Archive for February 2005

Disclaimer: I’m a paid Marqui spokesgal, but I can say anything I want… good or bad.

Abraham Lincoln got a facelift. Marqui reports, “The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission is now using Marqui’s Communications Management Suite to help streamline the management of its web site and other online campaigns designed to educate the public about Abraham Lincoln’s accomplishments.”

The site went live on February 7. It’s a quality site, but I still have to pout about the tables it uses.

Build Your Own Database Driven Website with PHP and MySQL, Third Edition book review is posted. Executive summary: Thumbs up.

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Stop already… you’re writing a review, not adding another joke into the database. Sorry ’bout that. The book put me in a joke state of mind since it uses a jokes database as the content to Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP and MySQL.

This book is for those who like step-by-step directions accompanied by explanations of how things work. I learned many things using this approach, which is a stepping stone to creating dynamic Web sites.

Yank does a fine job covering a little of everything without overpowering the reader with too much. Anyone who has experimented with Perl, PHP, ASP.NET, MySQl, Access, some of them or all of them will like the book. Those who can write PHP and MySQL with little help are at a level beyond this book and it wouldn’t be a good fit.

I rarely ran into problems while following the examples. I’ve worked with other technical books and hit a brick wall at times requiring a call for help or serious research. While working with this book, I only got stuck once and immediately figured out the problem with a little research.

My brain jumbles whenever I try to create databases. It’s not able to function and compute as well as it does for other geeky concepts. Yank uses visual aids and avoids jargon when explaining the process of laying out the database tables.

All the necessary components of building a Web site using a database are covered. While adding data, viewing tables, and querying the database, you’re learning tasks that will come in handy for future projects.

Not only do you get instructions for PHP and MySQL, but also advice on structuring code so that it’s used effectively.

If you’ve never installed Apache, PHP, or MySQL or can’t recall how to do it, the steps for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X are in the first chapter. Since the latest edition covers PHP 5, the author addresses the differences in PHP 4.3. When working on the first PHP script, there is no “Hello World!” for a change.

The early chapters provide a good overview of PHP and MySQL. By Chapter 4, the contents of the earlier chapters are integrated as the backend database connects to the Web page with PHP. The next chapters show how to use forms to manage, add, delete, edit, and search data. By midpoint, the reader has designed a database, organized it, created Web pages for the data, added administration pages, and administered the database. Yank also explains how to generate cookies and build a simple shopping cart.

The appendices include MySQL syntax, functions, column types, and PHP functions to use with MySQL. The book has an accompanying Web site that includes errata and four free sample chapters. Having edited a few tech books, I know how easy it is to miss things when you’re working on different computer set ups and application versions. Check the site especially since it has the code from the book. When running into problems, compare your code to the code from the site.

One chapter has a challenge along with the solution (a couple of pages later, so you’re not tempted to peek). Having a challenge like this in most chapters, I believe, would help cement the learning. All in all, it’s a hit.

Title: Build Your Own Database-Driven Website Using PHP and MySQL, Third Edition
Author: Kevin Yank
Publisher: Sitepoint Pty Ltd.
ISBN: 0975240218
Date: October 2004
Format: Paperback
Pages: 359
Cover Price: USD: $27.97 CDN: 40.57
UK: 19.59

Disclaimer: Marqui pays me to talk about the company however I want.

I admire Molly’s decision not to accept ads or paid-to-blog opportunities after she finishes the Marqui program. I agree with her in that I feel like I’m forcing blog entries related to Marqui as of late. But am I going to stop advertising or accepting future paid-to-blog opportunities? No. Why? I’ve got three kids to support. Why not get paid doing something I enjoy? It takes up valuable time.

I do care about how the ads are displayed. I won’t do pop ups or any of that crap. Currently, I have two ads on the side, one text and one non-animated image. I try to keep the ads out of the content so it doesn’t disturb your reading or turn you off.

I don’t just let anyone buy an ad. Content does matter. In fact, I had to talk with the guy behind the image ad first to ensure it was appropriate to put in my blog as I rarely talk politics. There are plenty of good bloggers who do that and I could never match them.

The bloggers in the Marqui program received news that we can post. However, I don’t find much to say about it except that I find E-Cubed’s Web site difficult to use and the content overlaps when viewed in Mozilla or Firefox.

Also, Dabblemode has gone live. I checked it out and it’s the same stuff I reported on previously—showing how the CMS works. One problem… unless you enter the www prior to the address, it won’t work. Glad my servers can handle www and without.

I did send interview questions to one of Marqui’s clients, but he’s a busy guy with a newborn. Can’t blame him. I can barely keep my head straight these days with three kids, two jobs, and one big stress. I’ve got to find a way to simplify my life. We’re working on it, but little of it is under our control.

“The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears.”

—Bill Vaughan

In the last couple of issues, I asked readers to try to mix and match companies with their related pitches. The results are published in the newest issue of eNewsletter Journal. You can try your hand at it before reading the article. No peeking!

Obviously, patching and fixes are critical tasks in IT work. Not only do we need to worry about various operating system-related patches, but also other applications our company uses to conduct business daily. It’s been a struggle to keep up with the constant barrage of software patches and fixes from all vendors, not just Microsoft. How do readers manage it? Read the latest issue of The Remediator Security Digest to find out the answers.

The Gumshoe Saga continues with the latest story that takes an unpredictable turn. Do heroes every die in stories? James Bond always lives. Ditto for Jason Bourne and all them other movie and book heroes.