PHP and MySQL Web Development (Third Edition)

Author: Will Shao Yu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The "Bible" of PHP and MySQL Web Development! We have never purchased such an excellent programming book. This book is informative, easy to grasp, and provides the best examples compared to other computer books I have purchased. The text is simple and easy to understand." — Nick Landman "The Welling and Thomson books published by Sams are the only indispensable books I have found. The text is clear and intuitive, and it never wastes my time. The book is well-structured. The chapters are appropriately sized, and the titles are clear." — Wright Sullivan, Chairman, A "This book combines PHP development with MySQL applications, providing in-depth and easy-to-understand analyses of both PHP and MySQL. It not only introduces the general concepts of PHP and MySQL but also comprehensively explains their web applications, including several classic and practical examples. This is the third edition, which has been fully updated, rewritten, and expanded, including the new features of PHP5—such as the new object model, better exception handling, and SimpleXML—as well as the new features of MySQL5, such as stored procedures and storage engines. PHP is the acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, a widely used open-source (Open Source) multipurpose scripting language. It can be embedded in HTML and is particularly suitable for web development. However, the functionality of PHP is not limited to this. It can also be used as a server-side scripting language, command-line scripting language, or even a client-side GUI application development language. Today, PHP runs on all major operating systems and most web servers. Its ease of use, high performance, close integration with the Apache web server, and a vast array of application-building blocks make it one of the leading web application development languages. MySQL is a very fast, robust relational database management system (RDBMS). It is a database that allows you to efficiently store, search, sort, and retrieve data. The MySQL server controls access to your data, ensuring that only authenticated users can access it. Therefore, MySQL is a multi-user, multi-threaded server that uses the industry-supported standard database query language SQL (Structured Query Language). Since 1996, MySQL has been officially released, but its development history can be traced back to 1979. Today, MySQL has won the Reader's Choice Award from the Linux Journal magazine. Written by Laura Thomson and Luke Welling, PHP and MySQL Web Development (Chinese version: PHP and MySQL Web Development Guide) has now been published in its third edition. Just as Thinking in Java is the "bible" for Java, this book is a treasure trove for web application development using PHP and MySQL. The language is easy to understand, and the structure is clear and logical. It introduces how to use PHP and MySQL for database-oriented web application development in a step-by-step manner: PHP language, MySQL server, e-commerce basics, security issues, and practical examples. This provides a reasonable learning curve for beginner programmers who want to engage in PHP and MySQL web development. The PHP introduced in this book is the newest version, 5.0. It provides a detailed introduction to the history and current state of PHP, as well as its features and functions as both a procedural and object-oriented language, including an introduction to the new features of PHP5, such as improvements in object-oriented programming. This is basic introductory knowledge for readers who are not familiar with object-oriented languages. The MySQL introduced in this book is also the newest version, 4.0. Considering that readers may be unfamiliar with database theory, the book also dedicates two chapters to introducing the basics of relational databases and SQL. When introducing MySQL, the authors also follow a learning curve that gradually deepens from simple to complex. First, they introduce the features of the MySQL database, then advanced applications of MySQL, which are closely related to real-world development, including an in-depth introduction to the MySQL permission system, a comprehensive analysis of MySQL security issues, and some performance optimization problems that developers often struggle with. After providing a detailed introduction to PHP and MySQL, the book moves into the most distinctive and most valuable part: the practical section. What applications can be created by combining PHP and MySQL? The answer is clear: e-commerce. Before diving into e-commerce website development using PHP and MySQL, the authors also provide a detailed introduction to the basic features of e-commerce websites and the security issues that need special attention. In the section on e-commerce security in this book, readers can learn almost all website security concepts and techniques. This is an invaluable manual for website developers who are not yet experienced. In the practical project examples, the authors, with years of development experience, provide several representative examples: shopping carts, content management systems, web-based email management systems, mailing list managers, web forums, and more. All these examples are highly practical. Imagine a less experienced developer joining an e-commerce website and starting their career. As they work and study this book side by side, what would they say? "Wow, the content of this book is exactly what I'm working on! Thank God!" In addition to developers, the authors also considered the problems that system administrators of e-commerce websites might encounter: setting up and maintaining the system environment. In the appendix of the book, the authors provide detailed instructions on how to install, configure, and even compile PHP and MySQL on major operating system platforms. Because PHP and MySQL are open-source, companies may need to customize these tools and platforms, and the content of the appendix of this book provides exactly the help that system administrators need in this regard. Throughout the book, the content is extensive, the style is rigorous, and theory is closely integrated with practice. It includes detailed conceptual explanations as well as complex and complete example codes, allowing readers to easily apply the theoretical knowledge they have learned. For this reason, the book is suitable for a very wide range of readers. For beginners, it can serve as a textbook and reference book. For those with extensive experience in PHP and MySQL, it is also an excellent reference manual, making it suitable for PHP programmers at all levels. Of course, the book does have some shortcomings. In my opinion, the authors should have included some comparisons between PHP and MySQL collaborative development and the most popular J2EE platform and the .NET platform. Such comparisons would help businesses and developers choose the right platform and tools. Perhaps, these contents will be included in the upcoming fourth edition.