Great programming books dwell more in the realm of the practical than of the academic. Although I
have no illusions regarding my place among the great technical authors of our time, it is always my goal
to write with practicality in mind, providing instruction that you can apply to your own situation. Given
the size of this book, it's probably apparent that I also tried to squeeze out every last drop of such
practicality from the subject matter. That said, if you're interested in gaining practical and
comprehensive insight into the PHP programming language and MySQL database, and how these
prominent technologies can be used together to create dynamic, database-driven web applications, this
book is for you.
The feverish work of the respective PHP and MySQL communities prompted this new edition—and
with it considerable changes over
the previous version. In addition to updating the material to reflect
features found in the latest PHP and MySQL releases, you'll find a new chapter introducing the concept
of AJAX and the popular jQuery JavaScript library. Furthermore, all existing chapters have been carefully
revised, and in some cases heavily modified, in order to both update and improve upon the previous
edition's material.
If you're new to PHP, I recommend beginning with Chapter 1, because it's likely that first gaining
fundamental knowledge will be of considerable benefit when reading later chapters. If you know PHP
but are new to MySQL, consider beginning with Chapter 25. Intermediate and advanced readers are
invited to jump around as necessary; after all, this isn't a romance novel. Regardless of your reading
strategy, I've attempted to compartamentalize the material found in each chapter so you can quickly
learn each topic without having to necessarily master other chapters beyond those that concentrate on
the technology fundamentals.
Furthermore, novices and seasoned PHP/MySQL developers alike have something to gain from this
book, as I've intentionally organized it in a hybrid format of both tutorial and reference. I appreciate the
fact that you have traded hard-earned cash for this book and have therefore strived to present the
material in a fashion that will prove useful not only the first few times you peruse it, but far into the
future.
