Murach's PHP and MySQL: Training & Reference

Have read over 100 pages within the first two days of owning it and I love it so far. I have had previous experience in C++, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and a few other languages so it has been easy for me to understand. The book moves very fast and might be hard for beginners because of some of the code-speak they use, but for me it has been quick to read and easy to learn. I love the two page format, with the book on the left page and the source code, bullet points and images on the right. The appendix instructions for setting up your computer with XAMPP and the PHP developer tools were also clear and easy to follow, even the sections on opening some XAMPP files in a text editor and altering them so they will work were well done and easy to follow. The great thing about this book is that it not only tells you how to program, but how and why the program. This is my first Murach book and I love it so much I now want to go and buy their CSS, JavaScript and C++ books so I can learn even more about those languages.

I bought this having little knowledge of php and mysql other than what the combo is used for and what I wanted it to do for me and the projects I had in the works. The progression, for anyone with a working knowledge of programming/coding, is great; there is enough detail and examples for drilling down but it moves at a fairly quick pace. That said, knowing other prog languages and having experience will help greatly, mostly from the standpoint of being able to look at all the code for the examples and being able to extract the theory of what's going in order to adapt it to your own situation. A true beginner will most likely have difficulty with this, but the extensive examples are where the true power lies with these type of books. The syntax and semantics are the referential part (for people who already know how to code), and are also contained within this book, but being able to design an application requires some skill and insight which is hard for a book to teach/impart. Practice and experimentation are the best way. In summary: This book is great, if you know how to code and want to learn how to use php and mysql to develop web-based applications and sites I highly recommend it.

PROS: The books appearance (it's very professional) It's thick (it promisses a lot of information) The letter size (it's easy to read) It's "paired" (no seen before) The quality paper is very high The subjects are treated as "how to..." The subjects are very well explained by the authors The subjects are treated in depth CONS: Your writers refer constantly to microsoft products It's easy to see your preference to microsoft because it is a US entity I could not find ANY REFERENCE TO LINUX PLATFORM Linux is INTENTIONALLY IGNORED Another publishing houses do the same (IGNORE LINUX PLATFORM) You suggest to use Aptana Studio 3 but... You IGNORE IDE Sublime Text 3, nor is mentioned at least Your authors confuse to noob readers because they can consider that this ecosystem is only composed by windows (of course) and MAC You use the term "both"; this indicates the web universe is complete having windows or MAC, it does not exist any more. NOTES: My working environment is Linux ubuntu 14.10 OS, I do not use hotmail, nither IE, nither Suite Office, I use gmail, firefox or Google Chrome, LibreOffice Suite, instead. When I tried to install XAMPP in my linux machine , I went to Murachs books, and after making some expenses, you know what I found, nothing. Some very good information about XAMPP, comes in the "small" spanish book, (screenshot included) I started to study web technologies online with w3schools, later on I purchased their books from amazon, they are excellent books as well, but do the same: ignore LINUX. To IGNORE LINUX is a Microsoft policy issued to authors/writers?; this is dishonest and shows discrimination. I feel myself discriminated.

I knew nothing about PHP and MySQL, and while I was more interested in just MySQL, I figured PHP would just be a bonus. As other reviewers have pointed out, this book uses a great layout of text/topics on one page, and figures/code on the adjacent page = WONDERFUL! This has made learning both PHP and MySQL very easy. I have only completed the first 5 chapters, and have been able to create my own MySQL database, and a webpage using PHP that acts as a "front end" to the database, in just a few hours. I cannot wait to continue reading the remainder of this book! Highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn PHP and MySQL!

I must state that normally i hate learning anything about programming. I'd much rather do anything design. Most tech books about programming never keep my interest and seem pretty difficult to read but something about this author's style allows this book to be an easy read for me. I am using this for a PHP course for a web development degree and This allows me to get through the chapters. Some of the chapter may seem repetitive to some but for beginners, this is just what we need. The book assumes no prior knowledge and again, this is great for beginners. Those just needing basics to start with PHP if they programmed before can probably pick up with chapter 2 or 3.

This book seems to have a lot of good and pertinent information. It also contains enough info to allow a user to set up his own MySQL server. It also has a fairly regular format in which each page refers to a figure that is on the following page. However, there are two main drawbacks: 1. This is the biggest problem with the book: it is hard to follow because it does not do something as basic as numbering the examples. This makes finding the example referenced by the text a rather tedious exercise. It would be much simpler to refer to example number 3 rather than having to look for the 3rd example. This is made worse by the fact that the examples are not clearly delineated. My suggestion to Joel is to create a new edition which makes improvement in this area. 2. The second issue is common to a lot of textbooks and is just a matter of personal preference for me: The example code is not always described very well. As with many texts, it seems to take the approach of leaving much up to the user in terms of gaining understanding of the solutions presented. While there is much to be said for this approach, I prefer to have more thorough explanations to ensure that I can get the most complete understanding. Far be it for me to be critical of Mr Murach who has written more textbooks than I have shirts (only a slight exaggeration), but I hope he takes the chance to make, at least, this one better. Respectfully submitted.

This is an excellent language tutorial and reference on PHP. I'm a big fan of all of Murach's books and this one is no exception. As a C# developer, I needed a book that would clear up the sometimes confusing syntax of PHP without requiring me to wade through a lot of concepts I already understood. This book does exactly that. Murach's unique style of putting explanations on each left page and corresponding examples on each right page is ingeniously simple yet amazingly effective. I frequently scan the sample page first and only read the explanation page when I need further clarification. However the explanation page is always there if you need it. The result is a very fast read. Also, the editing is superb. So far, I haven't encountered any errors in the sample source. Excellent book.

Murach books are always excellent. When I started working with PHP, I was hoping they would release a PHP book. I am trilled with this book. Murach always has text descriptions on the left-hand page, with code samples and bullet-points on the right. You can see both together on every page. This is an excellent learning book, as it walks through all features, but it also is an excellent reference book for advanced programmers. Every topic has its own page with samples. I highly recommend this for PHP and mySQL programming. Murach has done it again with an excellent book.

This book is very clear, like all others books from Murach's edition. The explanations are clear and I was able to create my first PHP/MySQL application from scratch. Highly recommanded.

Murach's PHP and MySQL is another good book from murach's Good structure and examples and a good reference for beginner and for pro.