First I must say that I was really excited to review Learning PHP & MySQL: Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Database-Driven Web Sites.  My HTML skills have grown greatly over time and I am able to maintain a few HTML driven websites with a minimum of hassle and effort.  I have limited time and little desire to immerse myself in any web development, but have been enamored by PHP and the database driven MySQL and the website functionality they promise.  So when I saw the book described by the publisher as "perfect for newcomers to programming as well as hobbyists who are intimidated by harder-to-follow books," and "If you ... know your way around HTML, Learning PHP & MySQL is the book you've been looking for," I thought this could be the perfect opportunity to learn something useful and write a review at the same time.

But after reading the book, downloading the software, and trying to follow what was presented, I know no more about how to use PHP & MySQL then I did before.  It was a complete waste of hours of my time! 

Maybe I am too anal-retentive about things like typos and grammatical errors, but these have no business showing up in a professionally written and edited book where they simply add to the confusion.  The javascript examples bear no relationship to any viable javascript being used today for updated browsers, and this is a problem if you are trying to get a basic understanding of how to translate functions from one platform language to another.  And while the basic explanations of PHP and MySQL were pretty clear, there were not enough practical examples and practical applications to take me into further usage.  Basically, I don't feel like I learned anything.

There are plenty of good PHP and MySQL books on the market, and I plan to try those first and then reread Learning PHP & MySQL to see if it makes more sense.  But for now I wish I could have those hours back!