A head of the game, 26 Sep 2008
This book is a head of the game, it will teach you the fundamentals of php6 and it tells you when the code is only for php6 (and that php5 code won't work). The good thing about this book is that it teaches you how php and mysql dance together. Don't miss this book, get it while it is still new. Even if you don't know much about mysql this book has an introduction chapter to mysql. I highly recommend this book to all levels except those who are super advanced programmers.

Whoever formatted this book needs to be shot., 15 Sep 2008
This is the worst technical book I have ever attempted to read. Not because of its content, which may or may not be fine, but because of its formatting.

I don't know whether I have a newer edition to everybody else but my copy is formatted in two narrow columns per page, instead of the usual one column.

This makes listings look ridiculous. Lines of code which should fit on one line are instead splayed over 3 or 4 lines.

In one particularly bad example, the page layout went as follows:

Column 1: standard text. Then mid way down column 1 a listing starts. The listing continues to the end of column 1 then goes to the next page, where it goes down column 1 and column 2. You now have to go back two pages to pick up on the standard text, which continued on column 2 of the first page.

The content of this book may well be excellent, I couldn't really say, but its presentation is awful.

Excellent primer for PHP MySQL, 03 Sep 2008
This is an excellent starter for learning how to use PHP/ MySQL.

It goes along at a fair pace, and may be too fast if you don't have previous HTML and programming experience. The separate PHP for the World Wide Web: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)and MySQL: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)books in this series take this a bit more slowly, so if you're struggling they might be a good place to look.

Otherwise this will quickly introduce you to the concepts and use of both products. I'm still using this when I do some PHP programming, and other members of my team are also using it. It's excellent and the code is all available for download which avoids either losing/ scratching the CD or lots of typing.

The install Appendix A is worth the money alone, as I've used it to install both PHP and MySQL on Windows servers and my Mac at home. It points to easy installs on the web for the Mac.

My only gripe is that the layout is difficult to follow and it was hard to work out what the projects were actually doing, a little more explanation here might be useful.

Otherwise excellent, recommended particularly as PHP/ MySQL are free leaving you with some spare cash to buy this!

excellent communicator, 29 Aug 2008
I bought this book at the same time as 2 others on similar topics. I've hardly used the other 2. This book is well-written, with useful examples and the author has explained the sample code line-by-line... a real help when trying to amend one of his examples to produce something for your own purposes. As a teacher with some experience of HTML/ VB / ASP.NET I found this book really easy to follow.

There are a few very minor typos in the text (not surprising, given the number of pages), but if you visit the author's website there's a full list of corrections. It took me about 5 mins to go through and correct them, so it didn't really reduce the effectiveness of the book.

One feature I've really found useful... there are occasional little tables of other functions that do similar things. There isn't space in the book to describe them all in detail, but knowing the name of a fucntion makes it really easy to find out more using your favourite search engine.

Strongly recommended.

I also boughtHow to Do Everything with PHP and MySQL (How to Do Everything) (which is absolutely useless) and Mysql Crash Course (Sams Teach Yourself) (which is just about OK as a reference, but has awful page layout that makes it really hard to read). This book was far better than either of those.

Perfect starting point, 21 Aug 2008
This books is a perfect starting point for people coming from HTML, CSS and Javascript.

It goes through all the necessary and most basic parts of PHP and MySQL, but doesn't go into any depth with anything. So if you want to become an expert at PHP, you WILL need to get other books as well.

The book is set up in a tutorial fashion, where you are taken through a step by step description of everything.

Having coded PHP for a few years, i still go back to this book to look up stuff i can't quite remember.

It's definitely worth buying if you want to learn PHP and MySQL.

A head of the game, 26 Sep 2008
This book is a head of the game, it will teach you the fundamentals of php6 and it tells you when the code is only for php6 (and that php5 code won't work). The good thing about this book is that it teaches you how php and mysql dance together. Don't miss this book, get it while it is still new. Even if you don't know much about mysql this book has an introduction chapter to mysql. I highly recommend this book to all levels except those who are super advanced programmers.

Whoever formatted this book needs to be shot., 15 Sep 2008
This is the worst technical book I have ever attempted to read. Not because of its content, which may or may not be fine, but because of its formatting.

I don't know whether I have a newer edition to everybody else but my copy is formatted in two narrow columns per page, instead of the usual one column.

This makes listings look ridiculous. Lines of code which should fit on one line are instead splayed over 3 or 4 lines.

In one particularly bad example, the page layout went as follows:

Column 1: standard text. Then mid way down column 1 a listing starts. The listing continues to the end of column 1 then goes to the next page, where it goes down column 1 and column 2. You now have to go back two pages to pick up on the standard text, which continued on column 2 of the first page.

The content of this book may well be excellent, I couldn't really say, but its presentation is awful.

Excellent primer for PHP MySQL, 03 Sep 2008
This is an excellent starter for learning how to use PHP/ MySQL.

It goes along at a fair pace, and may be too fast if you don't have previous HTML and programming experience. The separate PHP for the World Wide Web: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)and MySQL: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)books in this series take this a bit more slowly, so if you're struggling they might be a good place to look.

Otherwise this will quickly introduce you to the concepts and use of both products. I'm still using this when I do some PHP programming, and other members of my team are also using it. It's excellent and the code is all available for download which avoids either losing/ scratching the CD or lots of typing.

The install Appendix A is worth the money alone, as I've used it to install both PHP and MySQL on Windows servers and my Mac at home. It points to easy installs on the web for the Mac.

My only gripe is that the layout is difficult to follow and it was hard to work out what the projects were actually doing, a little more explanation here might be useful.

Otherwise excellent, recommended particularly as PHP/ MySQL are free leaving you with some spare cash to buy this!

excellent communicator, 29 Aug 2008
I bought this book at the same time as 2 others on similar topics. I've hardly used the other 2. This book is well-written, with useful examples and the author has explained the sample code line-by-line... a real help when trying to amend one of his examples to produce something for your own purposes. As a teacher with some experience of HTML/ VB / ASP.NET I found this book really easy to follow.

There are a few very minor typos in the text (not surprising, given the number of pages), but if you visit the author's website there's a full list of corrections. It took me about 5 mins to go through and correct them, so it didn't really reduce the effectiveness of the book.

One feature I've really found useful... there are occasional little tables of other functions that do similar things. There isn't space in the book to describe them all in detail, but knowing the name of a fucntion makes it really easy to find out more using your favourite search engine.

Strongly recommended.

I also boughtHow to Do Everything with PHP and MySQL (How to Do Everything) (which is absolutely useless) and Mysql Crash Course (Sams Teach Yourself) (which is just about OK as a reference, but has awful page layout that makes it really hard to read). This book was far better than either of those.

Perfect starting point, 21 Aug 2008
This books is a perfect starting point for people coming from HTML, CSS and Javascript.

It goes through all the necessary and most basic parts of PHP and MySQL, but doesn't go into any depth with anything. So if you want to become an expert at PHP, you WILL need to get other books as well.

The book is set up in a tutorial fashion, where you are taken through a step by step description of everything.

Having coded PHP for a few years, i still go back to this book to look up stuff i can't quite remember.

It's definitely worth buying if you want to learn PHP and MySQL.


Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

A head of the game, 26 Sep 2008
This book is a head of the game, it will teach you the fundamentals of php6 and it tells you when the code is only for php6 (and that php5 code won't work). The good thing about this book is that it teaches you how php and mysql dance together. Don't miss this book, get it while it is still new. Even if you don't know much about mysql this book has an introduction chapter to mysql. I highly recommend this book to all levels except those who are super advanced programmers.

Whoever formatted this book needs to be shot., 15 Sep 2008
This is the worst technical book I have ever attempted to read. Not because of its content, which may or may not be fine, but because of its formatting.

I don't know whether I have a newer edition to everybody else but my copy is formatted in two narrow columns per page, instead of the usual one column.

This makes listings look ridiculous. Lines of code which should fit on one line are instead splayed over 3 or 4 lines.

In one particularly bad example, the page layout went as follows:

Column 1: standard text. Then mid way down column 1 a listing starts. The listing continues to the end of column 1 then goes to the next page, where it goes down column 1 and column 2. You now have to go back two pages to pick up on the standard text, which continued on column 2 of the first page.

The content of this book may well be excellent, I couldn't really say, but its presentation is awful.

Excellent primer for PHP MySQL, 03 Sep 2008
This is an excellent starter for learning how to use PHP/ MySQL.

It goes along at a fair pace, and may be too fast if you don't have previous HTML and programming experience. The separate PHP for the World Wide Web: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)and MySQL: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)books in this series take this a bit more slowly, so if you're struggling they might be a good place to look.

Otherwise this will quickly introduce you to the concepts and use of both products. I'm still using this when I do some PHP programming, and other members of my team are also using it. It's excellent and the code is all available for download which avoids either losing/ scratching the CD or lots of typing.

The install Appendix A is worth the money alone, as I've used it to install both PHP and MySQL on Windows servers and my Mac at home. It points to easy installs on the web for the Mac.

My only gripe is that the layout is difficult to follow and it was hard to work out what the projects were actually doing, a little more explanation here might be useful.

Otherwise excellent, recommended particularly as PHP/ MySQL are free leaving you with some spare cash to buy this!

excellent communicator, 29 Aug 2008
I bought this book at the same time as 2 others on similar topics. I've hardly used the other 2. This book is well-written, with useful examples and the author has explained the sample code line-by-line... a real help when trying to amend one of his examples to produce something for your own purposes. As a teacher with some experience of HTML/ VB / ASP.NET I found this book really easy to follow.

There are a few very minor typos in the text (not surprising, given the number of pages), but if you visit the author's website there's a full list of corrections. It took me about 5 mins to go through and correct them, so it didn't really reduce the effectiveness of the book.

One feature I've really found useful... there are occasional little tables of other functions that do similar things. There isn't space in the book to describe them all in detail, but knowing the name of a fucntion makes it really easy to find out more using your favourite search engine.

Strongly recommended.

I also boughtHow to Do Everything with PHP and MySQL (How to Do Everything) (which is absolutely useless) and Mysql Crash Course (Sams Teach Yourself) (which is just about OK as a reference, but has awful page layout that makes it really hard to read). This book was far better than either of those.

Perfect starting point, 21 Aug 2008
This books is a perfect starting point for people coming from HTML, CSS and Javascript.

It goes through all the necessary and most basic parts of PHP and MySQL, but doesn't go into any depth with anything. So if you want to become an expert at PHP, you WILL need to get other books as well.

The book is set up in a tutorial fashion, where you are taken through a step by step description of everything.

Having coded PHP for a few years, i still go back to this book to look up stuff i can't quite remember.

It's definitely worth buying if you want to learn PHP and MySQL.


Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Excellent Book a Real Must to Have, 23 Nov 2007
This is a really good book, clear and precise. It makes even the difficult tasks look easy!

Good introduction and great value for money., 10 Mar 2004
I have just upgraded from Access 97 to Access to 2003 and I was looking for something new to guide me through the changes. I was suprised that I walked out of the bookshop with this rather than one of the usual suspects. At 766 pages long this book describes itself as a desktop reference and nine books in one. I am not sure I agree completely with those statements. However it goes much further than the normal "Dummies" series by covering Access in impressive detail without losing the clarity which makes the series deservedly popular. This is a really good introduction to Access and, when combined with the price, I would highly recommend it for new starters.

Experience learning made easy - and quickly teach yourself how tobuild database solutions with Access 2007. With Step By Step youset the pace - building and practicing the skills you need justwhen you need them!

A head of the game, 26 Sep 2008
This book is a head of the game, it will teach you the fundamentals of php6 and it tells you when the code is only for php6 (and that php5 code won't work). The good thing about this book is that it teaches you how php and mysql dance together. Don't miss this book, get it while it is still new. Even if you don't know much about mysql this book has an introduction chapter to mysql. I highly recommend this book to all levels except those who are super advanced programmers.

Whoever formatted this book needs to be shot., 15 Sep 2008
This is the worst technical book I have ever attempted to read. Not because of its content, which may or may not be fine, but because of its formatting.

I don't know whether I have a newer edition to everybody else but my copy is formatted in two narrow columns per page, instead of the usual one column.

This makes listings look ridiculous. Lines of code which should fit on one line are instead splayed over 3 or 4 lines.

In one particularly bad example, the page layout went as follows:

Column 1: standard text. Then mid way down column 1 a listing starts. The listing continues to the end of column 1 then goes to the next page, where it goes down column 1 and column 2. You now have to go back two pages to pick up on the standard text, which continued on column 2 of the first page.

The content of this book may well be excellent, I couldn't really say, but its presentation is awful.

Excellent primer for PHP MySQL, 03 Sep 2008
This is an excellent starter for learning how to use PHP/ MySQL.

It goes along at a fair pace, and may be too fast if you don't have previous HTML and programming experience. The separate PHP for the World Wide Web: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)and MySQL: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)books in this series take this a bit more slowly, so if you're struggling they might be a good place to look.

Otherwise this will quickly introduce you to the concepts and use of both products. I'm still using this when I do some PHP programming, and other members of my team are also using it. It's excellent and the code is all available for download which avoids either losing/ scratching the CD or lots of typing.

The install Appendix A is worth the money alone, as I've used it to install both PHP and MySQL on Windows servers and my Mac at home. It points to easy installs on the web for the Mac.

My only gripe is that the layout is difficult to follow and it was hard to work out what the projects were actually doing, a little more explanation here might be useful.

Otherwise excellent, recommended particularly as PHP/ MySQL are free leaving you with some spare cash to buy this!

excellent communicator, 29 Aug 2008
I bought this book at the same time as 2 others on similar topics. I've hardly used the other 2. This book is well-written, with useful examples and the author has explained the sample code line-by-line... a real help when trying to amend one of his examples to produce something for your own purposes. As a teacher with some experience of HTML/ VB / ASP.NET I found this book really easy to follow.

There are a few very minor typos in the text (not surprising, given the number of pages), but if you visit the author's website there's a full list of corrections. It took me about 5 mins to go through and correct them, so it didn't really reduce the effectiveness of the book.

One feature I've really found useful... there are occasional little tables of other functions that do similar things. There isn't space in the book to describe them all in detail, but knowing the name of a fucntion makes it really easy to find out more using your favourite search engine.

Strongly recommended.

I also boughtHow to Do Everything with PHP and MySQL (How to Do Everything) (which is absolutely useless) and Mysql Crash Course (Sams Teach Yourself) (which is just about OK as a reference, but has awful page layout that makes it really hard to read). This book was far better than either of those.

Perfect starting point, 21 Aug 2008
This books is a perfect starting point for people coming from HTML, CSS and Javascript.

It goes through all the necessary and most basic parts of PHP and MySQL, but doesn't go into any depth with anything. So if you want to become an expert at PHP, you WILL need to get other books as well.

The book is set up in a tutorial fashion, where you are taken through a step by step description of everything.

Having coded PHP for a few years, i still go back to this book to look up stuff i can't quite remember.

It's definitely worth buying if you want to learn PHP and MySQL.


Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Excellent Book a Real Must to Have, 23 Nov 2007
This is a really good book, clear and precise. It makes even the difficult tasks look easy!

Good introduction and great value for money., 10 Mar 2004
I have just upgraded from Access 97 to Access to 2003 and I was looking for something new to guide me through the changes. I was suprised that I walked out of the bookshop with this rather than one of the usual suspects. At 766 pages long this book describes itself as a desktop reference and nine books in one. I am not sure I agree completely with those statements. However it goes much further than the normal "Dummies" series by covering Access in impressive detail without losing the clarity which makes the series deservedly popular. This is a really good introduction to Access and, when combined with the price, I would highly recommend it for new starters.

Disapointing, 20 Dec 2007
An excellently written book with very user friendly practice files that walk you through creating forms, reports and some query functions.

However, once read I was still left with questions that I hoped the book would answer. How do you format a ribbon? Only 3 query types are covered and not enough attention is given to reports and forms.

For me, brushing up on access skills after 7 years, it got me back into Access but where is the sequel to finish the course?

I Had high hopes for this book but am disappointed.

A head of the game, 26 Sep 2008
This book is a head of the game, it will teach you the fundamentals of php6 and it tells you when the code is only for php6 (and that php5 code won't work). The good thing about this book is that it teaches you how php and mysql dance together. Don't miss this book, get it while it is still new. Even if you don't know much about mysql this book has an introduction chapter to mysql. I highly recommend this book to all levels except those who are super advanced programmers.

Whoever formatted this book needs to be shot., 15 Sep 2008
This is the worst technical book I have ever attempted to read. Not because of its content, which may or may not be fine, but because of its formatting.

I don't know whether I have a newer edition to everybody else but my copy is formatted in two narrow columns per page, instead of the usual one column.

This makes listings look ridiculous. Lines of code which should fit on one line are instead splayed over 3 or 4 lines.

In one particularly bad example, the page layout went as follows:

Column 1: standard text. Then mid way down column 1 a listing starts. The listing continues to the end of column 1 then goes to the next page, where it goes down column 1 and column 2. You now have to go back two pages to pick up on the standard text, which continued on column 2 of the first page.

The content of this book may well be excellent, I couldn't really say, but its presentation is awful.

Excellent primer for PHP MySQL, 03 Sep 2008
This is an excellent starter for learning how to use PHP/ MySQL.

It goes along at a fair pace, and may be too fast if you don't have previous HTML and programming experience. The separate PHP for the World Wide Web: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)and MySQL: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)books in this series take this a bit more slowly, so if you're struggling they might be a good place to look.

Otherwise this will quickly introduce you to the concepts and use of both products. I'm still using this when I do some PHP programming, and other members of my team are also using it. It's excellent and the code is all available for download which avoids either losing/ scratching the CD or lots of typing.

The install Appendix A is worth the money alone, as I've used it to install both PHP and MySQL on Windows servers and my Mac at home. It points to easy installs on the web for the Mac.

My only gripe is that the layout is difficult to follow and it was hard to work out what the projects were actually doing, a little more explanation here might be useful.

Otherwise excellent, recommended particularly as PHP/ MySQL are free leaving you with some spare cash to buy this!

excellent communicator, 29 Aug 2008
I bought this book at the same time as 2 others on similar topics. I've hardly used the other 2. This book is well-written, with useful examples and the author has explained the sample code line-by-line... a real help when trying to amend one of his examples to produce something for your own purposes. As a teacher with some experience of HTML/ VB / ASP.NET I found this book really easy to follow.

There are a few very minor typos in the text (not surprising, given the number of pages), but if you visit the author's website there's a full list of corrections. It took me about 5 mins to go through and correct them, so it didn't really reduce the effectiveness of the book.

One feature I've really found useful... there are occasional little tables of other functions that do similar things. There isn't space in the book to describe them all in detail, but knowing the name of a fucntion makes it really easy to find out more using your favourite search engine.

Strongly recommended.

I also boughtHow to Do Everything with PHP and MySQL (How to Do Everything) (which is absolutely useless) and Mysql Crash Course (Sams Teach Yourself) (which is just about OK as a reference, but has awful page layout that makes it really hard to read). This book was far better than either of those.

Perfect starting point, 21 Aug 2008
This books is a perfect starting point for people coming from HTML, CSS and Javascript.

It goes through all the necessary and most basic parts of PHP and MySQL, but doesn't go into any depth with anything. So if you want to become an expert at PHP, you WILL need to get other books as well.

The book is set up in a tutorial fashion, where you are taken through a step by step description of everything.

Having coded PHP for a few years, i still go back to this book to look up stuff i can't quite remember.

It's definitely worth buying if you want to learn PHP and MySQL.


Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Excellent Book a Real Must to Have, 23 Nov 2007
This is a really good book, clear and precise. It makes even the difficult tasks look easy!

Good introduction and great value for money., 10 Mar 2004
I have just upgraded from Access 97 to Access to 2003 and I was looking for something new to guide me through the changes. I was suprised that I walked out of the bookshop with this rather than one of the usual suspects. At 766 pages long this book describes itself as a desktop reference and nine books in one. I am not sure I agree completely with those statements. However it goes much further than the normal "Dummies" series by covering Access in impressive detail without losing the clarity which makes the series deservedly popular. This is a really good introduction to Access and, when combined with the price, I would highly recommend it for new starters.

Disapointing, 20 Dec 2007
An excellently written book with very user friendly practice files that walk you through creating forms, reports and some query functions.

However, once read I was still left with questions that I hoped the book would answer. How do you format a ribbon? Only 3 query types are covered and not enough attention is given to reports and forms.

For me, brushing up on access skills after 7 years, it got me back into Access but where is the sequel to finish the course?

I Had high hopes for this book but am disappointed.


Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.

A head of the game, 26 Sep 2008
This book is a head of the game, it will teach you the fundamentals of php6 and it tells you when the code is only for php6 (and that php5 code won't work). The good thing about this book is that it teaches you how php and mysql dance together. Don't miss this book, get it while it is still new. Even if you don't know much about mysql this book has an introduction chapter to mysql. I highly recommend this book to all levels except those who are super advanced programmers.

Whoever formatted this book needs to be shot., 15 Sep 2008
This is the worst technical book I have ever attempted to read. Not because of its content, which may or may not be fine, but because of its formatting.

I don't know whether I have a newer edition to everybody else but my copy is formatted in two narrow columns per page, instead of the usual one column.

This makes listings look ridiculous. Lines of code which should fit on one line are instead splayed over 3 or 4 lines.

In one particularly bad example, the page layout went as follows:

Column 1: standard text. Then mid way down column 1 a listing starts. The listing continues to the end of column 1 then goes to the next page, where it goes down column 1 and column 2. You now have to go back two pages to pick up on the standard text, which continued on column 2 of the first page.

The content of this book may well be excellent, I couldn't really say, but its presentation is awful.

Excellent primer for PHP MySQL, 03 Sep 2008
This is an excellent starter for learning how to use PHP/ MySQL.

It goes along at a fair pace, and may be too fast if you don't have previous HTML and programming experience. The separate PHP for the World Wide Web: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)and MySQL: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)books in this series take this a bit more slowly, so if you're struggling they might be a good place to look.

Otherwise this will quickly introduce you to the concepts and use of both products. I'm still using this when I do some PHP programming, and other members of my team are also using it. It's excellent and the code is all available for download which avoids either losing/ scratching the CD or lots of typing.

The install Appendix A is worth the money alone, as I've used it to install both PHP and MySQL on Windows servers and my Mac at home. It points to easy installs on the web for the Mac.

My only gripe is that the layout is difficult to follow and it was hard to work out what the projects were actually doing, a little more explanation here might be useful.

Otherwise excellent, recommended particularly as PHP/ MySQL are free leaving you with some spare cash to buy this!

excellent communicator, 29 Aug 2008
I bought this book at the same time as 2 others on similar topics. I've hardly used the other 2. This book is well-written, with useful examples and the author has explained the sample code line-by-line... a real help when trying to amend one of his examples to produce something for your own purposes. As a teacher with some experience of HTML/ VB / ASP.NET I found this book really easy to follow.

There are a few very minor typos in the text (not surprising, given the number of pages), but if you visit the author's website there's a full list of corrections. It took me about 5 mins to go through and correct them, so it didn't really reduce the effectiveness of the book.

One feature I've really found useful... there are occasional little tables of other functions that do similar things. There isn't space in the book to describe them all in detail, but knowing the name of a fucntion makes it really easy to find out more using your favourite search engine.

Strongly recommended.

I also boughtHow to Do Everything with PHP and MySQL (How to Do Everything) (which is absolutely useless) and Mysql Crash Course (Sams Teach Yourself) (which is just about OK as a reference, but has awful page layout that makes it really hard to read). This book was far better than either of those.

Perfect starting point, 21 Aug 2008
This books is a perfect starting point for people coming from HTML, CSS and Javascript.

It goes through all the necessary and most basic parts of PHP and MySQL, but doesn't go into any depth with anything. So if you want to become an expert at PHP, you WILL need to get other books as well.

The book is set up in a tutorial fashion, where you are taken through a step by step description of everything.

Having coded PHP for a few years, i still go back to this book to look up stuff i can't quite remember.

It's definitely worth buying if you want to learn PHP and MySQL.


Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Excellent Book a Real Must to Have, 23 Nov 2007
This is a really good book, clear and precise. It makes even the difficult tasks look easy!

Good introduction and great value for money., 10 Mar 2004
I have just upgraded from Access 97 to Access to 2003 and I was looking for something new to guide me through the changes. I was suprised that I walked out of the bookshop with this rather than one of the usual suspects. At 766 pages long this book describes itself as a desktop reference and nine books in one. I am not sure I agree completely with those statements. However it goes much further than the normal "Dummies" series by covering Access in impressive detail without losing the clarity which makes the series deservedly popular. This is a really good introduction to Access and, when combined with the price, I would highly recommend it for new starters.

Disapointing, 20 Dec 2007
An excellently written book with very user friendly practice files that walk you through creating forms, reports and some query functions.

However, once read I was still left with questions that I hoped the book would answer. How do you format a ribbon? Only 3 query types are covered and not enough attention is given to reports and forms.

For me, brushing up on access skills after 7 years, it got me back into Access but where is the sequel to finish the course?

I Had high hopes for this book but am disappointed.


Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Buy a different book !, 03 Mar 2008
This has to be the worst teach yourself book I have come across!
There are errors and omissions which will cause the newcomer hours of frustration when the software doesn't do what he expects.
For example in chapter 18, when describing the use of the mysqli_connect() function, the example erroneously gives the code as mysqli().There is no such function!! This is simply shoddy proof reading. Fortunately in this case, the code on the CD is correct. There are other examples which are not so obvious.
Another significant problem is the way the book skips over many details of the set-up of PHP and the way it links to MySQL. For example, there is no mention of tailoring the PHP.INI file to ensure that it loads the appropriate DLL files to run with MySQL. In my case, having set the software up (running under Windows XP) as described in the manual, PHP would not connect to MySQL, and because the book provided no guide as to how to turn on PHP error reporting, I was completely in the dark as to the cause of the problem. It took several hours of searching the web to identify how to turn on error reporting which then enabled me to identify the missing DLL files. Further web searches showed me how to include these PHP components and I now have a working set-up. No thanks to the authors of this book.



A Great PHP and MySQL Starter but..., 04 Jan 2008
I'm two thirds through and found this to be a great introduction to PHP and MySQL. By following the examples and experimenting I have become adept in a language which I had no knowledge of 2 weeks earlier.

The text guides you through the development process, from simple HTML additions to "stateful" HTML Forms which allow development of Shopping Carts, etc. I have plenty of 'C' programming knowledge and found the sections on PHP syntax and string/date manipulation a bit drawn out, but overall the text is well-paced and builds on earlier chapters.

The SQL/MySQL sections cover this complex subject at a fairly high level, but give enough information for you to get started. My objective in reading this book was to understand enough PHP to build an eCommerce site, driven by a MySQL database, and the text has certainly given me the knowledge to do this.

Critisms? Only one - the proof-reading is terrible.

The book's examples often don't run because of some syntax error, or the documented answers are cut-and-paste errors!

$num_tries = (isset($_POST[num_tries])) ? $num_tries + 1 : 0;

may look very similar to what should have been written:

$num_tries = (isset($_POST[num_tries])) ? $_POST[num_tries] + 1 : 0;

...but let me assure you that when you've spent 3 hours trying to figure out why you can't get this new language to work for you then you'll be equally indignant!

So, you decide. As a PHP & MySQL introduction its great, but as for proof-reading Julie Meloni should be speaking with her publisher...

I gave up, 25 Jun 2007
These comments relate to the April 2007 edition.

I'm a complete layman here, having only a rough knowledge of HTML, though I have put together 3 reasonable web sites on the back of this.

I have to say I just got stuck with this book. The first few rungs of the ladder I could climb, but then there seemed to be several rungs missing, and I felt I was expected to jump to the next level, and I couldn't.

To me it felt like there were too many assumptions being made about what I should know before reading the book, and it seemed to lack a clear progression from the simple to the more complex, with each stage building on the last. So, for example, some of the basic starting stuff about PHP is shoved in at the end of a chapter about something else entirely, whereas to my mind it should be trumpeted as the start of the trail of learning.

I can imagine this book might come in useful once I've learned more about PhP, but as a starter book for a non-geek, I can't recommend it. It feels like the author has forgotten what it's like to be a complete beginner.

Sorry for a lukewarm review! I'm not stupid, but I did get stuck!

One of your best options for learning PHP, but forget the MySQL section., 07 Dec 2006
Studying towards a degree in programming, I have access to a large selection of programming books at my institute. Having sampled at least half a dozen PHP books, this was definitely the most help. PHP is a fairly easy language to learn (especially if you have some experience with HTML), although many other books will overcomplicate the learning process by elaborating on small details to a ridiculous extent (think the Wiley 'Bible' books).

This book teaches you everything you need to know to learn PHP's fundamentals and by the time you've finished the PHP section of the book, you'll be capable of writing various PHP scripts. Everything you learn is accompanied with examples. Everything is explained clearly. I didn't find myself losing track even once. Thorough but to the point, this book is my highest recommendation for anybody wishing to learn PHP. A few days after finishing the book, I had written a purely-PHP image gallery interface that thumbnails and displays details for all of the images in a folder on a web server. I had to use forums to finish the gallery off, but the book is owed the main thanks.

As with most programming books, you won't walk away able to program the most complex scripts. "Expert" is a title no book will get you. Luckily, there are countless forums online that will expand your knowledge of the language further than any book on the market.

Unfortunately, the book's section on MySQL is rather poor. It assumes you have foundational knowledge of MySQL's commands and using the command prompt to modify database tables (why would you?). Quite disappointing, really, as the PHP section of the book (almost 300 pages) is fantastic.

Still, this book puts many of the other PHP books out there to shame.

Help for install, 23 Nov 2006
I basically bought this book(2nd ed.) because I was having trouble installing the software from the versions I'd downloaded seperatly. The instructions that came with them seemed to assume you knew what you were doing "simply do this, and change that setting in the thingy" and as a beginner (complete novice) in all three subjects, I had no idea what they were talking about.
So, I bought an earlier version of this book an used it to get everything set up reletively painlesly. Sure it's not an 'in depth' book about any of them, it's not meant to be, the most imortant bits of are the CD, and the first couple of chapters. Once you are up and running, the rest gives you a basic grounding in stuff after which you can read other stuff for the specific info you need.
I would and have recomended this book to friends who want to get all three application up and running on their PC's.

This practical hands-on tutorial expertly builds your skills with Microsoft Office Access 2003#one step at a time! With STEP BY STEP you work at your own pace through easy-to-follow lessons and practice exercises to learn exactly the tools and techniques

A head of the game, 26 Sep 2008
This book is a head of the game, it will teach you the fundamentals of php6 and it tells you when the code is only for php6 (and that php5 code won't work). The good thing about this book is that it teaches you how php and mysql dance together. Don't miss this book, get it while it is still new. Even if you don't know much about mysql this book has an introduction chapter to mysql. I highly recommend this book to all levels except those who are super advanced programmers.

Whoever formatted this book needs to be shot., 15 Sep 2008
This is the worst technical book I have ever attempted to read. Not because of its content, which may or may not be fine, but because of its formatting.

I don't know whether I have a newer edition to everybody else but my copy is formatted in two narrow columns per page, instead of the usual one column.

This makes listings look ridiculous. Lines of code which should fit on one line are instead splayed over 3 or 4 lines.

In one particularly bad example, the page layout went as follows:

Column 1: standard text. Then mid way down column 1 a listing starts. The listing continues to the end of column 1 then goes to the next page, where it goes down column 1 and column 2. You now have to go back two pages to pick up on the standard text, which continued on column 2 of the first page.

The content of this book may well be excellent, I couldn't really say, but its presentation is awful.

Excellent primer for PHP MySQL, 03 Sep 2008
This is an excellent starter for learning how to use PHP/ MySQL.

It goes along at a fair pace, and may be too fast if you don't have previous HTML and programming experience. The separate PHP for the World Wide Web: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)and MySQL: Visual Quickstart Guide (Visual QuickStart Guides)books in this series take this a bit more slowly, so if you're struggling they might be a good place to look.

Otherwise this will quickly introduce you to the concepts and use of both products. I'm still using this when I do some PHP programming, and other members of my team are also using it. It's excellent and the code is all available for download which avoids either losing/ scratching the CD or lots of typing.

The install Appendix A is worth the money alone, as I've used it to install both PHP and MySQL on Windows servers and my Mac at home. It points to easy installs on the web for the Mac.

My only gripe is that the layout is difficult to follow and it was hard to work out what the projects were actually doing, a little more explanation here might be useful.

Otherwise excellent, recommended particularly as PHP/ MySQL are free leaving you with some spare cash to buy this!

excellent communicator, 29 Aug 2008
I bought this book at the same time as 2 others on similar topics. I've hardly used the other 2. This book is well-written, with useful examples and the author has explained the sample code line-by-line... a real help when trying to amend one of his examples to produce something for your own purposes. As a teacher with some experience of HTML/ VB / ASP.NET I found this book really easy to follow.

There are a few very minor typos in the text (not surprising, given the number of pages), but if you visit the author's website there's a full list of corrections. It took me about 5 mins to go through and correct them, so it didn't really reduce the effectiveness of the book.

One feature I've really found useful... there are occasional little tables of other functions that do similar things. There isn't space in the book to describe them all in detail, but knowing the name of a fucntion makes it really easy to find out more using your favourite search engine.

Strongly recommended.

I also boughtHow to Do Everything with PHP and MySQL (How to Do Everything) (which is absolutely useless) and Mysql Crash Course (Sams Teach Yourself) (which is just about OK as a reference, but has awful page layout that makes it really hard to read). This book was far better than either of those.

Perfect starting point, 21 Aug 2008
This books is a perfect starting point for people coming from HTML, CSS and Javascript.

It goes through all the necessary and most basic parts of PHP and MySQL, but doesn't go into any depth with anything. So if you want to become an expert at PHP, you WILL need to get other books as well.

The book is set up in a tutorial fashion, where you are taken through a step by step description of everything.

Having coded PHP for a few years, i still go back to this book to look up stuff i can't quite remember.

It's definitely worth buying if you want to learn PHP and MySQL.


Great little book, 12 Jun 2008
I bought this book because I am a programmer and need to interact with SQL on a daily basis. However...I do not want to know the fine grain details about database management systems. This is a great little book. It is very easy to read and met my needs perfectly. The samples are all easily achievable in 10 minutes, just like it says on the cover. This makes them very easy to scan over for a refresher when you are trying to work out a solution to a problem. It does not go into great details on the more advanced topics, however it does offer a primer on some of them such as transactions and cursors. Overall I would have no hesitation in recommending this book. It won't make you a SQL pro...but it will definitely make you more comfortable in common situations using this query language.

Perfect for beginners, 19 Apr 2008
This is the best book I have seen for people learning SQL from scratch. It takes you through the basics very quickly without assuming prior knowledge. Recommended for anyone with little or no prior SQL experience. You may want a basic SQL reference book to complement it.

You are better off with online tutorials, 27 Jan 2008
I recently wrote a simple database application for a hobby use. I have previous experience with SQL, but I wanted a handy reference to remind me of the basics. Time and time again I found this book useless, and resorted to an online search. I found the organisation of the book odd. If you want to create a simple application to learn with, you have to start from the back, as he tells you how to create a database and tables at the end.

Good Basic Introduction, 10 Dec 2007
This book is a great place to start for SQL. It tells you pretty much everything you are going to need to know for basic database usage. The later chapters on more advanced features such as triggers and stored procedures aren't massively useful as they don't go into enough depth but the author does say that they are only really intended to give you an idea of what you can do, not how to do it.

This book isn't going to teach you everything you need to know about SQL but it will give you the basics quickly and painlessly.


A great (if not simplistic) reference, 19 Jun 2007
This is a great reference for those starting out with SQL, or those just looking for a quick reference book to keep on their desks.

Don't be mistaken tho, it's by no means a complete reference, and doesn't cover any of the advanced SQL, but it's explanation of triggers, stored procedures, and transactions is a great reference to get around those mental syntax blocks

Excellent Book a Real Must to Have, 23 Nov 2007
This is a really good book, clear and precise. It makes even the difficult tasks look easy!

Good introduction and great value for money., 10 Mar 2004
I have just upgraded from Access 97 to Access to 2003 and I was looking for something new to guide me through the changes. I was suprised that I walked out of the bookshop with this rather than one of the usual suspects. At 766 pages long this book describes itself as a desktop reference and nine books in one. I am not sure I agree completely with those statements. However it goes much further than the normal "Dummies" series by covering Access in impressive detail without losing the clarity which makes the series deservedly popular. This is a really good introduction to Access and, when combined with the price, I would highly recommend it for new starters.

Disapointing, 20 Dec 2007
An excellently written book with very user friendly practice files that walk you through creating forms, reports and some query functions.

However, once read I was still left with questions that I hoped the book would answer. How do you format a ribbon? Only 3 query types are covered and not enough attention is given to reports and forms.

For me, brushing up on access skills after 7 years, it got me back into Access but where is the sequel to finish the course?

I Had high hopes for this book but am disappointed.


Very good book regarding SQL, 06 Sep 2008
This is a fair thick volume containing a wealth of knowledge regarding SQL server. Much of the work and example are specific to MS SQL Server 2005, but where this is the case it is clearly pointed out, often with examples to achieve the same effect in previous version given. That said much of the theory (specifically in the initial chapters of the book) are more general and can be applied across all major relational database implementing SQL.

The author is clearly an expert in the field.

The book does contain a chapter on Optimising SQL queries, however it is fairly sparse and should not be used as much more than an introduction and "a few pointers" on what to look for when one begins optimisation.
I look forward to reading "Inside Microsoft® SQL Server(tm) 2005: Query Tuning and Optimization" (another book in the series) but have not done so yet.

The book continues to fairly indepth and advance search techniques, covering subjects such as pivot queries, along with commands like ROLLUP and CUBE.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who has some previous experience in database development and is looking to improve their skills in the field.

An excellent well written book, 04 Mar 2008
I looked through the reviews of the books with SQL in the title and opted for this one as is had the highest number of 5 star reviews.

Having read 5 chapters in the last day my conclusion is that this is one of the best technical computer books I have ever read, and I have quite a few. The progress through the book is well paced with good thought provoking examples. An acceptable number of times I have had to re-read sections to fully understand the concepts and this has noticably improved by understanding of the SQL language.

I would recommend this book to anyone with equivalent experience, which is a few months of SQL table design/querying such that you have the basics already in hand. This moves you on from the basics.

Get this book if you are looking to improve SQL querying. Do not get this book if you are looking to program data access in .Net or something else, get a C# book then.

Thorough explanation of SQL language & much more, 21 Sep 2007
This book is mainly aimed at programmers, but I purchased it along with a number of other books to better understand what SQL is, and how it can help me to write better queries in an ACCESS database, rather than to write programes. This book is authored by some of the worlds experts on the S.Q.L language and of coarse on the dialect T-SQL. I can't say how useful it will be to programmers, but anyone who is in a scientific or technology design job, will find the subject fascinating and will very quickly begin to understand how a server application works. If you don't understand mathematical logic, then I would strongly recommend your finding a book on it first before attempting to read this book, but any design engineer or scientist should be competent enough not to need to read up on the subject. If all you want to do is write better queries for ACCESS databases though you will be better purchasing "Microsoft Access 2003 Forms, Reports, and Queries", which I purchased from Amazon a while ago. If you want to understand the SQL language behind Access purchase this book also.

Fantastic stuff, 14 Feb 2007
I have used SQL for about 20 years and TSQL for about 10 and, although I did not finish the book yet, I am delighted with what I have read so far.
Superb and very clearly explained.
A "must by".

Everyone can learn from this book!, 28 Nov 2006
Itzik is an internationally renown lecturer, trainer and writer who anyone familiar with SQL Server will immediately recognise.
The two books that he has authored in the "Inside SQL Server" series "T-SQL Querying" and "T-SQL Programming" are probably going to be the two defining books on T-SQL written for SQL 2005. They are very well written books, which even the most experienced SQL Server DBA or Developer, will learn from.


Buy a different book !, 03 Mar 2008
This has to be the worst teach yourself book I have come across!
There are errors and omissions which will cause the newcomer hours of frustration when the software doesn't do what he expects.
For example in chapter 18, when describing the use of the mysqli_connect() function, the example erroneously gives the code as mysqli().There is no such function!! This is simply shoddy proof reading. Fortunately in this case, the code on the CD is correct. There are other examples which are not so obvious.
Another significant problem is the way the book skips over many details of the set-up of PHP and the way it links to MySQL. For example, there is no mention of tailoring the PHP.INI file to ensure that it loads the appropriate DLL files to run with MySQL. In my case, having set the software up (running under Windows XP) as described in the manual, PHP would not connect to MySQL, and because the book provided no guide as to how to turn on PHP error reporting, I was completely in the dark as to the cause of the problem. It took several hours of searching the web to identify how to turn on error reporting which then enabled me to identify the missing DLL files. Further web searches showed me how to include these PHP components and I now have a working set-up. No thanks to the authors of this book.



A Great PHP and MySQL Starter but..., 04 Jan 2008
I'm two thirds through and found this to be a great introduction to PHP and MySQL. By following the examples and experimenting I have become adept in a language which I had no knowledge of 2 weeks earlier.

The text guides you through the development process, from simple HTML additions to "stateful" HTML Forms which allow development of Shopping Carts, etc. I have plenty of 'C' programming knowledge and found the sections on PHP syntax and string/date manipulation a bit drawn out, but overall the text is well-paced and builds on earlier chapters.

The SQL/MySQL sections cover this complex subject at a fairly high level, but give enough information for you to get started. My objective in reading this book was to understand enough PHP to build an eCommerce site, driven by a MySQL database, and the text has certainly given me the knowledge to do this.

Critisms? Only one - the proof-reading is terrible.

The book's examples often don't run because of some syntax error, or the documented answers are cut-and-paste errors!

$num_tries = (isset($_POST[num_tries])) ? $num_tries + 1 : 0;

may look very similar to what should have been written:

$num_tries = (isset($_POST[num_tries])) ? $_POST[num_tries] + 1 : 0;

...but let me assure you that when you've spent 3 hours trying to figure out why you can't get this new language to work for you then you'll be equally indignant!

So, you decide. As a PHP & MySQL introduction its great, but as for proof-reading Julie Meloni should be speaking with her publisher...

I gave up, 25 Jun 2007
These comments relate to the April 2007 edition.

I'm a complete layman here, having only a rough knowledge of HTML, though I have put together 3 reasonable web sites on the back of this.

I have to say I just got stuck with this book. The first few rungs of the ladder I could climb, but then there seemed to be several rungs missing, and I felt I was expected to jump to the next level, and I couldn't.

To me it felt like there were too many assumptions being made about what I should know before reading the book, and it seemed to lack a clear progression from the simple to the more complex, with each stage building on the last. So, for example, some of the basic starting stuff about PHP is shoved in at the end of a chapter about something else entirely, whereas to my mind it should be trumpeted as the start of the trail of learning.

I can imagine this book might come in useful once I've learned more about PhP, but as a starter book for a non-geek, I can't recommend it. It feels like the author has forgotten what it's like to be a complete beginner.

Sorry for a lukewarm review! I'm not stupid, but I did get stuck!

One of your best options for learning PHP, but forget the MySQL section., 07 Dec 2006
Studying towards a degree in programming, I have access to a large selection of programming books at my institute. Having sampled at least half a dozen PHP books, this was definitely the most help. PHP is a fairly easy language to learn (especially if you have some experience with HTML), although many other books will overcomplicate the learning process by elaborating on small details to a ridiculous extent (think the Wiley 'Bible' books).

This book teaches you everything you need to know to learn PHP's fundamentals and by the time you've finished the PHP section of the book, you'll be capable of writing various PHP scripts. Everything you learn is accompanied with examples. Everything is explained clearly. I didn't find myself losing track even once. Thorough but to the point, this book is my highest recommendation for anybody wishing to learn PHP. A few days after finishing the book, I had written a purely-PHP image gallery interface that thumbnails and displays details for all of the images in a folder on a web server. I had to use forums to finish the gallery off, but the book is owed the main thanks.

As with most programming books, you won't walk away able to program the most complex scripts. "Expert" is a title no book will get you. Luckily, there are countless forums online that will expand your knowledge of the language further than any book on the market.

Unfortunately, the book's section on MySQL is rather poor. It assumes you have foundational knowledge of MySQL's commands and using the command prompt to modify database tables (why would you?). Quite disappointing, really, as the PHP section of the book (almost 300 pages) is fantastic.

Still, this book puts many of the other PHP books out there to shame.

Help for install, 23 Nov 2006
I basically bought this book(2nd ed.) because I was having trouble installing the software from the versions I'd downloaded seperatly. The instructions that came with them seemed to assume you knew what you were doing "simply do this, and change that setting in the thingy" and as a beginner (complete novice) in all three subjects, I had no idea what they were talking about.
So, I bought an earlier version of this book an used it to get everything set up reletively painlesly. Sure it's not an 'in depth' book about any of them, it's not meant to be, the most imortant bits of are the CD, and the first couple of chapters. Once you are up and running, the rest gives you a basic grounding in stuff after which you can read other stuff for the specific info you need.
I would and have recomended this book to friends who want to get all three application up and running on their PC's.

Great book to start things off with, 05 May 2007
If you're looking for a book to get you started with access then this is it.

Before I picked up this book I had no real knowledge of how to do anything with access and couldn't get my head around it. This helped no end and continues to do so, even now when i'm earning a living with access. Whilst it misses some key areas out in any reasonable detail. You really should get this and learn it as step 1. There are many steps still to take however this will get you going.

Access 2003 Step by Step......Brilliant, 06 Feb 2005
What an easy to follow book.

This book really shows how easy Microsoft Access 2003 can be to use. It doesn't go into great detail about some of the more complex aspects of Access, but then it's not meant too. What it does do is give you a solid, well structured introduction to this brilliant piece of software and leaves you feeling confident about using Access in the future. This won't be the last Step by Step book I purchase.

EXCELLENT INTRODUCTION, 22 Nov 2004
This book got me over my "blind spot" where Access was concerned. It is very carefully and very thoroughly structured. It comes with a CD of ready made databases and exercises which use them.

You will need separate books to generate online interactive databases, and to get to grips with VBA coding, but FIRST, before attempting to run, let this book walk you through the basics.

For Access Beginners, an excellent, patient, careful teacher. Buy it.