by Kevin Yank, Sitepoint.com, 231 pages.

When Sarah Pride, Jonathan Brownell, and I started Design Harbor, we decided to use PHP and MySQL for our back-end code. At that time, there was one book on PHP. It did not say much about MySQL. It certainly did not explain how to make a database-backed publishing system with advanced SQL features. Since that time, PHP has gained momentum as a website scripting language, and MySQL usually goes alongside it. This interest in PHP spawned several books, including an O'Reilly Pocket Reference. However, most of these concentrated on either PHP or on the database system. In fact, for a while, the PHP documentation was the best source for those interested in learning about advanced application of PHP and MySQL. Not any more. A new book out by tech writer Kevin Yank called Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL fills the gap and provides a practical guide to these two critical web design areas.

Last year, Yank wrote a summer-long series of tutorials on the PHP/MySQL duo for Sitepoint.com, whom he now works for as technical content director. This highly-acclaimed series stepped the reader through every part of creating a dynamic web site, from software installation to the finishing touches. The book expands on this great series to provide even more information than is available online. In fact, it provides eight chapters and an appendix more than is available online. The book starts with step-by-step instructions on how to install PHP and MySQL on Windows and Unixes in the first chapter. The next several sections deal with basic PHP and MySQL, proper database design, and publishing database data to the web. Yank then explains content management systems, but he doesn't stop there. Further chapters explain templating systems, advanced database topics, working with binary data, and even session systems. A handy appendix at the end of the book lists MySQL commands. All code examples are available from a special web site listed in the book.

Most technical books aren't easy reading. But Yank, who has years of technical writing experience, doesn't waste dead trees with extra verbosity. He states things simply and plainly, making his book very readable. His relaxed but concise writing style also adds to this book's value as a handy reference (although that is not its main intent), despite the lack of a glossary. In this text, unlike many other computer books, the code blocks are very readable and stand out from the page. The book also includes many helpful diagrams, especially in the advanced database chapters.

The tech world needs more books like this one. Yank's writing style combined with the universality of his topic have allowed him to create a rare example of the perfect balance between those big boring documentation volumes and the too-specific, show-the-code-without-explanation "by-example" books. Yank has created a rare masterpiece. His book satisfies the needs of beginners and experts alike in only 231 pages, a feat I would not have thought possible before seeing this book. Although the usefulness of the book as a daily reference is diminished slightly by the lack of an index, Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL is by far the best website back-end book I have ever read. I'm keeping it within close reach and suggest you do too.