In PHP Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004, authors Allan Kent and David Powers talk not only about Dreamweaver MX 2004 (DMX), but also discuss many of the common aspects of working in the PHP environment, including MySQL, phpMyAdmin, Apache, CSS and XHTML, best practices, code reuse, work environment scenarios and error handling. The intended audience is Web developers who want to decide whether or not DMX is worth the investment and Web developers who want to get up to speed with DMX and PHP integration and the new features offered in DMX.

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

Kent and Powers begin with a quick overview of PHP, discussing its origins and reviewing the basics. This book does not cover topics like OOP programming, XML integration or changes made in PHP 5. Although Introduction to PHP is brief and painless for those who know the basics, it will enlighten new users about some of the general constructs of the language without turning into a reference book.

The authors then switch to the topics of MySQL and SQL, as well as specific tools such as phpMyAdmin. Unlike many books that gloss over the use of the phpMyAdmin product, PHP Dreamweaver MX 2004 focuses on teaching MySQL thru the phpMyAdmin interface. The format changes slightly when the authors engage the reader and encourage him to follow along.

The PHP and MySQL chapters warm the reader up to the introduction of DMX. The authors discuss the integration of XHTML in DMX, interface changes, predefined CSS templates, customizing toolbars, and product integration. I like the fact the book was not afraid to mention how embedded the Fireworks product has become with DMX. Kent and Powers then walk the reader through the setup of a site including, the creation of a test environment, connecting to a remote environment, checking for browser compatibility, broken link checkers, and code commenting.

Web Standards in Dreamweaver is the best chapter in this book. It explains how you should be coding, and lets you know if you are not keeping up with the times and how to do so using DMX. This chapter covers XHTML, how to generate XHTML compliant documents, and how to enforce XHTML strict. Much to my chagrin, it also goes over deprecated HTML tags (guiltily, I will admit to using the occasional bold tag). The authors delve into CSS, outlining how to implement deprecated tags using CSS, how to handle browser issues, how to separate document structure from presentation, and the DMX CSS repository. The chapter also walks you through a real world scenario of using the aforementioned Web standards with DMX.

The authors go on to cover data manipulation and server behaviours. This is where DMX allows you to create mock-up pages using real data and provides devices for creating scripts for data selection, creation, deletion, and editing. Code Reuse with Dreamweaver and PHP discusses the basics of templating in Dreamweaver where designers and programmers alike can freeze templates to pass among departments. It delves deep into templating and how to store code for reuse with in DMX.

One of the hot capabilities of languages and software is extending itself. DMX has this ability and this book makes you feel comfortable and confident with creating your own DMX extensions. There is also a pleasant bonus –an entire chapter on debugging and error handling in PHP.

The book wraps up with a case study of a Web site and goes through the entire process of creating the site re-iterating through everything that you learned in the book and applying it to a particular project.

One of the subjects that is not discussed in the chapters was setting the server-side platform on different environments with Apache; however, this is not an oversight, it is covered in the Appendix.

STYLE POINTS

The writing is clear and concise. I liked the structure of the book overall. The authors use a text book-like style, teaching you the theory and then providing practical lessons at the end of each chapter. At the end, the book takes you through the steps of creating a project re-iterating everything that you learned earlier. Although I liked the general structure of the book, in some rare cases the structure of the book would skip the theory and shift to only lessons. Without the theory first, I found myself wondering why I was following along with a particular lesson. Another minor stylistic point is inconsistent labelling of figures and formatting of some text.

THE LOWDOWN

This book successfully spans many topics, keeping readers of all levels interested. It brings the process of Web development to the table and shows how to use DMX effectively with PHP. Many of you may have played around with Dreamweaver early on and abandoned it, because it generated annoying code, was a memory hog, or you just wanted a more simple editor for PHP. This book will allow you to quickly assess whether or not to put down your favourite PHP editor and start using the DMX product line again. The authors do not try to convince you to use the program; instead they provide enough knowledge for an informed decision. If you are already a fan of Dreamweaver and PHP this book is all you will need to get you to speed with the new features; and you better hurry because, like all software books, it will be outdated quickly.

Reviewed by Michael Bendell