Books & Videos on Web Development by David Powers
All the books and videos featured on this page are written or created by me, David Powers. They fall into the following categories:
- Website design and development with Dreamweaver
- PHP development with Dreamweaver
- Software-neutral books on PHP
- Older titles
Website Design and Development with Dreamweaver
I've been using Dreamweaver to develop web pages since 1999, and I've seen the massive changes it has undergone, particularly in its support for modern, standards-compliant HTML and CSS. All my books and video courses emphasize building accessible websites using the latest best practice.
Dreamweaver CS6: New Features Workshop
If you're already familiar with Dreamweaver, and want to get up to speed with the new features in CS6, this video workshop is just what you're looking for. It contains more than three hours of hands-on examples (with downloadable files). You'll learn how to integrate web fonts into your sites with the Web Fonts Manager, as well as how to add CSS transitions, and build a responsive web design for mobile, tablets, and desktops using the Fluid Grid Layout tools. There's also detailed coverage of jQuery Mobile and PhoneGap Build integration. The video workshop doesn't simply showcase the new features, it also gives an honest assessment of the strong and weak points of Dreamweaver CS6. More details.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.5 Studio Techniques: Designing and Developing for Mobile with jQuery, HTML5, and CSS3
This full-colour book acts as a guide to the features in Dreamweaver CS5.5 through three case studies. The first shows how to design for desktops and mobile devices using media queries. The second is an in-depth study of jQuery Mobile, the new JavaScript and CSS framework designed to offer a uniform user experience in all modern mobile devices. The third develops a native app for Android and iOS using jQuery Mobile, jQuery core, and PhoneGap. More details.
PHP Development with Dreamweaver
The books in this section deal specifically with PHP development in Adobe Dreamweaver. Although Dreamweaver is the development environment, there's a strong emphasis on understanding PHP and MySQL, particularly in the book for Dreamweaver CS5.
Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 with PHP: Training from the Source
Support for PHP has been dramatically improved in Dreamweaver CS5, with the addition of code hinting for all core functions, classes, and constants. Two other significant improvements are code introspection—which makes it a lot easier to work with a third-party library, such as the Zend Framework—and support for PHP-driven content management systems (CMSs), such as Drupal, Joomla!, and WordPress. This book explores all the new features, including styling a WordPress site, and using the Zend Framework to upload files, send emails with attachments, and build a custom CMS. More details.
Software-neutral Books on PHP
The following two books are devoted to PHP development in general, and can be used in any development environment.
PHP Solutions: Dynamic Web Design Made Easy, Second Edition
Aimed at beginners and intermediate users, this book teaches you the fundamentals of building dynamic websites with PHP and MySQL. The emphasis is on practical solutions that you can incorporate into your sites right away, without forcing you to go through tedious and pointless exercises. Strong emphasis on website security. The second edition has been thoroughly revised to bring it up to date to cover PHP 5.2 and 5.3. More details.
PHP Object-Oriented Solutions
A gentle, but fast-paced introduction to object-oriented programming (OOP) as it applies to PHP. The book strips away the mystique surrounding concepts such as encapsulation, polymorphism, and inheritance; and teaches you how to build your own PHP classes, as well as extend classes built into PHP 5 and above. This book requires a minimum of PHP 5.2. More details.
Oldies, but Goldies
Many of the following books I have written are still available, but they're based on old versions of software. You might find them useful if you don't have access to a more recent version, but the books are no longer actively supported.
The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS4 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP
If you haven't upgraded to the most recent version of Dreamweaver, this book helps you get up to speed with the main features in Dreamweaver CS4, including Live View, Related Files, Code Navigator, Spry HTML data sets, and jQuery and YUI Library widgets. The book also includes comprehensive coverage of all PHP server behaviors, demonstrating how to customize them to your own needs. More details.
The Essential Guide to Dreamweaver CS3 with CSS, Ajax, and PHP
A major rewrite of Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8, showing how to get the best out of the CSS and dynamic features of Dreamweaver CS3. Requires a basic knowledge of (X)HTML and CSS, but no previous experience of either Ajax or PHP. The book highlights the advantages and drawbacks of Spry, Adobe's implementation of Ajax. Roughly half the book is devoted to working with PHP in Dreamweaver. More details. Updates and Corrections.
Foundation PHP for Dreamweaver 8
Learn how to build database-driven websites with Dreamweaver 8. Teaches standards-compliant methods and makes full use of the enhanced CSS capabilities in Dreamweaver 8. More details. Updates.
Foundation PHP 5 for Flash
This book is designed to help developers who are already familiar with Flash to add extended dynamic capabilities to their sites with PHP and MySQL. Although readers are expected to have some knowledge of ActionScript, no previous experience with either PHP or MySQL is required. Written for Flash MX 2004. Uses ActionScript 2.0. More details. Corrections and Updates.
Foundation ActionScript for Flash 8
This is the fourth edition of Sham Bhangal's highly respected beginner's introduction to ActionScript, the programming language that gives Flash dynamic interactivity. Updated for Flash 8 by Kristian Besley and David Powers. Uses ActionScript 2.0. More details.
Blog Design Solutions
A comprehensive guide to four of the most popular blog engines—Movable Type, WordPress, ExpressionEngine, and TextPattern—the last three of them based on PHP. With full instructions on how to set up a local test environment and how to build your own PHP-driven blog from scratch. More details.
PHP Web Development with Dreamweaver MX 2004
Learn how to build standards-compliant database-driven websites with PHP and Dreamweaver MX 2004. Features a 120-page case study, which demonstrates how to build a real-world application. More details.
