Beginning PHP and PostgreSQL 8
My first experience with PostgreSQL was during my first full time Systems Administrator job. I hated it. I was comfortable with MySQL and griped about how different it was every time I had to use it. After a while, though, it started to grow on me. I became comfortable with the psql program and started reading into some of Postgre's advanced features. By the end of my tenure at that job, I had a newfound respect for PostgreSQL. Not only that, but I also took credit for rewriting the company's customer maintenance system using PostgreSQL for the database and PHP for the interface.
During that project, I was still rather new to working with PHP. There were a lot of features I didn't know about that could have saved me a lot of time and energy. I think a book like Beginning PHP and PostgreSQL 8 would have helped introduce me to those features.
Divided into two parts, Beginning PHP and PostgreSQL 8 teaches all the fundamentals of these two technologies from the ground up. Part One is a massive text that covers absolutely everything about PHP: installation, data types, PEAR, Smarty, Objects, and more. Part Two is all about PostgreSQL. Though it's much shorter than Part One, it's just as feature packed. Installation, client utilities, advanced data types, triggers, views, and interfacing with PHP are just some of the topics covered.
This book definitely has a lot of content. If read from beginning to end, there's no doubt that any newcomer will have a better understanding about these two technologies. I do have one complaint, though: I found the style of writing to be too technical. Although this is a technical book, I think a different approach would appeal more to beginners. Maybe content with more events and actions to build full projects would help. Other than that, I think this is a great book for beginners -- especially those curious about PostgreSQL. I'll give it a 7/10.
