averaged around 100 words per page, making the book feel like more than it really is. I did not look at the CD. But the description of the CD seems to indicate that it pretty much has the standard fair of freeware suites like Apache, PHP, ... I downloaded the same stuff from NuSphere. NewShpere had a nice installation program that set up my PC, without my having to think. I take it that this book was meant primarily as a reference. The small amount of programming information in the front of the book was decidedly uninformative. I personally found the big red (somewhat terse) Professional PHP book to be a better reference manual. The book really does not succeed as an introduction to programming, nor does it succeed as a PHP tutorial. The are not many cut and paste examples for people looking to snag code. If you are looking for a large type PHP reference, then the book is okay. Personally, I wouldn't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: What a waste of paper
Review: This book was awful - poor binding, useless examples, unclear prose. This may be a new edition, but mine even had errors in the index, items were frequently list as being a page or two from where they actually appeared. I do not recommend this book to anyone - go read the PHP manual online at http://php.net/manual/en.
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