Sams Teach Yourself PHP, MySQL, and Apache by Julie Melonie
Monday, 26 October 2009 @ 22:34As you can guess from the title, this book is a primer geared towards beginning AMP developers. I’ve probably read half a dozen books like this over the last year, and this is one of the best I’ve seen.
Melonie is the Technical Director at i2i Interactive in Los Altos, Callifornia, and has written 8 books on web development topics, mostly centered around PHP and MySQL. This book assumes no previous knowledge of PHP or MySQL. The only real requirement is a working knowledge of HTML. Melonie explains the material in a clear, non-intimidating fashion which makes it truly accessible to anyone. She does a good job of explaining concepts that are often difficult for new programmers (such as objects), and gives plenty of examples to illustrate.
One thing that’s missing from a lot of other introductory books is the Apache piece. I like that this book dedicates some time to Apache besides just the usual cursory overview of how to install it. Melonie explains what you need to know about the Apache configuration file, and covers some useful topics like implementing virtual hosting and setting up a secure web server.
Final word: I can definitely recommend this book as a good starter for anyone wanting to get their feet wet in AMP development. It could probably even serve as a refresher for more experienced developers, or a reference for anyone.
