I recently bought both volumes and am currently reading them. They both provide very good examples in an easy to read and understand format. I am a little disappointed in the coverage of php5, however. The cover proudly displays a "PHP 5 Ready" label, but it seems like this constitutes just a couple paragraphs added here and there to the old version. Also there is much talk about MySQL, but again it's not version 5.

Overall it is a very good resource aimed at the beginning or next level programmer, but probably best to wait for the next addition truly devoted to php5. In the meantime I would recommend "PHP and MySQL Web Development" by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson.

I would also recommend checking out Harry Fuecks' (the author of this book) articles on sitepoint.com. Very good.

There were so many details in this book that I attempted to find on-line, but had no luck. This book is worth ten times its price. Great job! Thanks.

This is a great book!
I bought about 10 PHP books to help me with a web project involving MySQL/PHP. I am a professional Java developer, therefore the principles of PHP are not hard to grasp. Still, everything is different in PHP, and before I saw this book I had the impression that the majority of PHP developers are hacking, cutting and pasting examples into procedural code at random.

After getting started using "PHP and MySQL Web Develpment" by Luke Wellling and Laura Thompson (highly recommended) this book brought me to a level that I can now clain to be a professional PHP programmer too.

This book clearly shows that it is possible to develop PHP in an organized way, using proper design, good object-oriented principles and design patterns (in vol.II). Besides that, there are many practical tips about things I found really difficult as Java programmer: magical quotes, .ini file settings, & references, file downloads, paging result tables, etc. etc. The book is clearly written and answers every question from the standpoint of how to do something using good design and how to write code that is maintainable, extensible and reusable.

With so many books on the market instructing users on dummy approaches to just about everything, it is good to see that Sitepoint has raised the bar, once again, in the technical instruction arena. In continuing the legacy established with "Build Your Own Website Using PHP & MySQL" and "HTML Utopia:Designing Without Tables Using CSS", they have taken a
complex and oft misunderstood approach to coding and presented PHP in a dymystified way that is easy to understand, exciting to conceptualize and practical in application. Harry Fuecks brings a great deal of experience and leadership to Sitepoint, giving the users a way to take linear procedural code and turn it into reusable objects for easier coding. These books will sit on my "favorites" shelf within arms reach of my computer for a long time to come. Kudos, Sitepoint, on yet another stellar release.
~Aaron Brazell, Emmense Technologies

Having bought a few beginner's books on PHP and written a basic CMS for my Website, I was ready to move to the step. What I didn't want is a reference book or a 800 page theory & fluff book that I would never finish reading -- much less use.

Being a previous customer of this publisher, I got an offer to pre-order the book. Since it sounded like it fit the bill and I got a discount for buying both Volume I & II, I decided to go ahead with it.

Having read through half of the first volume, and skimmed through the second volume, I can definitely say that this title has met my expectations. There's quite a few ideas that I can put to use right away, plus I found quite a few things that I now want to offer to my site visitors that this book will make possible.

Because of the way the book is written, I don't have to read through it front to back. I can flip to specific sections, and in a few pages, learn to accomplish a specific task. This is one PHP book - or I should say books - that gets my thumbs up. It's definitely going to get put to good use over the next few weeks.

Having bought a few beginner's books on PHP and written a basic CMS for my Website, I was ready to move to the step. What I didn't want is a reference book or a 800 page theory & fluff book that I would never finish reading -- much less use.

Being a previous customer of this publisher, I got an offer to pre-order the book. Since it sounded like it fit the bill and I got a discount for buying both Volume I & II, I decided to go ahead with it.

Having read through half of the first volume, and skimmed through the second volume, I can definitely say that this title has met my expectations. There's quite a few ideas that I can put to use right away, plus I found quite a few things that I now want to offer to my site visitors that this book will make possible.

Because of the way the book is written, I don't have to read through it front to back. I can flip to specific sections, and in a few pages, learn to accomplish a specific task. This is one PHP book - or I should say books - that gets my thumbs up. It's definitely going to get put to good use over the next few weeks.