Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Review of Learning PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and CSS, 2nd Edition A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Websites



Learning PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, and CSS, 2nd Edition
A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Websites

Back in the ‘90s I started getting into computers really heavily. I learned how to repair them, as well as to create websites. I learned to use a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, but soon realized that it was just too limiting. In order to have more control over my webpages, I learned how to hard code in HTML, which is an acronym for Hyper Text Markup Language.  This gave me, at the time, fantastic control over how my webpages looked.

Soon I wanted to learn how to program in other languages, particularly in C, C++ and Assembly Language, and various forms of Basic. I actually took a course for GW-Basic, but I learned more by playing around with QB4.5. I was good enough in C that I could take the examples from Microsoft Quick C and change it to do what I wanted. I could tell someone else how to write a simple little program that would echo their name on screen in colors, without having to look up anything from a book. At the time, I lived with an engineer and knew a few others who were also into computers, although none of them programmed in C. Then I moved back to WV, and where I was living I no longer had access to people who were into technology such as learning to program. Don’t get me wrong, there are people who are very good at what they do. But being a woman, many people (which goes for other geophysical locations as well), just worked against me at that time. I forgot almost everything I knew. 

A few years pass and I decided to get back into programming, and this is where this book comes into play. I have been reading this book, installed the various suggested software, and am in the process of trying out the example code. I can actually see what he means because of his writing style and grasp of the concepts. If any of you have ADHD which is an acronym for attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, then you know how hard it is to focus on things that are boring. Regardless of how much you need or even want to know the material, it isn’t happening. So for someone to write a programming book in a manner and style so interesting that I can follow it and not lose interest, as well as learn from it, then it is nothing short of a miracle.  I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn PHP, CSS, and JavaScript, and wants to learn how to create dynamic websites.

 I have an account at Amazon and I have a Kindle, so I’m always interested in books for the Kindle, since I can have it right there reading while I’m working on something. I wanted to know if there were any free Kindle books on programming. I saw a couple by Robin Nixon. I want to know about people who write books when they are exceptional, and I liked what I read about him. He mentioned that you can get a free copy of his book in exchange for a review. To me, that was a perfect win-win situation.  I get to read a book, and hopefully learn from it in exchange for writing a review. How cool is that? I’ve told a few people about it. I also dropped Mr. Nixon an email and told him I would love to read his book in exchange for a review. A couple or so weeks later, I received an email about it. I also signed up for O’Reilly’s Blogger program.
You can pick up your copy at either O’Reilly’s or Amazon as well as many fine bookstores, both online and off.




No comments: