A book for anyone starting to work with PHP and MySQL. This is my 3rd time using the Visual QuickPro series to learn about a web related topic. Every time I'm impressed with the ease at which the book teaches the given topic.

In the PHP book you start out with an introduction to PHP and MySQL. Which is nice for those of us who are just now diving into web programming. If you are well versed in the topic that's ok too. The book is broken into clear chapters that allow those who don't need to start from the beginning can jump right in on the topic of their choice.

PHP and MySQL is written for the beginner in mind. It doesn't lose you in a jungle of code. Everything is broken down into simple steps and explanations of what you've just created.

Some of the chapters I found really useful was Chapter 11, Content Management and Chapter 13, e-commerce.

The content management chapter starts out by creating templates and by the end of the chapter you understand how to manage files and urls. The e-commerce chapter takes a similar approach by teaching you how to set up a database (the right way) and creating a public template. From there the book teaches you step by step how to create a product catalog and most importantly the shopping cart.

I give PHP and MySQL 5 stars out of 5. I can't wait to dive into my next adventure from Peach Pit and the Visual Quick Start series.