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bwahahax · May 17, 2004, 03:49 PM

I'd like to get a basic understanding of PHP and MySQL. I've managed to get PHP 4.3.6 running on my server, but I've never gotten MySQL to work. What I've found is that, if I can get a book that will teach me the basics, resources on the net can do the rest.

I went to the local mega-bookstore today to see what they had. Being on a bit of a budget I was pleased to see individual books that dealt with both PHP and MySQL. My question to you lucky forum-goers is: Which book should I buy?

#1)
PHP and MySQL For Dummies (2nd Edition, 2004)
Janet Valade
Deals with PHP 5 and MySQL 4
$36 dollars Canadian

#2)
Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL and Apache (2004)
Julie Meloni
Deals with PHP 4.3 and MySQL 4.1, as well as Apache 2.0
$46 dollars Canadian

Or perhaps there are other books out there that are even better? I'd like to hear about them. I probably won't be buying the book until this weekend, so there's plenty of time to reply.

Thanks in advance!

Love Calm Quiet · May 17, 2004, 04:10 PM

Remedial programmer that I am, I found that Meloni (in an earlier edition) was just the thing I needed to get up and running.

But to go into real understanding of all the possibilities and underpinings, ya gotta love Ullman's "PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide" ISBN 0321186486 It's accumulated a lot more 5-star revs at Amazon since I got it. Plus he always gives consideration Mac issues / shortcuts. So helpful.

bwahahax · May 17, 2004, 04:42 PM

I take it Ullman's book is not for beginner's though.

Love Calm Quiet · May 17, 2004, 05:18 PM

Well... YES: in the sense that he does take you step by step.

But... Less so: in the sense that there's less chat-iness, etc. (all though the Dummies book you mentioned (which is big on chatty) looked awful to me when I examined it in book store).

Ullman should have all you need from scratch.... except maybe entertainment value

bwahahax · May 17, 2004, 05:40 PM

Sounds good. It wasn't available at the megastore I went to, but I'll try another on Saturday. I'll take a flip through the Ullman book, to see if I can follow it.

genevish · May 18, 2004, 09:28 AM

I always find it useful to simply jump in with an idea and see if I can get it to work. As you run into problems, check the PHP website for the specific function you are using, especially the user added comments. I find that frequently another user has delt with the same problem I'm having and has commented a solution.

bwahahax · May 18, 2004, 09:09 PM

I find that's a good strategy too, but it's tough when you don't know the basics of the language. That's what I'm hoping to learn. I checked out the Ullman book and it looks good. Didn't buy it in the store though, cause I can get it online for 30% less. Gonna order it now.

Thanks for all the advice!