PHP hypertext preprocessor (PHP) is an open source scripting language that may be downloaded free of charge from the PHP Web site (http://www.php.net). PHP technology is very useful in building dynamic and interactive Web content. MySQL has become the preferred database for storing data related to applications designed using PHP, although PHP supports several other databases. This book is targeted at developers planning to build e-commerce Web sites.

It is divided into four parts. The last part consists of three appendices and the index. Part 1 (chapters 1 to 7) tutors the reader on the tools for implementing an e-commerce site. Chapter 1 introduces the principles and features of an e-commerce site, as well as the challenges it poses and the opportunities it offers. The chapter stresses the importance of planning at every stage in order to mitigate the risks. The authors recommend a three-tier strategy for designing application Web sites, whereby every module is created using components drawn from the presentation tier, the business tier, and the data tier. An application in PHP will run efficiently if the application and its tiers are kept on the same server. The coding discipline imposed by the three-tier architecture allows for high degrees of flexibility and scalability.

Chapters 3 to 7 show the reader, in a step-by-step fashion, the procedure for implementing the three tiers of the chosen application. The first step is to create a product catalog along with its three tiers. The next step advances to the formulation of a few queries for searching the catalog. After this, a simple payment solution through a PayPal account for the sample e-commerce client is established. Next, a catalog administration page is added to the site. The catalog administration page allows the client to manage departmental categories, view types of products, and add or delete a product from the catalog. Each of these partial builds involves making incremental changes to the presentation tier, then the business tier, followed by the data tier. After testing the site successfully with the catalog administration page, a security control is added for preventing unauthorized access to the administration page.

Part 2 (chapters 8 to 10) covers the methods for creating the shopping cart, and the schemes for taking orders from a visitor, and for showing product recommendations to the visitor. The unique selling proposition (USP) of an Internet store compared to that of a conventional one is the capability to customize Web pages based on the shopping history of each visitor. A recommendation facility allows the seller to utilize the information on the buying pattern of the visitor and recommend selected catalog items during his or her subsequent visits. Such suggestions, possible only through e-commerce, are far more powerful than the discounted sales adopted by the conventional retail channels.

Part 3 (chapters 11 to 16) shows the steps to transform the functional and basic site constructed thus far into a complete e-commerce store. For this, the PayPal ordering function is replaced by a customer account system specifically designed for the planned site. Part 3 also shows the route for adding a customer account to the site, along with the crucial security requirements like credit card encryption, password hashing, and enforcement of secure socket layer (SSL) connections. Implementing a secure order pipeline that involves credit card authorization, stock checking, shipping, and customer notification is also covered. Web services allow for the exchange of information between clients and servers across heterogeneous languages, platforms, or technology, provided the exchanges conform to a standard protocol such as simple object access protocol (SOAP) or representational state transfer (REST). Chapter 16 details the methods of integrating Web services with the fully functional sample e-commerce site. The three appendices give detailed explanations for installing the SSL-enabled Web server (Apache 2), PHP5, MySQL4, and a Web-based tool for managing MySQL data (phpMyAdmin). These can be installed on Windows or Unix/Linux.

The authors have adopted a tutorial approach, with a sharp focus on PHP5 and MySQL. They elucidate the principles of modern software practices like step-wise refinement of the product being designed, unit testing, and integration testing. Exercises are provided at the end of important sections. This enhances the book’s value in a classroom scenario. On the whole, the authors have met the twin goals of satisfying both novices and professionals in a commendable way.