Textbooks
No single textbook that I have found covers everything I want to cover in the way I want it covered. As such, we will be drawing upon several different books. All are available as online resources from the UNH Library, but if you find it difficult to read large amounts of text online (or want to start building a solid Web developer’s reference library of your own, you may want to consider purchasing one or more of them.
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Learning PHP 5
David Sklar
O’Reilly, 2004
ISBN: 0-596-00560-1
Available as an electronic
resource from the UNH Library
You will be expected to read most of this book
by the end of the semester. If you can buy only one book
for the course. Make it this one.
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Web Database Applications with
PHP and MySQL 2nd Edition
Hugh E. Williams & David Lane
O’Reilly, 2004
ISBN: 0-596-005436
Available as an electronic
resource from the UNH Library
The Sklar book is meant to be an overview at an
introductory level. Since we will be learning PHP and MySQL at an intermediate
level, we will occasionally need to tackle readings beyond the level
Sklar provides, Throughout the semester, you will be required to read
four chapters and two appendices from this book. There will also be
several recommended supplementary readings drawn from this book. In
addition, you will probably find this book a valuable reference if
you continue to work with PHP and MySQL after you complete this course.
If you can afford to buy two books for the course, I would recommend
this one in addition to Sklar.
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Core Web Application Development
with PHP and MySQL
Marc Wandschneider
Prentice Hall/PTR, 2006
ISBN: 0-13-186716-4
Available as an electronic
resource from the UNH Library
Unfortunately, neither Sklar nor Williams/Lane
presents a particularly good perspective on basic database
theory. Therefore, when we begin discussing this important
topic, you will be assigned four chapters from this book.
It’s
a good book, but I think Sklar is much more readable for
the basics and Williams/Lane is as least as good for the
majority of the intermedate and advanced material. As such,
if you cannot purchase all three books, this would be the
one I would consider least important (and the one requiring
the least online reading.)
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I have ordered the Sklar book at the Durham Book Exchange, and you should find both it and the others readily available at most online booksellers. You should plan on making whatever purchases you deem appropriate early in the semester. If you wait too long, you may find that the Sklar book is no longer available in Durham and that you must order all of them elsewhere.
If you wish to share one or more of these books with a classmate, this is acceptable. However, you are responsible for working out a mutually agreeable system to ensure that both of you are able to access the books when you need them.