Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Stop already… you're writing a review, not adding another joke into the database. Sorry 'bout that. The book put me in a joke state of mind since it uses a jokes database as the content to Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP and MySQL.
This book is for those who like step-by-step directions accompanied by explanations of how things work. I learned many things using this approach, which is a stepping stone to creating dynamic Web sites.
Yank does a fine job covering a little of everything without overpowering the reader with too much. Anyone who has experimented with Perl, PHP, ASP.NET, MySQl, Access, some of them or all of them will like the book. Those who can write PHP and MySQL with little help are at a level beyond this book and it wouldn't be a good fit.
I rarely ran into problems while following the examples. I've worked with other technical books and hit a brick wall at times requiring a call for help or serious research. While working with this book, I only got stuck once and immediately figured out the problem with a little research.
My brain jumbles whenever I try to create databases. It's not able to function and compute as well as it does for other geeky concepts. Yank uses visual aids and avoids jargon when explaining the process of laying out the database tables.
All the necessary components of building a Web site using a database are covered. While adding data, viewing tables, and querying the database, you're learning tasks that will come in handy for future projects.
Not only do you get instructions for PHP and MySQL, but also advice on structuring code so that it's used effectively.
If you've never installed Apache, PHP, or MySQL or can't recall how to do it, the steps for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X are in the first chapter. Since the latest edition covers PHP 5, the author addresses the differences in PHP 4.3. When working on the first PHP script, there is no "Hello World!" for a change.
Article comments
1 - alienboy
good work Meryl, as a total non-geek, I almost think I could almost do this myself! Trust me when I say this is a BIG step forward for me...