PHP 6/MySQL Programming for the Absolute Beginner 1st Edition

I am giving this two stars because this is actually not a good book for beginners but really a book for more intermediate PHP users or those programmers interested in gaming development. It suffers from too much reliance on arcane examples plus a first couple of chapters that really provide more frustration than value to a real beginner.Chapter one actually does nothing to really help you set up a php server. The book assumes that you know a good deal about local server technology and that you are comfortable setting up a local server on your machine. It assumes that you know the subtleties of how a local host file system works. It also assumes extensive experience in static web page development xhtml coding, CSS, etc.In chapter two the book jumps from being very basic to using some advanced tools as examples. The concepts used require that you spend some extremely careful time reading the provided code used in the examples to understand the relevance of specific functions. The examples are interesting but are not directly applicable to a beginner.In chapter 3 the book becomes a reasonable teaching tool yet its reliance on dice games as examples makes it somewhat irrelevant for what most users are studying this to do on the web. It does provide the new programmer, and even more experienced ones, with some foundation of how php code works but not in a web related context. It does develop good practices and explains how and why the programming works. It explains very well the differences in control structures, and where one shines over another. It makes arrays accessible but not friendly and provides a basic introduction into MySQL. With very careful study you can probably actually put all of it into practical applications but many times you will be left cold when applying it to more day to day web applications.My advice is if you already have this book then use it as an auxiliary in conjunction with another book that will give you a more grounded perspective without so detailed reliance on complex game type examples. My personal recommendation is "PHP Visual Quick Start Guide Third Edition" by Larry Ullman. This is a real beginners book that actually teaches and will have you proficient in PHP in no time.

Good for my class, but missing the chapters on sql programming. I'm not sure if if was just my copy, but it was missing the pages on SQL programming. I never realized that it was missing the pages until years later, when I was using this book as a reference and I realized that the SQL chapter was missing. Good for PHP programming syntax though.

This book's title is a bit misleading. If you are not already very well versed in HTML or XHTML coding, you will need to wait before buying this book. The only "absolute Beginner" he is apparently referring to are beginners at Database, MySQL and PHP programming. You will not learn how to create, manage or troubleshoot a database system with this until you are already skilled at HTML coding. Once you are, then I "presume" this book may be a better value, as I had enjoyed the whole thing up to where the author states that I should be good at HTML already or take his "refresher" course.

I'll admit, I haven't even made it through the first chapter yet. I have high hopes for this book, but the Amazon description left out one crucial detail: you need to REALLY know your XHTML 1.0 strict before hoping to handle PHP. The book makes this very statement on page 3. That would have been really nice to know before I bought the book, since I don't know the first thing about XHTML. Guess if I'm going to get my money out of this, I'll have to buy a book on XHTML first! >:/

This was an amazing book for the material and the price! The only thing I can see is that the title could be a bit misleading. And as someone learning all of thsi stuff the hard way, I can feel your pain, but...To all of the negative reviews: this is not a beginner's guide to (X)HTML/CSS or Javascript!You need an understanding of those languages before you can dive into this. This is about doing something with your pretty HTML/CSS web pages, that maybe pretty and well designed... can't really do much of anything.Like posting a high score for a game you created w Flash or Java. Or are trying to see who is visiting your site, and would want to respond to your viewers with an e-mail. If you are at this level, then this is the book for you!

I started with an old copy and when it didn't work, I contacted the author and he personally steered me to the updated edition. He left several worthwhile exercises [beginning stuff] out of the newer edition but it gives you a working start of php and mysql and how full blown application can be developed through function libraries. Very good and his applications really work.My only complaint was that he doesn't take you through the steps to create a modern day site with login and administration type functions as Larry Ullman's book do.

"For the absolute beginner"? I think not. "No experience required," that's what it says on the cover, but even with some previous experience with web design (HTML and CSS) and programming (C++), this book was not what I expected for a beginner. The author tends to use terms and symbols for pages at a time before explaining what they mean. Each chapter revolves around a specific example, but unless you're trying to do something exactly like that, it's hard to see how the information can be transfered to another application.If you really want to learn PHP, get the O'Reilly book. It's clear and well-organized. I know because I kept referring to O'Reilly when trying to figure out what the Harris book was saying. Calling it a book for intermediate users would be more accurate, but it still doesn't measure up to O'Reilly.

I bought this book for one of my college classes. This book does not impress me especially with a name "for the absolute beginner" because I feel this book is not for the absolute beginner. If you do not have any kind of HTML or CSS programing then this will be a hard book for you to follow.

Good