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Press Release: September 6, 2006

PHP Cookbook, Second Edition: Recipes to Make PHP Programming as Productive as Possible

Sebastopol, CA--PHP is probably the most popular scripting language on the web today, used in more than twenty million websites. As David Sklar and Adam Trachtenberg, authors of PHP Cookbook, Second Edition (O'Reilly, US $44.99) say, "PHP is the engine behind millions of dynamic web applications. Its broad feature set, approachable syntax, and support for different operating systems and web servers have made it an ideal language for both rapid web development and the methodical construction of complex systems."

Adam and David continue, "One of the major reasons for PHP's success as a web scripting language is its origins as a tool to process HTML forms and create web pages. This makes PHP very web-friendly. Additionally, it is eagerly promiscuous when it comes to external applications and libraries. PHP can speak to a multitude of databases, and it knows numerous Internet protocols. PHP also makes it simple to parse form data and make HTTP requests."

This diversity and web-focus in PHP is reflected in the new second edition of the PHP Cookbook. PHP programmers are constantly facing challenges on a wide range of subjects and the more than 250 recipes in the book address this, covering such diverse topics as:

  • Form handling
  • Database interaction
  • Session management
  • Using web services
  • The second edition has been fully updated to cover PHP 5 and includes several new topics such as:

  • Processing XML
  • Building web services with PHP
  • Interacting with JavaScript
  • Working with SOAP and REST architectures
  • AJAX
  • PDO
  • The book is primarily for programmers who need to solve problems with PHP. Those who are already familiar with PHP can use it to overcome specific problems and get on with their lives (or at least their programming activities.) The PHP Cookbook can also show readers how to accomplish a particular task in PHP that they may already know how to do in another language, such as sending email or writing a SOAP server. PHP Cookbook, Second Edition offers a wealth of solutions for problems that programmers face regularly and will quickly earn its place on any developer's bookshelf.

    Praise for the previous edition:

    "The PHP Cookbook should be on every PHP programmer's bookshelf. It's an excellent desktop reference that provides quick solutions to common problems...The PHP Cookbook managed to cover every topic I could have hoped for...Rating: 4.5/5. I don't know how I ever got along without this book. I've been very pleased with the PHP Cookbook and now find myself using it daily."
    --Chrispian Burks, WebDevReviews.com

    "If this book was a painting it would certainly be a Van Gogh, you can just tell that an extreme amount of hard work has went into the production of this masterpiece...Overall I have to say its the best PHP (and programming/scripting) book I have ever read and, look forward, excitingly, to using my new found knowledge gained from it."
    --Stuart Cochrane, PHP-Editors.com

    "What should we expect from the PHP Cookbook (PC)...To reflect its subject, PC should be practical, down-to-earth...And it is! PC is an easily digested collection of close to three hundred recipes authored by two deeply experienced PHP professionals."
    --Cameron Laird, UnixReview.com

    Further reviews of the first edition of PHP Cookbook

    Additional Resources:

    PHP Cookbook, Second Edition
    Adam Trachtenberg and David Sklar
    ISBN: 0-596-10101-5, 810 pages, $44.99 US
    [email protected]
    1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000

    About O’Reilly

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