From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble Review
At last count, more than 22 million web domains were using PHP. But they’re not all using it as well or as creatively as they could be. That’s where PHP Hacks comes in.
This book’s been crafted to help you bring best practices into all your PHP scripts. Author Jack Herrington sees the same problems in too many PHP apps: poor database design and use; code embedded directly on pages; processing during page builds; inadequate security; and so forth. So he’s provided techniques and code samples to help you avoid those problems.
Best practices aside, this book’s just plain useful. Up front, there’s a full chapter of web design techniques: building those popular "breadcrumb trails," creating skinnable interfaces, adding tabs to your web interface, sending HTML mail and IM messages, and plenty more. You’ll create SVG graphics and use PHP’s image toolkit to generate graphs.
There’s an extensive collection of database and XML techniques: from designing better SQL schema to scraping web pages and searching Word documents. There are 16 great application design ideas, from encrypting passwords to tracking where your guests are coming from. There’s a tip on simplifying AJAX implementation. There’s a full chapter on using patterns. (And, to make up for that, there’s fun stuff like creating custom Google maps and checking Half-Life servers.)
Of course you can use PHP Hacks as a cookbook. But you can also use it as a launch pad for all sorts of creative coding. Herrington’s crafted his techniques to trigger inspiration: in fact, many have "hacking the hack" sections suggesting cool tweaks. Simply put, if you’re an experienced PHP programmer, this book will be a treat. Bill Camarda, from the March 2006 Read Only
From the Publisher
Programmers love its flexibility and speed; designers love its accessibility and convenience. When it comes to creating web sites, the PHP scripting language is truly a red-hot property. In fact, PHP is currently used on more than 19 million web sites, surpassing Microsoft's ASP.NET technology in popularity. Not surprisingly, this surge in usage has resulted in a number of PHP books hitting the market. Only one, though, takes the language beyond traditional Web programming and into mapping, graphing, multimedia, and beyond: PHP Hacks.
In PHP Hacks, author Jack D. Herrington draws on his 20 years of code generation experience to deliver hands-on tools ranging from basic PHP and PEAR installation and scripting to advanced multimedia and database optimizing tricks.
On the practical side of things, PHP Hacks helps you develop more robust PHP applications by explaining how to improve your database design, automate application testing, and employ design patterns in your PHP scripts and classes. In the category of "cool," Herrington explains how to upgrade your Web interface through the creation of tabs, stickies, pop ups, and calendars. He even examines how to leverage maps and graphics in PHP. There's also a bounty of image and application hacks, including those that show you how to: Integrate web sites with Google maps and satellite imaging, Dynamically display iPhoto libraries online, Add IRC, SMS, and instant messaging capabilities to your Web applications, Drop the latest Wikipedia dictionary onto your Sony PSP, Render graphics and user interfaces with SVG, DHTML, and Ajax. Whether you're a newcomer or an expert, you'll find great value in PHP Hacks, the only PHP guide that offers something useful and fun for everyone.
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