Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 with ASP, Coldfusion and PHP: Training from the Source [Paperback]

This book proved to be a perfect match.
It starts by building a small static site (for a travel agency), and move swiftly to HXTML, explaining on the way CSS (and the new interface of MX 2004).

Then the fun begin with some explanations on the different possibilities (IIS/ASP, Cold Fusion, Apache/PHP), how to set a local server or a database, how to email forms, calculate prices, filter data, create a search interface, authenticate users, etc… etc… That is a total of 16 lessons, each with a folder on the enclosed CD with all the files you need, either to “take” the lesson or to test the final result.

I think this is a good book for people that have similar experience. Switching from static to dynamic is a bit daunting at first, but this book will lead you trough all the steps in a logic and progressive way. It will not make you an expert in PHP or ASP, but will make you much more skilled in dynamic website design, and should you wish to pursue your training, it will open the door to other, more specialised (and hence more difficult) books…

This book has only recently been published in early 2004, however when you get to lesson 13 "authenticating users" and using sessions, the book is still going with very old outdated versions of PHP that still have register_globals switched on.

It offers little advice or help on how to enable session with register_globals off, which it has been off since version 4.2.0 of PHP; therefore you cannot continue with the book and have to seek help elsewhere on the problem.

You would expect a recent publication as this is, to have dealt with the issue but it misses it completely.

The only option it offers you is to modify the php.ini file, and has nothing on using superglobal arrays, or .htaccess files.

You end up with a login page that logs you in, but doesn't let you actually do anything as the sessions are not enabled, and when you try and access a restricted page "after" logging in, it simply takes you back to the login page again and again.

I'd avoid this book and get a different one, that is new and does cover how to enable sessions properly when using versions 4.2.0 and above of PHP.

I wanted to explore the possibilities of making my websites database driven - but didn't know where to start. I was a bit skeptical of buying a 'Macromedia' book, as in the past I have found independantly written books to be more realistic about an applications flaws (though I do detect a slight biase towards Coldfusion - a Macromedia product)

However, this book is truely brilliant. Jeffrey Bardzell has a great talent at being able to explain advanced techniques very clearly. Once something is explained, he doesn't waste time by re-explaining it when you need to re-use the technique later in the book. I can't stand it when books do that, and find it rather patronising. You do need to work through the book in order though - it is not intended to be a reference book.

The example you develop through the book (an on-line travel agent), has been very well chosen. You take a fictional, static HTML site, which you can see would be a nightmare to maintain, and turn it into a database driven dynamic site. The skills you learn in this example can easily be translated into the realworld. The included CD contains, both start files and completed files (so you can test you inputed everything correctly) in asp, php and coldfusion.

I e-mailed the publisher to congratulate him, and got a reply from the author himself! There is even a suporting website with an Errata page (http://www.allectomedia.com/dw_asp_cf_php_errata.htm) and the fictional website is up and online so you can see how the finished product works (http://www.allectomedia.com/newland_dynamic/)

All in all - an excellent book. The best written Dreamweaver book I have read (and there have been a few!) My only gripe is that Jeffery Bardzel hasn't written more.