Php Developer's Cookbook [Paperback]

Bringing together hundreds of problems and solutions, PHP Developer's Cookbook is an excellent resource for any PHP developer. Both the authors are members of the PHP development team, and with a foreword from Rasmus Lerdorf, the creator of PHP, there is no doubting the book's authority. The introduction notes that some sections cover previously undocumented material, making it particularly valuable for advanced PHP programmers. It is based on PHP 4.

Each chapter follows the same basic format. A short problem, such as "you want to find the time that has elapsed between two dates", is followed by a solution, usually with example code. Next comes a discussion section, typically full of interesting comments and insights. There are generally 10 to 15 problems in a chapter, and there are 23 chapters, so a lot of material is covered.

The first and longest part of the book covers language techniques, from basic tips and hints through to illuminating chapters on session handling and Web automation. The second short part tackles databases, and then the third part mainly covers communications, including e-mail, directory queries and socket programming. There is also an interesting snippet about working with COM or Java objects. Part four is about generating images and parsing XML, while the final part shows how to extend PHP with the Zend API. Appendixes cover troubleshooting, online resources and PHP 4 migration issues. Overall, a recommended title for anyone who wants to get the best from this superb open-source server-side scripting language. --Tim Anderson

PHP Developer's Cookbook is a task-oriented book intended to offer solutions to the daily problems and goals the PHP developer faces.

In addition to a brief introduction to PHP, the main content of the book is presented in a problem and solution format, logically organized on a topic-by-topic basis. Each question specifies a goal, and the following text provides a detailed solution that achieves the stated goal along with any additional related information.

After a crash course in the basics, the PHP Developer's Cookbook covers more advanced development topics. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Sterling Hughes is a freelance Web developer, creating dynamic Web applications in PHP, C, and Perl for Fortune 500 companies. He is one of the authors of the PHP documentation and he has written articles on PHP for Web Reference, Zend.com, and Web Techniques. Andrei Zmievski is the lead development engineer and open source researcher at ispi, where he works on e-commerce and Web publishing projects. He is a member of the PHP core development group and has contributed to several other open source projects.