The book appears to be very informative; the contents seem to cover PHP and MySQL quite extensively. Using the book’s directions to set up PHP (from the included CD) however, has been fruitless.

I was able to install MySQL and Apache on my W2K box quite easily. The instructions for installing and configuring MySQL were easy to follow. Testing MySQL revealed a successful installation.

Setting up Apache was a breeze. The directions were clear and easy to follow. The Apache Web server also tested successfully.

I expected that installing PHP would be a no-brainer as well. The book recommends a manual installation, but when describing the automatic install, isn’t clear that it’s an either-or choice. I ignored the automatic setup and proceeded with the manual installation.

The manual process involves unzipping PHP and copying the PHP folder to the root of drive C. The next ambiguous step was choosing between the CGI or ISAPI implementation of PHP. The differences were explained, and the authors indicated either would work.

I chose the ISAPI option, which involved copying an apache/ISAPI DLL to the root PHP folder. There was no mention whether you needed to disable, rename or remove the CGI’s DLL, also in the PHP root. I left it in place.

The next step involved creating C:USR, moving and copying files there and to C:WINNT, C:WINNTSYSTEM32, the Apache HTDOCS folder and then editing a couple files.

The USR folder instructions caught me by surprise. I also use RedHat and know the USR directory is specific to Linux. At first I wondered if this was a cut/paste error. The authors could have indicated that the USR directory, native to Linux, is necessary on the Windows PC for compatibility reasons.

The C:WINNTPHP.INI file required specifying a couple paths to PHP folders. The examples in the book were inconsistent – The first showed a path without quotes surrounding it, the second entry, on the following page, did have quotes. I was able to look through the existing entries in the INI file to determine that quotes were being used. I used quotes too.

Editing the Apache CONFIG file was confusing as the book used path examples with conflicting slashes (C:/PHP/ and C:PHP). The file had examples that Windows entries should use the back-slash. There were also three entries to append to the file for CGI option. Again, the book did not indicate that they should not be inserted if you are using the ISAPI module.

After restarting the Apache service, the PHP test page (PHPINFO) would initiate a file download in the browser. If run from the HTDOCS folder, it would display a blank page.

I repeated the steps of the installation, then installed (very carefully) on a second W2K machine. All efforts produced the same results.

At this point I opened the README that came with PHP. It appears that the authors’s instructions for installing PHP are pretty much a copy/paste from the PHP readme. BUT, the readme included information that the slashes in the Apache CONFIG file are irrelevant, they could be mixed without impact (C:/PROGRAM FILESAPACHE GROUP/HTDOCS).

Regarding the three additional (CGI mode) lines in the PHP.INI recommended by the book – the readme has the same information, but indicates that it would be “suicidal to use them”.

That’s as far as I made it last night. I’ll continue working on it over the weekend, but will look at third party docs for a definitive reference.

While I’m new to PHP, I’ve been in the IT field more than fifteen years. I grew up on DOS 3.3, saw QEMM come and go, could write CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC’s from memory, host a dozen domains and code VB and HTML on a daily basis.

The inability to get past the installation process is frustrating. Buying a highly endorsed book on PHP that contradicts itself, and the docs included on the CD, is especially disappointing.

Since my purchase, I have seen reviews that reference incorrect code in the body of the book. If these reports are true, I’d have to second-guess each error I encounter. Coding and math share the same rule, either it’s correct, or it’s not.

The reason I chose “one star” is for the lapse in “attention to detail” I have found in documenting what should be a painless start. While I’ll have PHP up and running soon, first-time coders may not be so successful.

I hope the authors will post corrections to errors discovered in this book and provide a link to that site somehow. I’m looking forward to learning PHP as I continue through this book, but would like to correct the errors before getting to them.
Rating: 1 / 5

This new edition of the book is every bit as good as the previous and more, it will get you up to date with the latest PHP standards while following along with a wide variety of “projects you can actually use.” Just as before, this book covers practically everything PHP: commonly used functions, regular expressions, object orientation, database design & integration, security, sessions, e-commerce, project management, useful libraries (image manipulation, pdf files) etc etc.. The code examples include a shopping cart, web forums, content management, e-mail related services, creating a site with membership, and it doesn’t stop there – the book is just cram-packed full of information.

Any serious PHP web developer should own this book, it opens you up to whole new world of development by relating concepts of software engineering (believe it or not) – in simplified explanations.

So what’s new? The PHP code and descriptions have been updated, the variety of web resources has grown, the most noticable change of all is the addition of a new chapter which touches base with XML and SOAP. It’s very hard to find good PHP books these days (at least where I’ve been looking) and this is one of em, no complaints
Rating: 5 / 5