Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Introduction to Dynamic Programming
Comment: I found this book to be an excellent introduction to dynamic web programming. It doesn't go into too much detail on how to build specialized web applications, but it will show you how to do just about everything you will need to get started (e.g. registering, authenticating a user, creating pages accessible to users based on user level which you define, updating databases, etc.). It not only shows how to get Dreamweaver to write code for you, it also shows you how to write code yourself to creat pages to manage content.
It would be a good idea to be familiar with XHTML first. Before starting on this book, I went through "HTML & XHTML: The Complete Reference (Osborne Complete Reference Series)" (ISBN 007222942X), which I find also to be a good reference. I wouldn't sell my copy of either of these books at this point. If you're familiar with XHTML, you will get more out of Bardzell's book.
Some areas of improvement: I was using ASP VB Script because it was convenient (I was running IIS), but if I were to choose PHP, which I would have liked to do, then things would have been more complicated. He should tell you how to run a php server (for dynamic content) along with IIS, but says that it is beyond the scope of the book.
Despite this, the book is outstanding.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Even a technophobe can use this book.
Comment: I recently purchased Dreamweaver MX and found that I could not use it at all. I puchased this book based upon a recommendation from a friend. Now, less than a month later, I have a basic website up and running. If you want to see what this book helped me do, go to, "www.MrGustafson.com" I highly recommend this book. Do not waste your money on any others.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Great Beginning For Dynamic Web Site Development
Comment: I decided, after many hours of reviewing "canned" scripts for a voting application, I had to learn how to develop my own dynamic applications in order to achieve required voting features. As a longtime user of Dreamweaver for static HTML applications, I purchased the referenced course with the expectation that I would be able to understand the concepts and learn the basic fundamentals of dynamic web site development. I had little understanding of data bases or server side programming languages (I learned Fortran eons ago).
This step by step guide took me through the development from a sample HTML 4 static site to an XMHTL compliant, fully dynamic web site not only using the built-in support functions of Dreamweaver, but hand coding the scripting language and SQL commands as well. Spread out over several months, I completed the course cover-to-cover. At each step I made sure I understood the concepts of dynamically modifying static HTML with the selected server side language and the SQL required for retrieving data from/inserting data into the data base. You were also instructed how to setup a "localhost" development environment, wherein each step could be tested immediately upon completion. I used the PHP/MYSQL model since it was available on my host ISP. But during the course, I also setup both .asp and coldfusion (.cfm) server models.
This learning by doing course reinforces the concepts and fundamentals that just reading alone could never accomplish. Once armed with this basic knowledge, I began to develop my customized voting site. And, using online tutorials, bridging gaps in the basics of PHP and SQL syntax. During coding, the manual proved to be an invaluable resource, both from a conceptual and a practical (coding) point of view, although the complexity of the requirements required significantly more php coding than in the course.
Now that I have completed my program, and it is functioning flawlessly online, I could not have done it without taking this course. There may be similar courses available, but by using the features of Dreamweaver in conjunction with the tutorial, yields a superior teaching tool that reading books alone cannot provide. And Dreamweaver is exactly as the name implies, weaving your concepts (dreams) into a functional fabric of operating programs.
Gerald Peters
Customer Rating:
Summary: This book ties it all together
Comment: The purpose of this book (in my opinion) is to teach you how to use Dreamweaver MX 2004 to create dynamic (database-driven) web sites. It doesn't teach you all there is to know about Dreamweaver, about scripting languages, or about databases. Rather, it shows you how they all tie together. Yes, it will teach you a little about Dreamweaver, because you will be using it for all the lessons. Yes, it will teach you a little about scripting languages, and yes it will teach you a little about databases. You don't need to already know these things to do the exercises or understand the lessons, because the author clearly explains everything you do. However, these topics are covered more completely in more specialized books.
What this book does is show you how you can use Dreamweaver to accomplish a complete database-driven web site. Keeping this in mind, I thought the book was excellent.
The book takes you through the complete process of starting with a simple static site and converting it to a dynamic site (a challenge many web developers face). The first half of the book introduces you to the site and has you converting it from HTML to XHTML. This is a simple task, and Dreamweaver has a function to do that automatically, but the author here shows you exactly what needs to be done and how to do it manually by using search and replace. He then shows how to convert the site to use a simple CSS file. He shows how to use forms, how to pass data between pages, and how to use scripting languages to build a simple calculator.
Okay, you say, that's pretty basic stuff, and I may skip those chapters. That's what I said, but I decided to read every word and do every exercise anyway. I'm glad I did, because there are many gems buried there. Dreamweaver can make even simple tasks more efficient with its built-in capabilities that I didn't know existed even though I've been using Dreamweaver for years. So, skip the first few lessons if you want, but I suggest you do it all.
The last half of the book has you working with database functions and learning how Dreamweaver ties these together with forms and GET/POST value passing. Dreamweaver really has some fantastic capabilities in this area and it seems that you can create complete database-driven pages with just a few clicks of the mouse. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but Dreamweaver does easily generate complex code and puts it into your page for you. The author shows you how to use those capabilities.
Finally, in the last lesson, you generate the pages that update the database by just using the scripting language functions, and not using the Dreamweaver capabilities. Whatever you do, be sure to do this lesson, as it shows you all the work Dreamweaver is doing in the background for you.
Armed with the knowledge from this book, and the books I already have on Dreamweaver, HTML, CSS, PHP and MySQL, I feel I can now attack a dynamic site. When I get in trouble, I can refer to the snippets of code in the book to help me get on track.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Must Have
Comment: This is a fantastic book that teaches you how to use Dreamweaver MX 2004 more effectively when coding dynamic database-driven Web sites in one of the 3 programming languages covered (ASP, ColdFusion or PHP). I thoroughly enjoyed Jeffery Bardzell's writing style, allowing me to build on the theories presented, repetition of code and Web standards best practices.
There were a few errors throughout the book, but they were mostly typos. I did not have any trouble with the code presented in each lesson. Also, I was able to complete the entire book without referring to any of the code in the completed files folder. The author also takes the time to clearly list and explain the meaning of each step in technical terms without losing the reader.
If you are new to building dynamic database-driven Web sites, then pick up a copy of this book. I guarantee you will have a better understanding and develop clear coding concepts while working through each lesson. As an added bonus, you will build several useful applications (i.e. search interface, authenticating users, basic content management system, etc.) that you can use as a template for building more complicated applications.
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