Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Websites, by Robin Nixon

August 28, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, Javascript, Non-fiction, PHP, web design 

This excellent book by Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic WebsitesRobin Nixon has a broader scope than the more recent Plug-in PHP – 100 power solutions, by Robin Nixon. Here the goal is to teach people who already knows HTML the basics of the other languages required for producing modern, interactive and dynamic web pages – that is, PHP, Javascript and MySQL. If you learn to master these, you have the tools in place to produce a Web 2.0 site and be totally up to date; you’ll be ready to crank out responsive, data-driven websites!

Nixon is well versed in these techniques, and does a great job in showing how the powerful combination of PHP and MySQL workds together and how adding JavaScript can contribute to the creation of rich Internet applications and websites.

Learning PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript explains each technology separately, shows you how to combine them, and introduces valuable web programming concepts, including objects, XHTML, cookies, and session management. You’ll practice what you’ve learned with review questions in each chapter, and find a sample social networking platform built with the elements introduced in this book.

Using this book you will learn to:

  • Understand PHP essentials and the basics of object-oriented programming
  • Master MySQL, from database structure to complex queries
  • Create web pages with PHP and MySQL by integrating forms and other HTML features
  • Learn about JavaScript, from functions and event handling to accessing the Document Object Model
  • Use libraries and packages, including the Smarty web template system, PEAR program repository, and the Yahoo! User Interface Library
  • Make Ajax calls and turn your website into a highly dynamic environment
  • Upload and manipulate files and images, validate user input, and secure your applications

I have spent lots of time with this book and have learned a lot from it. I have looked into several of the coding examples, and all of the ones I looked into worked. In addition to the great content, I also appreciated the crisp and clear presentational style, and do not hesitate to recommend it to others!

Links to books by Robin Nixon at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon CAN.

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This Quiet Dust, and Other Writings, by William Styron

July 10, 2010 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: book review, Fiction, Short stories, William Styron 

There is no doubt that This Quiet Dust, William StyronWilliam Styron is one of America’s greatest contemporary writers. He wonderful writing can also be witnessed in this collection of short pieces; even though it is perhaps a little stiffer than usual in his writings. The stories cover a wide range of topics and contain his views and reflections, his observations on the state of the world and the ways of the world as he sees it.

This interesting collection includes considerations of Scott Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and others, as well as a re-evaluation of Thomas Wolfe, a review of Malcolm Cowley’s ”A Second Flowering”, as well as a piece on James Jones. It also contains articles about the battlefields of Vietnam and about Auschwitz. A wide range of writings written by a man with a wide range of interests, and who is engaged in the world he lives in and has spent a lot of time pondering a range of diverse topics. Styron was a writer who was willing to confront significant moral questions.

This is a collection you should read if you are interested in learning more about William Styron and his views. It is not a book you should start with if you have not read any of Styron’s novels yet. In that case, I would rather recommend The Confessions of Nat Turner or the magnificent Sophie’s Choice.

Praise for This Quiet Dust:

“Styron is pre-eminent…in his instinct for tragedy and in his respect for the sheer force of human feeling.” — Alfred Kazin

“[Styron is] the most accomplished craftsman, and one of the most penetrating witnesses of our life.” — Associated Press — Review

Links to books by William Styron at Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Amazon CAN.

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