PHP & MySQL: Server-side Web Development 1st Edition

Jon Duckett, thank you so much for writing the book that will change my life. I waited three years for you to publish it, and I am going to feast on every word on the next 672 pages (thank you so much for taking your time to write it well). I loved my early read of this book so much that I had to buy two more copies for my mentees. I bought and read your last two second-to-none books in 2016 - HTML & CSS and JS & jQuery. I can't wait to make history with this PHP book. I am on page 170, and I can say for a fact that you covered the topics in way more detail and simplicity than the other bestselling PHP book on Amazon that I have used as a PHP programmer over the last three years. Instead of Jon dedicating about three hundred pages to PHP and MySQL like the last guy (I won't name him as a quick PHP search on Amazon would reveal him), he wisely and courageously dedicated almost 700 pages. I have also bought and taken seven of the best PHP courses on Udemy, and I know this book is better than all of them combined. This is not only the best PHP and MySQL book out there, this is the best programming book in the world. Period. Take that from someone who has spent thousands of dollars in the last 6 years trying to look for a programming language instruction that is expertly written from an education standpoint. Albert Einstein once said, “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself.” Ninety-nine percent of the programming language boot camps, books, training manuals, and websites cannot explain what they teach to six-year-olds. They do not meet the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) test necessary for educators. A six-year-old can understand what Jon is teaching in this book. I spent over $100,000 on a business school education in Baltimore, and this is the best textbook I have ever read. There is a dearth of educators in the programming education world. You hardly have anyone with an education degree teaching programming, which becomes apparent in the lack of standardization in what they teach. Jon's PHP book is heavily researched and detailed, unbelievably simple, and wonderfully designed. Do yourself a favor and read what this man who shies away from publicity has thoughtfully, generously, and meticulously written.

Very good resource for beginners and intermediate level.

Jon Duckett's "PHP & MySQL: Server-side Web Development" is a worthy follow-up to his popular "JavaScript & jQuery" book. Like its predecessor, this new guide stands out with its visually appealing layout and clear explanations. I have a graphic design background so I really appreciate the work put into designing this book and the cover feels great to touch as well.The book does a great job of making server-side development more approachable. He breaks down complex concepts into manageable chunks, and the well-chosen examples really help reinforce the material.If you're into web development, this book is definitely worth checking out. It's the kind of resource you'll likely find yourself returning to as you work on projects. A lot of things are available freely on the internet, but I'm still someone who enjoys looking at print at the end of the night. (Maybe because I'm getting older).For friends considering learning PHP, I'd absolutely recommend this book.

I am not fully through the book yet, but I just wanted to say how much I love this layout. I wish more programming and technical books would take the time to format content in away that keeps you interested. I have read a lot of programming/coding books over the years and most of them cause my eyes to glaze over and eventually end up as another level of an ever growing coffee cup coaster.Well done!

Very good information very educational

Love this book! Just wish XAMPP worked reliably. MySQL fails to start on windows 11 so I'll have to figure out how to do everything in the book in a linux environment.Edit: I installed Apache2, MySQL, PHP8, and phpMyAdmin on WSL and was able to get the project files from the book working! No issues so far! I should be able to practice what I've learned and continue onto the last section of the book. :)

I'm currently teaching a college course in back end web development, and have adopted this book.Pros:- Information compression: What would otherwise take large volumes of text is distilled into rich graphics. This is accomplished through code "anatomy" diagrams, well laid out tables, and pages with clear visual hierarchy and clean layouts. It does all of this while still using large font - which is crucial for me.- Organization of content: The book can used either as reference or read through completely. There are minimal dependencies on upcoming content when reading through. Contextual information is clearly given in section introductions.- Pruning of content: The book covers all of the major use cases I'd expect to be in an intro level book for back end PHP programming, and as added sugar imparts enough database connection and SQL knowledge to allow for database exercises. Advanced content is isolated to the back of the book.- Example code: great library to explore and practice with.- Price: as currently priced, this is a steal - especially for print.Cons:- I tried to think of some constructive criticism, but I can't come up with anything offhand. It's a great book and I'm glad I found it to teach with.