MacDirectory Magazine

BOOK REVIEWS ADOBE DREAMWEAVER CS5 WITH PHP REVIEW BY RIC GETTER Powers takes a lean-by-doing approach through most of the text. The book includes a CD of the code he uses in the example projects. However, the exercises are interspersed with clear and concise explanations of the background and theory behind what you’re doing so you never feel like you’re blindly following steps (and hoping things actually work when you’re done). The author takes the time to introduce basic programming concepts to the non-programmer, though this may be quite a reach for somebody entirely new to coding. The book’s title is a bit of a misnomer. The training is not just limited to PHP. It includes a good deal of background on working with databases and MySQL (the source of your dynamic content) and Zend_Mail, the PHP framework for getting responses from your site’s visitors. Powers talks about security-related issues throughout his book, including some valuable lessons on the many areas of vulnerability found in dynamic pages. “The author takes the time to introduce basic programming concepts to the non- As anyone who’s tried it can tell you, even though Dreamweaver is a great design and development tool, pressing on with it without a basic knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript can often lead to problems when something breaks. This is even more true with the open source PHP-based content management systems (CMS) that are now supported in Dreamweaver CS5. Taking a hands-off, “black box” approach to tools like Drupal, WordPress and Joomla not only limits what you can do but can be a source of sever headaches down the line. David Powers’s Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 with PHP: Training from the Sourceoffers a well-focused cram course in PHP and MySQL for the web developer looking to expand his or her skills. It offers just enough knowledge of what’s going on under the hood of tools as well as a wealth of information on deployment, testing and troubleshooting in the often-intimidating world of server- side web applications and dynamic page content. Even though his book has the Adobe Press imprint, Powers is upfront with his discussion of Dreamweaver’s limitations when it comes to working with PHP and the popular open source CMS’s. He leads of his book with a through inventory and walkthrough of the program’s new and legacy programming and development features with good coverage of the programming windfalls and their limitations that arrived with CS5. programmer ...” There’s no way that Powers could have titled his book “Dreamweaver With CS5 Made Easy.” You can make it through the book with a week of daily workouts (or a long weekend with lotsof caffeine). The joy of this book is that Powers is making something that is normally extremely difficult, reasonably possible. And the results will definitely be worth the time (or the caffeine). Dreamweaver CS5 with PHP: Training from the Sourceby David Powers; $49.99, Adobe Press (AdobePress.com); 504 pgs. ISBN 978-0-321-71984-3 48 MacDirectory

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