Create Database Driven Web Pages with PHP 4; PHP 4 Bible from IDGB is an Authoritative Reference to This Key Technology.

Business Editors

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2000

IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq:IDGB), announces PHP 4 Bible, the complete guide to linking databases to Web pages.

From airline reservations to online auctions, government records to music catalogs, the Web is driven by a demand for information. Databases provide the information people need and access to those databases is achieved with tools like Personal Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP).

PHP is one of quickest, easiest and least expensive ways to create dynamic Web content. Web pages are built with HTML, but HTML is made for presenting information, not storing it. PHP enables Web programmers to hook HTML Web pages on the front-end to databases on the back-end in a relatively simple and straightforward way. This server-side HTML-embedded language can be learned and implemented by anyone familiar with HTML coding. Web programmers working with ASP, JSP, Perl, C or ColdFusion will be especially familiar with the syntax and operation of PHP.

From a simple introduction to the C-like syntax to the advanced topics of cookies, security and cryptography, PHP 4 Bible covers PHP implementation issues from start to finish. Authors Tim Converse and Joyce Park tackle the breadth of PHP topics by providing a wide range of examples and practical advice on usage and style. Converse and Park begin with the basics of PHP types and control and move on to using and defining string, math, array and system functions.

Troubleshooting PHP and database connectivity issues are discussed in detail. The authors present a SQL tutorial using examples from MySql, a database that integrates tightly with PHP. Readers will learn to how to put queries in MySql tables, how to build forms from queries, how to create Web logs and how to accomplish a variety of other database interactivity tasks.

PHP 4 Bible also addresses the key new features of this technology. Advanced topics include managing sessions, integrating email, combining PHP with XML, object-oriented programming with PHP and PHP configuration and tuning. Readers of PHP 4 Bible will learn to:

o Connect Web pages to back-end databases

o Get up to speed on relational database design

o Build complete user experiences with session-tracking

o Use PHP for object-oriented programming

o Connect PHP code directly to e-mail programs

o Secure Web site against attacks

o Employ cookies and redirection

o Avoid common bugs and development stumbling blocks

PHP 4 Bible also features a companion Web site: www.troutworks.com/phpbook. The Web site contains code from the book and other PHP related information and will save readers hours of tedious retyping.

About the Book:

PHP 4 Bible

By Tim Converse and Joyce Park

ISBN: 0-7645-4716-X

$34.99 US / $52.99 CAN

About the Authors

Tim Converse has written software to recommend neckties, answer questions about space stations, pick value stocks, and make simulated breakfast. He has an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Chicago, where he taught several programming classes. He is now a Senior Software Engineer at Excite@Home, where he works on the search engine.

Joyce Park has an M.A. in history from the University of Chicago and has worked on several content-rich PHP Web sites, including the award-winning MysteryGuide.com. Her writing has garnered praise from the editors and readers of Slashdot, OSOpinion, Linux.com, and many others worldwide. Joyce is now a Web Developer at Epinions.com.

This title is available at major bookstores and computer stores, direct from IDG Books Worldwide at 800/762-2974, 24 hours a day, or via the Web at http://www.idgbooks.com. For reseller, corporate or volume orders, contact IDG Books Worldwide Customer Service at 800/434-3422.

For a review copy, author interview or more information, contact Stephanie Rodriguez at 650/653-7144 or [e-mail].

About IDG Books Worldwide:

IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq:IDGB) headquartered in Foster City, California, is a leading global knowledge company with a diverse portfolio of technology, consumer and general how-to brands, computer-based learning tools, Web sites and Internet e-services. IDGB's best selling brands include For Dummies(R), Betty Crocker's(R), Bible, CliffsNotes(tm), Frommer's(R), the Unofficial Guide(R), Weight Watchers(R) and Webster's New World(tm). IDGB is also the publisher of AOL Press(tm), Hewlett-Packard Press(tm), Netscape Press(tm) and Novell Press(tm). IDGB has more than 4,000 active titles in 39 languages. IDGB has publishing partnerships in more than 53 countries. IDGB owns multiple Web sites including www.cliffsnotes.com, www.dummies.com and www.frommers.com. More information about IDGB is available from the company's SEC filings or by visiting their Web site at www.idgbooks.com. IDGB is a subsidiary of International Data Group, Inc., the world's leading global provider of information media, research, conferences and expositions.

(c)2000 IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.