PHP Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition
March 10th, 2010 by CGI & PHP.com
- ISBN13: 9780596004026
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Simple, to the point, and compact–in fact, exactly what you've come to expect in an O'Reilly Pocket Reference–the second edition of PHP Pocket Reference is thoroughly updated to include the specifics of PHP 4, the language's latest version. Written by the founder of the PHP Project, Rasmus Lerdorf, PHP Pocket Reference is both a handy introduction to PHP syntax and structure, and a quick reference to the vast array of functions provided by PHP. The quick reference… More >>
PHP Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition
Popularity: 3% [?]
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March 10th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
It's been said by prior reviewers, but just in case you missed it: This book has no index.
ORA should put out PHP In A Nutshell, rather than just PHP Pocket Reference.
Rating: 3 / 5
March 10th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
I can really recommend this book if you know PHP and need a fast and simple way to look up a function or something else.. Easy to find very thing in the book and i would like to see the next version of this book for PHP 4 when that will be released!
Rating: 5 / 5
March 10th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Synopsis:
At this point, when considering purchasing this book, I'd say get a real reference if you want to learn PHP, or if you need a big function reference off-line, then install the help that comes with PHP or just use php.net on-line. This book might be marginally okay for bathroom reading, but otherwise, it really needs to be updated. The reference only covers through PHP 4 which is now unsupported. The way things are done in PHP 5 have changed enough that it's time to deprecate this resource.
Details:
I've owned this pocket reference since it was published in '02 and put it away when I switched to Perl as my primary language in '04 till this year. Now that I'm back to PHP again, I'm reminded of how annoying it is to use this book. The tips at the front of the book are good, but the function reference is difficult to use at best. I'm terribly surprised that O'Reilly hasn't worked with Mr. Lerdorf for a new version. I own lots of O'Reilly materials, many of them pocket references. I don't believe this is up to O'Reilly standards for pocket references. If given a chance to review a new version of this reference, I'd push hard for significant changes, especially to formatting. Other reviewers correctly identified issues with function descriptions. There are times when a pocket reference like this deserves to skip descriptions when the description doesn't add any value to what's already obvious.
Hit(s):
o Contains basic PHP syntax information
Miss(es):
o The latest PHP version covered in this book is no longer supported
o Function listing is grouped in a manner that doesn't make sense to most readers
o Function descriptions are often worthless
Rating: 2 / 5
March 10th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
If you can code you already know PHP, you just need to be "reminded" of all the built in functions and a few little details. This book does just that, cheaply.
Some CGI background is helpfull if you have never done any web programming, but any intelligent programmer should be coding PHP in half an hour with this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
March 11th, 2010 at 1:40 am
If you can code you already know PHP, you just need to be "reminded" of all the built in functions and a few little details. This book does just that, cheaply.
Some CGI background is helpfull if you have never done any web programming, but any intelligent programmer should be coding PHP in half an hour with this book.
Rating: 5 / 5