By Paul Hudson
First Edition
October 2005
Pages: 370
Series: In a Nutshell
ISBN 10: 0-596-10067-1 |
ISBN 13: 9780596100674
(Average of 3 Customer Reviews)
PHP in a Nutshell is a complete reference to the core of the language as well as the most popular PHP extensions. The topic grouping, tips, and examples in this book make it an essential reference for every PHP programmer. It covers the functions commonly used by a majority of developers, so you can look up the information you need quickly. Whether you're just getting started or have years of experience in PHP development, PHP in a Nutshell is a valuable addition to your desk library.
Full Description
PHP in a Nutshell is a complete reference to the core of the language as well as the most popular PHP extensions. This book doesn't try to compete with or replace the widely available online documentation. Instead, it is designed to provide depth and breadth that can't be found elsewhere. PHP in a Nutshell provides the maximum information density on PHP, without all the fluff and extras that get in the way. The topic grouping, tips, and examples in this book complement the online guide and make this an essential reference for every PHP programmer. This book focuses on the functions commonly used by a majority of developers, so you can look up the information you need quickly. Topics include:
- Object-oriented PHP
- Networking
- String manipulation
- Working with files
- Database interaction
- XML
- Multimedia creation
- Mathematics
Whether you're just getting started or have years of experience in PHP development, PHP in a Nutshell is a valuable addition to your desk library.
Cover | Table of Contents | Colophon
Featured customer reviews
Good Information - Errors Throughout!, October 25 2006
The information within the book is good, but there are errors throughout the book. Errors in both the titles and in the definitions. If you are still learning PHP, be prepared to double check quite a few items in this book.
useful for all levels, but some experience would help, March 06 2006
I'm fairly new to PHP, having implemented a couple of basic features in one of my websites. That said, this book is an invaluable aid, complementing the online PHP manual as a useful, concise reference guide. It not only covers the language core, but also looks at PHP extensions. Covers how to install PHP5, object-oriented PHP, file and string manipulation, HTML forms and other topics such as XML and multimedia.
As with all O'Reilly books, this one is liberally strewn with excellent examples and clear diagrams, and is well written for its target audience. It does presuppose some knowledge of basic programming concepts such as variables and loops, but would still appeal to the beginner as an addition to the online user guide.
Definitely recommend this book.
PHP In A Nutshell, December 21 2005
I have 8+ years of programming experience, and I am very interested in expanding my skillset. PHP is one of the skills I would like to acquire. With that in mind, I think that this book is aimed towards experienced PHP developers; if you are just starting out with PHP, this book makes an indespensible companion to a tutorial such as "Programming PHP" by Rasmus Lerdorf and Kevin Tatroe , but "PHP In a Nutshell" is not a tutorial in its own right.
I like the examples throughout the book on how each function is used, and I found it well organized by sections. This book has also helped me think outside the box on redesigning an application currently written in VB.
At the beginning the author proveds a website for downloading and installing Apache, PHP and MySQL for Windows. I had a hard time with the configuration on Windows XP as suggested by the book, and found everything I needed in one simple package (Apache, PHP and MySQL)at:
http://www.e-novative.info/software/wamp.php
I highly recommend this book for experienced PHP developers, and as a companion to a tutorial for beginners.
Media reviews
"Author Paul Hudson, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that is a complete reference to the core of the language, as well as the most popular PHP extensions...This excellent book is designed by the author to provide depth and breadth that can't be found elsewhere. Thus, this book provides the maximum information density on PHP, without all of the fluff and extras that get in the way."
-- John Vacca, Amazon.com
"...an ideal first choice book on PHP for programmers. It covers all of the core functionality of the language in a concise way without getting bogged down in the details of how the lesser used parts of the language function."
-- Stephen Chapman, Fellgall.com
"The author's writing style is very easy to embrace, which makes reading this book a breeze. The author clearly knows PHP very well and provides many, many resourceful nuggets of experience in the paragraphical excursion through this insightful book."
--Rob Wehrli, Amazon.com review, January 2006
