PHP Book Reviews
  Home arrow PHP Book Reviews arrow Essential PHP Tools
Codewalker Forums 
  Tutorials  
Database Articles  
Miscellaneous  
Navigation Usability  
PEAR Articles  
Programming Basics  
Server Administration  
XML Tutorials  
  Reviews  
Database Book Reviews  
Linux Book Reviews  
Miscellaneous Reviews  
PHP Book Reviews  
PHP Software Reviews  
Server Admin Reviews  
SQL Tool Reviews  
  Code Gallery  
Content Management Code  
Contest Code  
Counters Code  
Database Code  
Date Time Code  
Discussion Board Code  
Email Code  
File Manipulation Code  
GUI Code  
Link Farm Code  
Miscellaneous Code  
Search Code  
Site Navigation Code  
User Management Code  
Mobile Linux 
App Generation ROI 
IBM® developerWorks 
Download TestComplete 
Forums Sitemap 
Weekly Newsletter 
 
Developer Updates  
Free Website Content 
 RSS  Articles
 RSS  Forums
 RSS  All Feeds
Write For Us Get Paid 
Request Media Kit
Contact Us 
Site Map 
Privacy Policy 
Support 
 USERNAME
 
 PASSWORD
 
 
  >>> SIGN UP!  
  Lost Password? 
PHP BOOK REVIEWS

Essential PHP Tools
By: bluephoenix
  • Search For More Articles!
  • Disclaimer
  • Author Terms
  • Rating: 5 stars5 stars5 stars5 stars5 stars / 1
    2004-08-19

    Table of Contents:

    Rate this Article: Poor Best 
      ADD THIS ARTICLE TO:
      Del.ici.ous Digg
      Blink Simpy
      Google Spurl
      Y! MyWeb Furl
    Email Me Similar Content When Posted
    Add Developer Shed Article Feed To Your Site
    Email Article To Friend
    Print Version Of Article
    PDF Version Of Article
     
     
    ADVERTISEMENT


    Essential PHP Tools: Modules, Extensions and Accelerators
    By David Sklar
    Published 2004 by Apress

    I've never been a fan of the phrase "don't reinvent the wheel," but it turns out I am a big fan of David Sklar's book, Essential PHP Tools: Modules, Extensions and Accelerators. I knew the first time I held it that I was holding something exciting. Sklar has written an excellent book introducing the intermediate PHP programmer to some of the many PHP add-ons and classes that can help avoid wheel reinvention and make programming easier.

    Published by Apress, the book consists of 13 chapters sectioned into 5 parts. The first part discusses PEAR::DB and ADODB, two abstraction layers which can be used to interface with various databases. The second part details HTML_QuickForm and Smarty, two packages aimed at assisting with HTML generation.

    Part three explores parsing and using XML in PHP and covers the XML-RPC and SOAP modules and SimpleXML. Part Four focuses on such network tasks as sending email and authenticating users by covering Mail, Mail_mime, Auth and Auth_HTTP.

    Finally, part five provides an overview of the internal workings of PHP and how it tokenizes and processes a script, and then reviews debugging, caching and optimizing your PHP code.

    While not all the modules covered were part of the PHP Extensions and Applications Repository, many were and so Sklar also covered the installation and use of the PEAR Package Manager.

    The book rightfully bills itself as an essential guide to some of the best free add-ons to PHP. It does a great service to the PHP community by documenting many useful modules that have only been lightly documented.

    Sklar's writing is clear, concise and accurate. I enjoyed reading through the sections that covered extensions I'm already familiar with and learning about new ones I wasn't. I stayed up clear past my "bedtime" several nights while implementing the covered modules in my program, unable to pull myself away.

    It's also nice that this book is written for both PHP 4 and 5; with a forward mindset, one doesn't have to worry about the content going stale in 6 months.

    The book is a definite recommendation for intermediate to advanced programmers both as a text and as a reference. It certainly has earned itself a spot on my frequently-used bookshelf!


    DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

    More PHP Book Reviews Articles
    More By bluephoenix

     

    IBM® developerWorks developerWorks - FREE Tools!


    IBM DB2 Deep Compression ROI Tool

    The IBM DB2 Deep Compression ROI tool is designed for DBA’s and IT management personnel to perform a clinical analysis of the cost savings gained from the Storage Optimization feature of DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX and Windows. The feature, also known as Deep Compression, compresses data that lies within a database by up to 80% at times.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! "ebook: Exploring IBM SOA Technology & Practice

    Learn field-tested SOA principles, methodology, technology and implementation from the global SOA market leader - in a new e-book by an IBM SOA expert. Written by IBM Certified SOA Solution Designer Bobby Woolf, "Exploring IBM SOA Technology & Practice" is the ultimate insider's guide to SOA - a PDF e-book packed cover to cover with IBM's specific advice on how to make your SOA implementation a success.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Achieving True Agility -- How process can change the behavior of your tools

    Achieving true agility is a never-ending effort. We will showcase how you can become agile incrementally, a few practices at the time.Which practices should any agile team strive to adopt? What additional practices should you consider based on your needs to scale? Adopting practices are however made much easier with the right tool support. What about if your tools adapt to your practices? We will take a look at how the Jazz technology can be leveraged to make your process change the behavior of your tools.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Build Web services with transport-level security using Rational Application Developer V7, Part 1: Build Web services and Web services clients

    Build secure Web services with transport-level security using IBM Rational Application Developer V7 and IBM WebSphere Application Server V6.1. Follow this three-part series for step-by-step instructions about how to develop Web services and clients, configure HTTP basic authentication, and configure HTTP over SSL (HTTPS). This first part of the series walks you through building a Web service for a simple calculator application. You generate and test two different types of Web services clients: a Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) client and a stand-alone Java client. You also handle user-defined exceptions in Web services.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Evaluate IBM Lotus Sametime Standard V8.0

    Visit IBM developerWorks to download a free trial of the latest release of IBM Lotus Sametime Standard V8.0. Lotus Sametime Standard V8.0 is a platform for unified communications and collaboration that combines security features with an extensible, open solution including integrated Voice over IP, geographic location awareness, mobile clients, and a robust Business Partner community offering telephony and video integration.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Evaluate IBM Rational Developer for System i V7.1

    Download a free trial version of IBM Rational Developer for System i V7.1, which provides a complete development environment for traditional i5/OS application development. IBM Rational Developer for System i is a new eclipse-based workstation offering for i5/OS application development that provides a comprehensive Integrated Development Environment for edit/compile/debug of traditional RPG/COBOL/C/C++ i5/OS applications.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! IBM Rational Systems Development e-Kit

    As systems increase in complexity, communication between systems and software teams becomes more and more difficult. Now, there’s a way to improve product quality and communication.<br />Read the “Model Driven Systems Development” white paper to see how. Also included in this kit are more educational white papers, customer examples, tutorials, informative Webcasts, and best practices for designing, building and managing systems.<br />
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Rational Build Forge Express eKit

    Rational Build Forge Express Edition is an automation framework that packages the latest enterprise-grade technologies into a reliable, flexible and robust configuration designed and priced specifically for small to midsize businesses. The new Rational Build Forge Express eKit provides you with valuable resources – including a case study, podcast, demo, and articles – to help you increase staff productivity, compress development cycles and deliver better software, fast.
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Rational Talks to You: Grady Booch on Architecture

    Join this Rational Talks to You teleconference on November 29 at 1:00 pm ET to participate in an interactive discusssion with Grady Booch around architecture and reuse. Get your questions answered!
    FREE! Go There Now!


    NEW! Trial download: IBM Rational Performance Tester V7.0.1

    Get a free trial download of the latest version of IBM Rational Performance Tester V7.0.1, a load and performance testing solution for teams concerned about the scalability of their Web-based applications. Combining multiple ease-of-use features with granular detail, Rational Performance Tester simplifies the test-creation, load-generation and data-collection processes that help teams ensure the ability of their applications to accommodate required user loads.
    FREE! Go There Now!



    All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools!

    PHP BOOK REVIEWS ARTICLES

    - PHP 5 Objects, Patterns, and Practice
    - Pro PHP-GTK
    - Programming PHP, 2nd Edition
    - Pro PHP XML and Web Services
    - PHP Unleashed
    - Pro PHP Security
    - Essential PHP Security
    - Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL: From Novice to Pr...
    - Advanced PHP Programming
    - The Zend PHP Certification Practice Test Book
    - Essential PHP Tools
    - Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL
    - O'Reilly's PHP Security Collection
    - Core PHP Programming - 3rd Edition
    - PHP and MySQL Web Development - Second Editi...





    © 2003-2010 by Developer Shed. All rights reserved. DS Cluster 8 Hosted by Hostway
    For more Enterprise Application Development news, visit eWeek