Recommended books about MySQL

PHP and MySQL are popular open-source technologies that are ideal for quickly developing database-driven Web applications. PHP is a powerful scripting language designed to enable developers to create highly featured Web applications quickly, and MySQL is a fast, reliable database that integrates well with PHP and is suited for dynamic Internet-based applications.

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PHP and MySQL Web Development shows how to use these tools together to produce effective, interactive Web applications. It clearly describes the basics of the PHP language, explains how to set up and work with a MySQL database, and then shows how to use PHP to interact with the database and the server.

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This practical, hands-on book includes numerous examples that demonstrate common tasks such as authenticating users, constructing a shopping cart, generating PDF documents and images dynamically, sending and managing email, facilitating user discussions, connecting to Web services using XML, and developing Web 2.0 applications with Ajax-based interactivity.

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The fourth edition of PHP and MySQL Web Development has been thoroughly updated, revised, and expanded to cover developments in PHP 5 through version 5.3, such as namespaces and closures, as well as features introduced in MySQL 5.1.

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The PHP server-side scripting language and the MySQL database management system (DBMS) make a potent pair. Both are open-source products--free of charge for most purposes--remarkably strong, and capable of handling all but the most enormous transaction loads. Both are supported by large, skilled, and enthusiastic communities of architects, programmers, and designers. PHP and MySQL Web Development introduces readers (who are assumed to have little or no experience with the title subjects) to PHP and MySQL for the purpose of creating dynamic Internet sites. It teaches the same skills as introductory Active Server Pages (ASP) and ColdFusion books--technologies that address the same niche.

Authors Luke Welling and Laura Thomson's technique aims to get readers going on their own projects as soon as possible. They present easily digestible sections on specific technical processes--"Accessing array contents" and "Using encryption with PHP" are two examples. Each section centers on a sample program that strips the task at hand down to its essentials, enabling the reader to fit the process into his or her own solutions as required. Tables that list options and other nuggets of reference material appear as well, but the many examples and the authors' commentary on them take center stage.

For reference material on MySQL, have a look at Paul DuBois's MySQL. On the PHP side, Web Application Development with PHP 4.0 is excellent. --David Wall

Topics covered:

• The MySQL database server (for both Unix and Windows)
• Accessing MySQL databases through PHP scripting (the letters don't really stand for anything)
• Database creation and modification
• PHP tricks in order of increasing complexity--everything from basic SQL queries to secure transactions for commerce
• Authentication
• Network connectivity
• Session management
• Content customization

I bought the 4th Edition, and it was exactly what I expected for a PHP & Mysql book. It comes separated in 5 parts: PHP course, Mysql course, E-Commerce & Security, Advanced Techniques, Building Practical Projetcs.

The First two parts are a simple "crash course" for each technology. So you can step in the next chapters with the base.

What I liked most is that it comes with very practical examples, and also the source code comes in the CD. This way you do not need to type everything. Also it comes with the software needed to install on your PC and start learning PHP =).

The book is excellent, but the only problem is that when I ordered, the description read "Hardcover," but I got "Paperback" instead . . . disappointing. . . .

Excellently written. If you know basic programming and have an idea to create a website with reasonable complexity free of cost with many of the free hosting solutions using PHP and MySQL this is the best book available.

I find this book very easy to understand and follow. The code is well explained except in some cases. For example the Page Class in Listing 6.1 uses the function htmlentities() but this function was not defined anywhere so it is left up to the reader to guess its implementation. I find this very frustrating. Also in the section on regular expressions on page 126 it is said "Note that when a dot is used at the beginning or en of a character class, it loses its special wildcard meaning and becomes just a literal dot". But just below this sentence we find that the dot is escaped with a backslash when validating the email so a very frustrating contradiction. Also in the listing 19.1 when it gets the stock quote using a regular expression. This stock quote is retrieved from the second element of the array $quote as $quote[1]. Why not the first element of this array as $quote[0]? I'm confused here!. I haven't finished the book yet but I found these errors very frustrating. That's why I give this book 4 stars and not 5. I'll keep reading and hopefully I won't find more inconsistencies and contradictions.

I cracked open this book knowing only basic HTML. About halfway through it, I was a website developer. By the end of the book, I was a website professional with highly sought after skills.

This book is not only written well, but is written in a manner that kept my short-spanned attention all the way through with plenty of momentum. Possibly the only computer book I have ever read all the way through.

Regular expressions are an extremely powerful tool for manipulating text and data. They are now standard features in a wide range of languages and popular tools, including Perl, Python, Ruby, Java, VB.NET and C# (and any language using the .NET Framework), PHP, and MySQL.

If you don't use regular expressions yet, you will discover in this book a whole new world of mastery over your data. If you already use them, you'll appreciate this book's unprecedented detail and breadth of coverage. If you think you know all you need to know about regular expressions, this book is a stunning eye-opener.

As this book shows, a command of regular expressions is an invaluable skill. Regular expressions allow you to code complex and subtle text processing that you never imagined could be automated. Regular expressions can save you time and aggravation. They can be used to craft elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Once you've mastered regular expressions, they'll become an invaluable part of your toolkit. You will wonder how you ever got by without them.

Yet despite their wide availability, flexibility, and unparalleled power, regular expressions are frequently underutilized. Yet what is power in the hands of an expert can be fraught with peril for the unwary. Mastering Regular Expressions will help you navigate the minefield to becoming an expert and help you optimize your use of regular expressions.

Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition, now includes a full chapter devoted to PHP and its powerful and expressive suite of regular expression functions, in addition to enhanced PHP coverage in the central "core" chapters. Furthermore, this edition has been updated throughout to reflect advances in other languages, including expanded in-depth coverage of Sun's java.util.regex package, which has emerged as the standard Java regex implementation.Topics include:

• A comparison of features among different versions of many languages and tools
• How the regular expression engine works
• Optimization (major savings available here!)
• Matching just what you want, but not what you don't want
• Sections and chapters on individual languages

Written in the lucid, entertaining tone that makes a complex, dry topic become crystal-clear to programmers, and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use.

Reviews of this new edition and the second edition:

"There isn't a better (or more useful) book available on regular expressions."
--Zak Greant, Managing Director, eZ Systems

"A real tour-de-force of a book which not only covers the mechanics of regexes in extraordinary detail but also talks about efficiency and the use of regexes in Perl, Java, and .NET...If you use regular expressions as part of your professional work (even if you already have a good book on whatever language you're programming in) I would strongly recommend this book to you."
--Dr. Chris Brown, Linux Format

"The author does an outstanding job leading the reader from regex novice to master. The book is extremely easy to read and chock full of useful and relevant examples...Regular expressions are valuable tools that every developer should have in their toolbox. Mastering Regular Expressions is the definitive guide to the subject, and an outstanding resource that belongs on every programmer's bookshelf. Ten out of Ten Horseshoes."
--Jason Menard, Java Ranch

Regular expressions are a central element of UNIX utilities like egrep and programming languages such as Perl. But whether you're a UNIX user or not, you can benefit from a better understanding of regular expressions since they work with applications ranging from validating data-entry fields to manipulating information in multimegabyte text files. Mastering Regular Expressions quickly covers the basics of regular-expression syntax, then delves into the mechanics of expression-processing, common pitfalls, performance issues, and implementation-specific differences. Written in an engaging style and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use.

This book is great if you want to learn about what you can do with regex, how they work, how you can improve them (efficiency & accuracy) and what kind of pitfalls there are.

My only gripe is about the Ruby reference on the cover. In the top right corner it says: "For Perl, PHP, Java, .NET, Ruby and more!" Perl, Java, .NET and PHP each get their own chapters (together 200 pages). Ruby, however, only participates in feature comparisons and benchmarks. If I had checked the ToC I would've known this, so I won't hold it against the book that much.

The Ruby thing is a bummer, but since the book is great, it will get all five stars.

The book is robust and goes into alot detail. I liked the comparing and contrasting between the various RegEx implementations. I had a difficult time digesting some of the detail. In particular, the analogies confused me and I felt the author went overboard with them. Many times, I had to backtrack to understand what was being discussed. However, regular expressions is a complex topic and the author did a good job easing into the concepts. An additional plus was with inline page citation - this helped to find the page corresponding to the topic being discussed.
I would have liked shorter chapters with chapter summaries and more diagrams in place of analogies. Ultimately, Mastering Regular Expressions is a good book referencing a complex topic.

I went through several books and online tutorials and never found anything that did a good comprehensive job of explaining regular expressions. This book does. If you are having trouble "getting it", I highly encourage reading this book. You will be extremely enlightened even after the first few chapters.

Quite a comprehensive guide to regular expressions. Gets very detailed in the areas that it covers. However, definitely not a 'beginner's guide'. I highly recommend that you are already comfortable with the basis of regular expressions before picking up this book. You will get way more out of it if this is not your first introduction to it. Comfort and proficiency with Perl would also be a big help. Title is correct though, this is a guide to 'mastering' regular expressions, not learning them from the beginning.

How deep down the rabbit hole do you really NEED to go? I had a serious need to get on top of regular expressions to solve one particular problem. I looked at several online tutorials which didn't take me where I needed to go, so I ordered Mastering Regular Expressions after reading the Amazon reviews. I always look at the negative reviews first. In spite of the negative reviews I ordered the book with an open mind.
When the book arrived I began reading it with enthusiasm. In the preface there is a small section on "How to Read This Book". I bought into the author's suggestion to read the book's first six chapters first. I was captivated through the first three chapters, and then somewhere in chapter 4 I began to get very weary with information overload. After putting the book down for a couple of days I decided to skip the rest and use what I needed to write the one regular expression I had need of. The book did successfully help me accomplish this, so I gave it 3 stars. Not only did it give me the information I needed that the online tutorials didn't, it also gave me the confidence I needed. For that, which I am grateful, I would have liked to have given it more stars. I think many of those in need of learning about regular expression could be well served by a "lite-edition" of this book. Perhaps someday when I have the time and the need I may try to wade through the rest of the book, but as it is now Mastering Regular Expressions took me far farther down the rabbit hole than I really needed or wanted to go.
If you need to get on top of Regular Expressions, I would recommend this book, however just be ready to be taken far deeper than the average coder probably needs to go.

High Performance MySQL is the definitive guide to building fast, reliable systems with MySQL. Written by noted experts with years of real-world experience building very large systems, this book covers every aspect of MySQL performance in detail, and focuses on robustness, security, and data integrity. High Performance MySQL teaches you advanced techniques in depth so you can bring out MySQL's full power. Learn how to design schemas, indexes, queries and advanced MySQL features for maximum performance, and get detailed guidance for tuning your MySQL server, operating system, and hardware to their fullest potential. You'll also learn practical, safe, high-performance ways to scale your applications with replication, load balancing, high availability, and failover. This second edition is completely revised and greatly expanded, with deeper coverage in all areas. Major additions include: Emphasis throughout on both performance and reliability Thorough coverage of storage engines, including in-depth tuning and optimizations for the InnoDB storage engine Effects of new features in MySQL 5.0 and 5.1, including stored procedures, partitioned databases, triggers, and views A detailed discussion on how to build very large, highly scalable systems with MySQL New options for backups and replication Optimization of advanced querying features, such as full-text searches Four new appendices The book also includes chapters on benchmarking, profiling, backups, security, and tools and techniques to help you measure, monitor, and manage your MySQL installations.

Well, the first thing you want to do when you finish a book like this is go on and on about how impressed you are. This is one of the best database technology books I've read, and the best one on MySQL.

Digging into the book I would say I was an intermediate DBA. With 12 years experience on Oracle I was a seasoned DBA. And although I've used MySQL for about 10 years, I had not used all of the high end or newest 5.0 and 5.1 features. After reading this book, or while reading it, you'll be ready to dig into everything from MySQL master-master replication (not to be confused with multi-master), creating a logging server, optimizing your query cache, or even using some of the Google MySQL patches to add some much needed but missing feature to MySQL.

The book is organized pretty well. Keep in mind that this is not a beginner book. If you're looking for more general across the board MySQL book, I'd recommend the APress Pro MySQL by Kruckenberg and Pipes Pro MySQL (Expert's Voice in Open Source). It is also very good, but hits more of the beginning topics (as well as some advanced ones). So given the intermediate to advanced audience, this book dives right into benchmarking and profiling at the beginning.

Queries... those pesky SQL commands that you send to your database. They're so important to performance, yet so sadly misunderstood. This book devotes two chapters to the topic, one about schema and index optimization, and one about query performance. These two work together. You need to understand indexing to make best use of them, and how to write good queries to get only the data you need. The indexing chapter hit on index types supported by MyISAM, and ones for InnoDB. It talked about rebuilding, and when it's important, and statistics, and how they are different across the different storage engines. And this is a key point. Going into this book with my Oracle background, I had a lot of questions about how the optimizing engine aka the cost-based optimizer, works and interacts with the storage engines. It's all laid out here in clear detail. It was pretty obvious that these others are closely involved with the actual database development, and/or interviewed some of them to get the information correct. This is something I've had a hard time finding in other books, and really key to understanding how to optimize and tune queries. Where does the query cache sit, when and how are queries parsed, when does the optimizer pickup statistics, and how does it use them. You'll learn all the ins and outs of the explain facility, which you'll of course need to know to tune queries.

The next chapter on advanced features covered the query cache in detail, how to set it up, how to tune it, and how to monitor it. The chapter also covers UDFs, cursors, stored procedures, views, full-text searching, merge tables, partitioning and so on. One other topic it really investigated was distributed (XA) transactions. You might at first think these are an advanced topic that most users don't need to know about unless your application uses them. After all, who needs to query tables in a remote database when your application can connect and do that? Well it turns out MySQL is using XA transactions internally all the time within it's storage engine architecture. One case is when you have a transaction which uses two storage engines, ie tables with different storage engine attributes. But that's not all. MySQL also treats the binary log mechanism to be a storage engine in it's own right, so interaction between your InnoDB table transactions, and the binary log is effectively an XA transaction.

The next two chapters talk about server settings, and optimizing the OS and Hardware. All important topics, and given substantial coverage. Hand these chapters to your storage engine guru, system administrator or read them yourself if you wear all those hats!

A chapter on Replication, of course we expected to find a. What you'll be glad about is that it's 65 pages of the nuts and bolts of using replication after the five minutes it took you to set it up in MySQL. It'll help you keep your databases in sync, and help you identify them when they're not. What, my replication slaves might be out of sync? There is also coverage of the new row-based replication, and how it may help alleviate many of the current limitations of MySQL replication. There is also solid coverage of various replication topologies, from single master and many slaves, to distributed master, master-master, and how to create a logging server. You'll also learn why MySQL doesn't support multi-master replication, which is where both masters received updates, and are forced to resolve conflicts, and a whole host of new problems.

After that come a few chapters on topics outside the database tier, but equally important, from load balancing, to HA, tuning your webserver to caching and so on.

The finishing chapters include backup, security, and using the built-in server status commands. And finally a chapter on other tools for interacting with and monitoring your MySQL database.

Ok, great... a wonderful book. Any criticisms. Well I save those for last because they're really minor. If you read the book cover-to-cover you'll probably take notes like I did, so you'll be doing your own summarization. But at the end of various chapters, so chock full of new and very useful information, I sometimes wished there was exactly that, a summary of the topics, and quick list of bulletpoints. That would give one an easy way to look up advice for tuning specific areas and so on.

All-in-all though this book is really a tour de force for understanding MySQL database technology. Go get a copy!

If you read the first edition and were underwhelmed, this is a vastly improved book. This second edition is entirely rewritten, more than twice as long, and covers a wide array of topics in depth, giving detailed advice and analysis in every chapter. The authors' advice on Innodb tuning, query optimization, and advanced replication issues is very strong. If you are responsible for a non-trivial MySQL installation, get this book.

This is a must have book for any Mysql DBA who want to learn more about performance tuning beyond reading the explain plan. The only gripe I have is that aside from the Query Performance Optimization and Optimizing Server Settings section, the authors should have another section dealing specifically with Tuning Writes and Tuning Reads other than that it's an excellent book, it even includes snippets on Prepared statements which I used often along with stored procedures to optimize performance.

The title of this book is very appropriate. Great coverage on performance, reliability, backup & recovery. Definitely not an introductory book.

There were a couple of places where the writing was hard to follow, but I'm sure that'll be fixed in the next printing.

This book has to have any MySQL DBA (both administrators and architects). It provides very deep view on how MySQL works and reacts on your configuration and SQL.

If you are programmer, you should browse this book too, to get background about MySQL and what it can do for you and what you can do for MySQL to get best performance SQL.

This probably should not be your first book about MySQL (not only knowledge but some experience is handy) but definitely second one ;)

It hasn't taken Web developers long to discover that when it comes to creating dynamic, database-driven Web sites, MySQL and PHP provide a winning open source combination. Add this book to the mix, and there's no limit to the powerful, interactive Web sites that developers can create. With step-by-step instructions, complete scripts, and expert tips to guide readers, veteran author and database designer Larry Ullman gets right down to business: After grounding readers with separate discussions of first the scripting language (PHP) and then the database program (MySQL), he goes on to cover security, sessions and cookies, and using additional Web tools, with several sections devoted to creating sample applications. This guide is indispensable for intermediate- to advanced level Web designers who want to replace their static sites with something dynamic. In this edition, the bulk of the new material covers the latest versions of both technologies: PHP 6 (due out in 2008) and MySQL 5 (available now). The book's publication date is likely to beat the official release of PHP 6, making it one of the first books available on the subject.

I have been trying to implement a simple to moderately complex PHP/mysql/website for some time and have searched all over the 'net' looking for simple practical ways to implement such a web site with PHP and mysql. I have purchased several books, and have tried demo versions of software that 'build' sites for you, but my lack of expertise in PHP makes it impossible to edit or customize the generated sites for my purpose. For newbies (and not OOP geeks) looking to learn PHP, this book is excellent and well written and will probably be my last 'shot' at building the site that currently exists only in my mind. But as the 1 to 3 star reviews point out, it is definitely a learning tool, not a reference book. Also, it does take time to get used to the two column format and the small print - but the effort is well worth it. (You can download all the scripts and view them in a 'php text editor' of your choice - that definitely helps when reading the book). And the scripts have lots of comments so reading and comprehending what they are doing and how they do it is fairly easy to accomplish. To conclude, if you cannot learn the basics of PHP and MYSQL from this book, and put together a simple web site, then you (and I) should probably find another hobby!

The book is very good for novices and intermediate PHP WEB developers who want to master the advanced skills of PHP and mysql , the book contains alot of scripts and figures illustrating each concept in the language in 620 pages by larry ullman a very expreienced programmer, the book devote the first three chapters for PHP fundamentals for creating dynamic web site including : PHP syntax , Handling user supplied data , validation , Templating system , Sticky forms and more ...
The second part of the book which begin with chapter 5 introduce Mysql database assuming that you never heared about it , then chapter 5 learn you the SQL syntax that you will need in any application you write like creating databses , retrieve, update, delete, using conditionals and functions also assuming that you don't know anything about SQL , then Chapter 5 for advanced SQL and mysql , this chapter rocks cover advanced database design concepts with figures, normalization, Full text searches and transactions for e-commerce web apps .
The third part of the book rollback the wheel again to Common programming techniques illustrate using hidden form fields, paginating query results and making sortable displays, sending mails, file uploads, PHP interaction with HTTP through PHP headers, cookies and sessions , then chapter 12 dive into security methods like preventing spam, improving seesion security, SQL injection attacks and database encryption .
The fourth part of the book illustrate Perl compatible regular expressoins, and Making universal websites through Unicode for non english programmers and translitration, and discuss language and timezone with Mysql and working with locales .
The last three chapters (120 pages) for three real world application Message board, user registeration and e-commerce website that will wrap your mind around all the concepts for best programming practices of php .

And the overwhelming positive reviews found here only add to the disappointment.

I will admit that the book gives a very good first impression. Sadly, after the initial reading and usage, it quickly becomes obvious that the book falls short in most critical areas.

Each and every line of code is repeated (and explained) over and over again, very redundant and annoying. Not only that, but the layout is very hard to read or follow.

Unfortunately, the book's contents do NOT make up for its weak presentation. For a 600+ page book, surprisingly little content (to accommodate all the repeated code) , making this book absolutely useless as a reference.

The worst part of this book is just how impractical it is. It teaches you the VERY basics of web programming as a concept (it doesn't even touch on the subject of OOP). Otherwise, just think of it as a detailed PHP lexicon. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, and most certainly not to someone who's at all serious about web programming.

I give this book 2/5 because I did end up learning something from it. The author is obviously knowledgeable and writes beautifully, I will not shy away from his other books, just proceed with caution.

If you want to know how to set up an interactive web site where you want to set up a MySQL database and have internet users interact with that database through PHP code, and also learn how to implement security measures, and learn all of this in a step-by-step build up fashion from the first to the last chapter, then this is the book for you. You learn because you are literally forced to try out the code, FTP it to your site, and try it out.

If you don't have a domain name, along with the domain services offered by domain server entities, you will need to do that first before giving this book a try. I know that you can install Apache and MySQL on your local machine, but it's just not the same. There are certain things that this book will not tell you, simply because of the different ways that technical issues and procedures are set up in the different domain services out there.

Extremely well written, good learning curve, the author knows and explains the problems that you'll encounter in real life, rather to babble about some useless theory.

Highly recommended!

Is your data dragging you down? Are your tables all tangled up? Well we've got the tools to teach you just how to wrangle your databases into submission. Using the latest research in neurobiology, cognitive science, and learning theory to craft a multi-sensory SQL learning experience, Head First SQL has a visually rich format designed for the way your brain works, not a text-heavy approach that puts you to sleep.

Maybe you've written some simple SQL queries to interact with databases. But now you want more, you want to really dig into those databases and work with your data. Head First SQL will show you the fundamentals of SQL and how to really take advantage of it. We'll take you on a journey through the language, from basic INSERT statements and SELECT queries to hardcore database manipulation with indices, joins, and transactions. We all know "Data is Power" - but we'll show you how to have "Power over your Data". Expect to have fun, expect to learn, and expect to be querying, normalizing, and joining your data like a pro by the time you're finished reading!

This could have been a great book. This book is what happens when marketing people are included in design and production. This book contains a lot of useful information, but to sit through all the to-do-task and poorly crafted examples is take away from the book's quality while adding little.

I hope they do another edition, using useful as opposed to cute as a guidline.

Packed with needed knowledge in humorous manner! It is way easier to read than any SQL I have ever encountered... wonderful job done. I will definitely look at the books in the series first before I buy computer books of other technologies from now on.

Before purchasing this book, I read the reviews and was instantly hooked on the concept of a technical book that would use humor, imagery and other off-beat approaches as teaching tools. Unfortunately, after reading the entire book I feel that these techniques were way over utilized. The figures are very busy because the author feels you will remember words if they are attached to an image. In addition there is very little information conveyed on each page. I found myself thinking "why doesn't the author just get to the point already instead of making me flip through 10 pages?" The book probably could have been condensed down to a half or quarter of its size. The "exercises" are also quite uninspired. I didn't learn anything more from them than I would reading an intro to SQL webpage.

Anyone who has a technical background such as engineering or computer science will probably feel the same as I do. However, for those who have weak or moderate computer language skills may find the book a breath of fresh air as compared to dry, boring long-winded textbooks. I would strongly recommend reading through the first chapter if at all possible to determine if the teaching style is a good fit for you. Do a search on the net as the first chapter is freely available. I learned this after I bought the book!

This book is an excellent book for beginners to SQL that have a tough time using books to technology. The book is a very long read if you are already comfortable basic concepts like joins. However, it does have good chapters on table and database design. For the length of the book, I expected more advanced topics like stored procs.

At first I was a little thrown off by all the images and quips (I guess I'm used to boring, dry guides). After a while I was actually drawn into the book and how it guided me through learning SQL. I must admit that I had a somewhat rudimentary understanding of SQL but after completing the book my queries a sharper & more complex.

I do want to put it out there; this isn't really a reference book, it's primary focus is to teach you the fundamentals of SQL, not really the fancier functions or tricks that you can use in SQL.

There was only one short coming to the book; some of the samples did not contain answers. I know it's petty, but there were times I would've liked to have known the answers.

I would confidently recommend this book to anyone looking to learn SQL.

Beginning PHP and MySQL: From Novice to Professional, Third Edition offers a comprehensive introduction to two of the most prominent open source technologies on the planet: the PHP scripting language and the MySQL database server. Updated to introduce the features found in MySQLs most significant release to date, readers learn how to take advantage of the latest features of both technologies to build powerful, manageable, and stable web applications.

Essentially three books in one, readers not only profit from extensive introductions to the core features of each technology, but also learn how to effectively integrate the two in order to build robust data-driven applications. Packed with practical examples and insight into the real-world challenges faced by developers based on author W. Jason Gilmore's 7 years of expertise working with these technologies, readers will repeatedly return to this book as both a valuable instructional tool and reference guide.

What youll learn

• The PHP language
• How to back your web site with MySQL
• Templating so that you can apply a consistent design across all pages on your site
• How to authenticate your web site users
• How to use cookies to maintain information (such as items in a shopping cart) while a user is browsing your site

Who is this book for?

This book is written for developers seeking to take advantage of the PHP language and MySQL database to create powerful web applications.

About the Apress Beginning Series

The Beginning series from Apress is the right choice to get the information you need to land that crucial entry-level job. These books will teach you a standard and important technology from the ground up because they are explicitly designed to take you from "novice to professional." Youll start your journey by seeing what you need to knowbut without needless theory and filler. Youll build your skill set by learning how to put together real-world projects step by step. So whether your goal is your next career challenge or a new learning opportunity, the Beginning series from Apress will take you thereit is your trusted guide through unfamiliar territory!

The book is more a glossary of terms that are in the php manuals. I could not benefit from any effort (except on a couple of occasions where something is described in full) that could have been devoted to trying to translate theory into the things you really need to know when actually doing anything you want, such as a search form that contains several select lists that are linked and that you want to pass the selected values to a database to retrieve results etc. You are not going to find an answer for that at all.
Besides I am coming to pages such as 450 that contain php code which does not exist as function (as of 8th nov 08) , for example: session.use_cookies
If you go to the php website you will be told that that function does not exist.

"Sorry, but the function session.use_cookies is not in the online manual. Perhaps you misspelled.."

and it continues Perhaps you were looking for one of these:

session_set_cookie_params

I do believe that the author does know a lot of programming to expert level in many languages, but in this book I have not seen that knowledge translated into something that really helps me do my website. I have made my site by a time consuming consulting on practical pages and advices I have seen on the web and how other people have solved common things, like the one I have mentioned above.
So, I would welcome another book from the author that would take the time to think what we need to do for what, and put his great knowledge into useful tips. I dont mean to lend us intelligence, but by seeing it in praxis, then we can easily build upon.

When i purchased this book, I was expecting a Computer book. To my surprise
the book i purchased contained all the information that i was interested in learning(PHP, MySQL, database) as well as provided a great reading experience.

This book is very interactive and fun to read. The author makes you feel part of the learning process and guides you through learning effectively not only about PHP,MySQL and many tricks of the trade, but also about a lot of other stuff that you most likely did not expect to learn. This will make it this much easier to learn to work with a different platform(Oracle etc.)

Not only do i recommend this book, I urge you to read it as it's a lot more than what the Product Description assumes. This is one of the best computer books that i have ever read, and it's sample code is fantastic.


Congratulations W. Jason Gilmore

And Thank you for allowing me to learn while having fun

Best Regards

J.B

I have first started off programming PHP since 2002 and have built small websites here and there and mostly just 'web tools'. Since it has been some time since I really coded in PHP I decided to get a start from scratch book again, although knowing I still have the basics down. I believe this book is a drag-on, taking up more pages than it should, wasting time in many cases and it reads like a reference book, explaining function after function and in the later chapters PEAR classes/packages, all of which could have just been a URL link in the book to the most up-to-date and online reference for the pertainent resource.

It can get your up to speed with PHP no dobut about that but be prepared for a longer than anticipated read if you do go through this book from cover to cover.

The examples could have been more interesting so the knowledge would stick, and withhold an enthiusiasm on the learner. All of the examples in this book was a bit boring (atleast to me). This book may have been better if you constantly built upon a project, and at the end of the book you would have made something useful by piecing parts together to make a complete working web app. That way you can appreciate, apply and retain the information absorbed so much better. For such reasons I believe the PHP By Example series from another publisher are much better, as those were the books I used in the earlier days.

The author seems to peper advanced topics every now and then in some chapters which would only confuse the beginner. I believe such topics should have been saved for the last few chapters, such that the beginning will be here's how you do it, and in the end this is how you fool-proof it. That way, you get to appreciate the added knowledge rather than the ah-ok and forget it method.

As a word of advice dont judge a book by the number of pages it contains, but you could say in this instance that this book does have alot of information in it if you are primarily testing and developing offline.

This is a great book for any web designer no matter what your experience level. It is a great reference and I was able to teach myself what was needed using this book!

I own several PHP/Mysql reference books, and this one is the most comprehensive of all of them. Just the right balance and written descriptions/explanations and practical applications/examples. I wouldn't necessarily say this book is for beginners, but anyone that's a novice to professional would love this book. I highly recommend the 3rd addition for any PHP/MySQL developer that is looking for a great reference.

You know the rudiments of the SQL query language, yet you feel you aren't taking full advantage of SQL's expressive power. You'd like to learn how to do more work with SQL inside the database before pushing data across the network to your applications. You'd like to take your SQL skills to the next level.

Let's face it, SQL is a deceptively simple language to learn, and many database developers never go far beyond the simple statement: SELECT FROM WHERE . But there is "so" much more you can do with the language. In the "SQL Cookbook," experienced SQL developer Anthony Molinaro shares his favorite SQL techniques and features. You'll learn about:

Window functions, arguably the most significant enhancement to SQL in the past decade. If you're not using these, you're missing out

Powerful, database-specific features such as SQL Server's PIVOT and UNPIVOT operators, Oracle's MODEL clause, and PostgreSQL's very useful GENERATE_SERIES function

Pivoting rows into columns, reverse-pivoting columns into rows, using pivoting to facilitate inter-row calculations, and double-pivoting a result set

"Bucketization," and why you should never use that term in Brooklyn.

How to create histograms, summarize data into buckets, perform aggregations over a moving range of values, generate running-totals and subtotals, and other advanced, data warehousing techniques

The technique of "walking a string," which allows you to use SQL to parse through the characters, words, or delimited elements of a string

Written in O'Reilly's popular Problem/Solution/Discussion style, the "SQL Cookbook" is sure to please. Anthony's credo is: "When it comes down to it, we all go to work, weall have bills to pay, and we all want to go home at a reasonable time and enjoy what's still available of our days." The "SQL Cookbook" moves quickly from problem to solution, saving you time each step of the way.

The thing I like about the O'Reilly 'Cookbook' series is that you may not have to use them for months, but when you need them they are there with the answers. And oftentimes finding the "one answer" that has been eluding you for hours or even days is worth the price of the book.
This book falls into that category. What's really nice is that the author provides solutions for 5(!) different databases. And he does a good job explaining the solutions, making it easy to extrapolate them to solve similar queries.

This book is great for those times when you say "there must be an easier way to do this". It's concise, readable, and easy to find your way around.
I almost never have time to plough through a two-inch thick book to learn a single technology in agonizing detail. More usually I have an immediate problem needing an immediate fix. And this book fills that need. Furthermore since it covers Oracle, Sybase and Sql Server and addresses both similarities and differences between them it's good for those of us who have to bounce between different DBMSs on a daily basis.

Buy this book. You will not regret it.

Content is excellent, with good examples. I was able to solve a prloblem the very first time I used it. The issue I have is more with Amazon in that I ordered this book in a shipment of 4 others, so it was over a month before I cracked this one open. To my dismay, the binding is not glued on and the book is falling apart. Amazon customer service has not even responded to my three emails asking for resolution.

I am a certified DB2 / Oracle DBA and a programmer. Even though, I can get through some of chapters very fast, I certainly have enjoyed reading it so far. One thing I like the most is to see how a problem is solved in many different databases including DB2, Oracle, MS-SQL, MySQL, and PostSQL!

I found this book to be very complete. Providing solutions for multiple DBMSs was greately appreciated. I have been in I.T. for a long time and I have read many many books on all types of subjects. I often (too often) am disappointed with books I purchase. However, sometimes I am pleasantly surprised... this is one of those time.

I create numerous queries using all types of tools. As such, I sometimes insert the wrong syntax into a query. This book helps to quickly correct the error. In addition, it has given me some "tricks" that I was unaware of that have helped to simplify some of my queries.

It would be very advantageous to have the info in this book on a searchable site or application

Buy it, read it, and keep it close by to reference to.

SQL is the language of databases. It's used to create and maintain database objects, place data into those objects, query the data, modify the data, and, finally, delete data that is no longer needed. Databases lie at the heart of many, if not most business applications. Chances are very good that if you're involved with software development, you're using SQL to some degree. And if you're using SQL, you should own a good reference or two.

Now available in an updated second edition, our very popular "SQL Pocket Guide" is a major help to programmers, database administrators, and everyone who uses SQL in their day-to-day work. The "SQL Pocket Guide" is a concise reference to frequently used SQL statements and commonly used SQL functions. Not just an endless collection of syntax diagrams, this portable guide addresses the language's complexity head on and leads by example. The information in this edition has been updated to reflect the latest versions of the most commonly used SQL variants including:

Oracle Database 10g, Release 2 (including

the free Oracle Database 10g Express Edition (XE))

Microsoft SQL Server 2005

MySQL 5

IBM DB2 8.2

PostreSQL 8.1 database

"SQL Pocket Guide - 2nd Edition" is a short reference book for SQL DML (Data Manipulation Language), transaction control statements, datatypes, datatype conversion, table creation, and table modification. As the title indicates, this book is a "Pocket Guide" for the 4 major database platforms (Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL, and DB2). DO NOT EXPECT this book to be a complete reference or learning guide. Like most pocket guides, only people that already know the topic will find this text most useful. I own BOTH the 1st & 2nd editions. Due to my extensive use of the 1st edition, I purchased the 2nd edition released in 2006. This is the single most used book in my library! In fact, it is never on the book shelf! It's on my desk, in my bag, and travels with me on location. I work on a variety of database platforms with the 2 biggies being MS SQL Server & Oracle. I know the language, but at times can forget the exact syntax needed for the platform I'm working with. This book provides me with an extremely efficient way to "refresh" my memory and because it covers the 4 major platforms, I'm usually covered with this ONE small book.

The layout of the 2nd edition has been reorganized alphabetically by keyword and now covers: Oracle 10g including Oracle Express Ed, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, IBM DB2 release 8.2, MySQL 5.0, and PostgreSQL 8.1. As the layout of the 2nd edition has dramatically changed since the 1st edition and is now organized alphabetically by keyword (the keyword represented on each page is listed at the bottom of the page), you can quickly find the page you're looking for by flipping through the book and looking at the bottom right corner of the page. This is MUCH MUCH easier and faster! The new edition still has a very good Index, if you can't find what you're looking for on a flip-through pass.

Also new in the 2nd ed. is an extensive listing of datatypes, datatype conversions, and syntax variation for table creation and modification. This was a complaint in other reviews specific to the 1st ed., as missing. NOT SO in the new 2nd edition! PLEASE CHECK THE DATE OF THE REVIEW YOU'RE READING to ensure it pertains to the 2nd edition.

I was so impressed with this book... I actually bought TWO copies of the 2nd edition -- one for me and one for a co-worker -- AND passed my 1st edition on to another co-worker. For those "Now, how do I write that..." moments, this book can save you HOURS! I also like seeing the different examples and sample result sets for the different platforms. If the book doesn't cover what I'm looking for, I can always go to a more extensive reference book.

A comprehensive and detailed SQL reference with sample code and result sets to make the content clear. An excellent pocket guide to take anywhere.

this pocket book is useful in that it touches on command sets from mysql, sql server, and also oracle. this cross platform approach is helpful when learning sql, or if one was to switch from one enterprise level system to the next. this mini book was shipped out in a timely fashion. i can say that the reference available in this book was well worth the moderate expense, as well as the shipping time.

I'm writing a review because of how impressed I've become with this over time. I have several SQL references and this gets used by far the most. I'm a big O'Reilly fan and I think I bought this title in addition to the Nutshell book because it was cheap and I also wanted multiple SQL reference books so I could have some at home as well as the office.

I at first assumed that the Pocket guide would be inferior to the Nutshell book but I've found the reverse to be true for me. The strengths of this book are passages are always straight to the point, with tons of examples, and ALWAYS is very clear on relevant differences between different flavors of SQL (DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, & MySQL) without any blah blah blah.

For knuckleheads who have worked in so many languages that they can't remember any syntax anymore, and who prefer a good terse example to a big syntax tree, this reference is highly recommended.

I love this little book since I work with many RDBMs and need use different syntaxes to accomplish the same thing. That's what this reference is good for - to remind you of material that you've forgotten.

MySQL is one of the most popular database management systems available, powering everything from Internet powerhouses to individual corporate databases to simple end-user applications, and everything in between. And this book will teach you all you need to know to be immediately productive with MySQL. By working through 30 highly focused hands-on lessons, your MySQL Crash Course will be both easier and more effective than you'd have thought possible. Learn how to:

• Retrieve and sort data
• Filter data using comparisons, regular expressions, full text search, and much more
• Join relational data
• Create and alter tables
• Insert, update, and delete data
• Leverage the power of stored procedures and triggers
• Use views and Cursors
• Manage transactional processing
• Create user accounts and manage security via access control

Ben Forta is Macromedia's Senior Technical Evangelist, and has almost 20 years of experience in the computer industry in product development, support, training, and product marketing. Ben is the author of the best-selling Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes (now in its third edition, and translated into over a dozen languages), ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, and Advanced ColdFusion Development (both published by Que Publishing), Sams Teach Yourself Regular Expressions in 10 Minutes, as well as books on SQL, Flash, JSP, HomeSite, WAP, Windows 2000, and other subjects.

If you are considering MySQL you may not know how, but you are not a dummy. This book is not for dummys in that it doesn't patronize nor take you into convoluted scenarios, this book is for the reasonably intelligent who want to do stuff. What a blessing.

I was familiar with databases having worked with MS Access, but I had never worked with SQL. This book hit the spot in showing me what I needed to know to get going. I am now using MySQL successfully with a Java/Struts front end. While I found a few small gaps in this book, it has helped tremendously in my learning journey in that it gets to the point with minimum emotional overhead and verbosity, unlike MySQL (4th Edition) (Developer's Library) which I have found to be pretty useless and weighty after reading Forta's book.

This book has clear, short, well labeled chapters to find what you need. Highly recommended.

I had always had problems with trying to figure out how to use Sub Selects. Now I feel silly for not "getting it" quicker. This book has been a big help in me learning about the capabilities of MySQL in general.

Money very well spent.

This is also a great book for those just wanting to learn SQL. The examples are great.

If you are fairly familiar with the concept of a database, this book could very well be all you need to get going. My issue with it is that it skimps on some of the very basic stuff. For example, it never goes over the syntax of the create call for creating a database, doesn't explain calling mysql at the command prompt as a particular user, gives you 11 chapters on manipulating data before showing you how to create a table, waits for chapter 28 to mention administering users, and puts datatypes in the appendix. These are the first things I wanted to learn. By the time I was done googling these concepts, I got pretty good at mySql and knew where to find better resources. At that point, the book became a very light reference.

As others have said, this is a great book for beginners, whether in MySQL or in databases in general. Because I have a lot of database experience, I went throught it very quickly.

When I started to apply some of the techniques I learned to existing applications, I found out VERY quickly that this is insufficient as a reference. Each topic has enough hands-on examples to give you a start, but not nearly enough depth to use for looking things up.

I thought that Appendix B on creating the sample tables might have been a little abbreviated for the novice user. It refers to Chapter 2 to create a new datasource, but I think it was a little confusing jumping back and forth between the appendix and the chapter. This might be better as an exercise right in the chapter.

Overall, I would recommend this book as a starting point.

If MySQL will suite your needs then this book is for you. I read the book cover-to-cover in my downtime at work over a few days and walked away with a solid understanding of MySQL.
Unfortunately MySQL isn't the most mature database solution, but if it's good enough for your project, then this is a great resource.

"Programming PHP," 2nd Edition, is the authoritative guide to PHP 5 and is filled with the unique knowledge of the creator of PHP (Rasmus Lerdorf) and other PHP experts. When it comes to creating websites, the PHP scripting language is truly a red-hot property. In fact, PHP is currently used on more than 19 million websites, surpassing Microsoft's ASP .NET technology in popularity. Programmers love its flexibility and speed; designers love its accessibility and convenience.

As the industry standard book on PHP, all of the essentials are covered in a clear and concise manner. Language syntax and programming techniques are coupled with numerous examples that illustrate both correct usage and common idioms. With style tips and practical programming advice, this book will help you become not just a PHP programmer, but a "good" PHP programmer. "Programming PHP, Second Edition" covers everything you need to know to create effective web applications with PHP. Contents include: Detailed information on the basics of the PHP language, including data types, variables, operators, and flow control statements Chapters outlining the basics of functions, strings, arrays, and objects Coverage of common PHP web application techniques, such as form processing and validation, session tracking, and cookies Material on interacting with relational databases, such as MySQL and Oracle, using the database-independent PEAR DB library and the new PDO Library Chapters that show you how to generate dynamic images, create PDF files, and parse XML files with PHP Advanced topics, such as creating secure scripts, error handling, performance tuning, and writing your own C language extensions to PHP A handy quickreference to all the core functions in PHP and all the standard extensions that ship with PHP

Praise for the first edition:

"If you are just getting into the dynamic Web development world or you are considering migrating from another dynamic web product to PHP, "Programming PHP" is the book of choice to get you up, running, and productive in a short time."

--Peter MacIntrye, eWeek

"I think this is a great book for programmers who want to start developing dynamic websites with PHP. It gives a detailed overview of PHP, lots of valuable tips, and a good sense of PHP's strengths."

--David Dooling, Slashdot.org

PHP is far more than a cult language or open-source icon. It's a remarkably capable language that's well integrated with lots of technologies--notably mSQL and MySQL database servers--and quite easy to learn. Programming PHP helps you up the PHP learning curve, very nearly guaranteeing that you'll find in its pages an example that illustrates every fundamental aspect of the language and its most important extension modules. Plus, there's some cool advanced stuff, like recipes for manipulating images, working with Extensible Markup Language (XML) content, and generating Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files. Rasmus Lerdorf invented PHP and quarterbacks its ongoing evolution, so there's little question of the content's authority.

The authors use a Talmudic style to explore PHP's capabilities and explain them to their readers, meaning that they like to present code and commentary in close formation, with each enhancing the other. Typically, they'll present a capability generically and show the relevant code. Then they'll dig into variations on the theme, calling attention to required code alterations as they go. This is a book about PHP itself, so practically no attention is paid to PHP Builder or other development tools. Regardless, this book will help you solve programming challenges with PHP, and enable you to write efficient, attractive code. --David Wall

Topics covered: The PHP programming language, for people who are coming to PHP with a bit of programming experience in other languages or who want to expand their existing PHP knowledge beyond the basics. Sections deal with the core language, as well as HTTP session management, database connectivity (to MySQL and Oracle, as well as with PHP Extension and Application Repository--PEAR), graphics file manipulation, XML parsing, and PDF creation. There are instructions for building a PHP extension library in C, as well as a function reference and guide to existing extensions.

Said the book was in great condition, and it is! I'm ecstatic to have been able to purchase this book, at this price!

Don't get me wrong, the book is okay. But I feel O'Reilly simply slung out a new version of the book for PHP 5, without really updating the content to reflect PHP 5's enhancements. Especially the chapter covering OOP development with PHP 5. The content in that chapter is pure PHP 4. Not cool.

I bought this book after learning some Javascript and ColdFusion, thiking it would have some of the same concepts as most other scripting languages. Well PHP has some other features like the direction arrows, etc. This book didnt explain all the features of PHP very well to which I couldnt really understand what was going on, and I can understand most Javascript applications. I had to buy another bookto explain all of the basics better, and then I went back to this book and it was a great book after that! But if you are just starting PHP or scripting, I reccommend getting another book before buying this book.

O'Reily books have the same pattern. They take content that should have been one book for maybe $100, and divide it out into 3 or more books adding up to a heftier profit. This book a nice quick reference, but doesn't cover the language in it's entirety (or close enough to from my experience with other books) or provide any actual examples, rather brief one line syntax examples. I've programed C++, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, and SQL while attending a state university for a degree in computer science. While examples can be redundant because concepts of programming are understood, a decent example is truly the best way to observe case implications of syntax. For example, when the book talks about constants and the define("name",value) function, it fails to mention when used in a string and output, the constant is not interpolated (the user sees COUNT, instead of say 3). In my experience I've run into a dozen of these situations I wish the book would have at least mentioned. This is important to know, and more important to know how to work around and do what you want. It's these details that make a solid programming manual, which this book claims to be. It is truly and introduction and quick reference. If you are not already an experienced PHP programmer, and you are going to deal with PHP at least somewhat in depth, you are better off looking elsewhere.

I read through this in a couple evenings. It highlighted some PHP functions which I should be using to streamline my code. It also overviews available PHP extensions such as database interfaces and PDF and graphics libraries. Nice to have a summary all in one place and right at hand.