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By David Sklar
June 2004
Pages: 368
ISBN 10: 0-596-00560-1 |
ISBN 13: 9780596005603
(Average of 4 Customer Reviews)
Learning PHP 5 is the ideal tutorial for graphic designers, bloggers, and other web crafters who want a thorough but non-intimidating way to understand the code that makes web sites dynamic. The book begins with an introduction to PHP, then moves to more advanced features: language basics, arrays and functions, web forms, connecting to databases, and much more. Complete with exercises to make sure the lessons stick, this book offers the ideal classroom learning experience whether you're in a classroom or on your own.
Full Description
PHP has gained a following among non-technical web designers who need to add interactive aspects to their sites. Offering a gentle learning curve, PHP is an accessible yet powerful language for creating dynamic web pages. As its popularity has grown, PHP's basic feature set has become increasingly more sophisticated. Now PHP 5 boasts advanced features--such as new object-oriented capabilities and support for XML and Web Services--that will please even the most experienced web professionals while still remaining user-friendly enough for those with a lower tolerance for technical jargon.
If you've wanted to try your hand at PHP but haven't known where to start, then Learning PHP 5 is the book you need. If you've wanted to try your hand at PHP but haven't known where to start, then Learning PHP 5 is the book you need. With attention to both PHP 4 and the new PHP version 5, it provides everything from a explanation of how PHP works with your web server and web browser to the ins and outs of working with databases and HTML forms. Written by the co-author of the popular PHP Cookbook, this book is for intelligent (but not necessarily highly-technical) readers. Learning PHP 5 guides you through every aspect of the language you'll need to master for professional web programming results. This book provides a hands-on learning experience complete with exercises to make sure the lessons stick.
Learning PHP 5 covers the following topics, and more:
Browse within this book
- How PHP works with your web browser and web server
- PHP language basics, including data, variables, logic and looping
- Working with arrays and functions
- Making web forms
- Working with databases like MySQL
- Remembering users with sessions
- Parsing and generating XML
- Debugging
Cover | Table of Contents | Colophon
Featured customer reviews
Intuitive Author, January 05 2007
Rating:
Submitted by
GL Joe
[Respond | View]
Best tech book I've read
David Sklar (sp?) has a gift when it comes to technical tutoring. There are many authors out there who could learn from him, how to write in a clear and understandable way.
I've gone through four other php books and was only frustrated and confused until I read this one. So often times, tech writers start out with simple stuff that is almost common knowledge, followed immediately by over-the-top, advanced material that only gives me a headache. Not David with Learning PHP 5!
I can only hope that O'Reilly contracts him for future references.
I did not read the book yet, August 23 2006
Submitted by Anonymous Reader [Respond | View]
Why submit a "review" then?
Strange exercise, August 14 2005
Rating:
Submitted by
vun
[Respond | View]
Learning PHP5 by David Sklar
The third exercise of the book, Chapter 2, page 32, seems to be a strange formatting example. The format does not concern the normal browser page, but the source view.
I'd like to know from the author whether my observation is right.
If yes, why doesn't it say so in the text and what's the use of formatting text to be viewed in source view?
If no, what am I doing wrong? (Nota bene: I checked by copying the code from the book from page 296-297.)
The best book out there for PHP, July 01 2005
Rating:
Submitted by
Jose
[Respond | View]
I have read this book from cover to cover, and there's one thing that I can say for sure, "It's the best book I've ever read about a technical matter." It kept me interested in the topic, and the examples were extremely relevant.
I have read other books about php including Programming PHP by O'Reilly, but Learning PHP gets at the hear of how to use PHP to create dynamic websites. This book is great for begineers and for power users. There are some exercises at the end of the chapter to practice, but the nice thing is to be able to look at the answers for extra examples at the end of the book.
This book covered so much about php and it's power in so few pages. The book also covers the new PHP5 features and the last chapter makes you want to explore more about php.
This book is a must have.
Intelligently Written, September 04 2004
Rating:
Submitted by
Goran Halusa
[Respond | View]
This book is great for a beginner, but best for the intermediate programmer. David Sklar does a great job at explaining variables, arrays, functions, working with databases, sessions, and other useful tips and tricks. All of this is written in simple terms, which is a great plus... seeing how PHP has taken off beyond all expectations. Highly recommended... thanks David!
Media reviews
"The book will soon have you writing your own scripts and show you how easy it is to use PHP to create a web page. But, the strength of the book lies in going beyond just teaching the syntax of PHP but in discussing the considerations needed when using it in the real world. He provides examples of code that can be easily transferred into your own scripts...This book does an excellent job in covering the fundamental syntax and structure of writing PHP and basic programming concepts needed for a simple PHP script. It will not teach you how to program well but that is outside the scope of the book. It is a practical book and covers all the important aspects of writing a script. I would recommend it to anyone starting out in PHP and even those with some PHP experience."
-- Roy Bleasdale, Melbourne PHP User Group
"The front cover says the book is an introduction to building interactive web sites, the back cover proclaims the intended audience is an intelligent but not necessarily highly technical reader. The book lives up to it's billing."
-- George Dekelbaum, MainE Linux Users Group
"[Learning PHP 5] is a very well-written and designed introduction to PHP 5 for beginning programmers or those experienced PERL, ASP, or Cold Fusion programmers who want to learn a different language...I found the book to be the most accessible introduction to PHP I have read. It provides the basic fundamentals, engages the reader in practical examples, reinforces learning with exercises, and provides an overall perspective on the scope of PHP programming."
--John Suda, Slashdot.org, October 2004
http://books.slashdot.org/books/04/10/22/1946224.shtml?tid=192&tid=169&tid=6
"Learning PHP 5 by David Sklar is an approachable and surprisingly svelte volume, and is a great place for web programming novices to begin...You can't go wrong using this volume as a starting point."
--Ryan Eanes, Blogcritics.org, September 2004
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/09/12/012845.php
"This book is the typical high-quality O'Reilly manual. It takes you step by step through learning the PHP language."
--Netsurfer Digest, July 2004 (10:29)
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