Useful Books and Software

If you don't use regular expressions yet, you will discover in this book a whole new world of mastery over your data. If you already use them, you'll appreciate this book's unprecedented detail and breadth of coverage. If you think you know all you need to know about regular expressions, this book is a stunning eye-opener.

As this book shows, a command of regular expressions is an invaluable skill. Regular expressions allow you to code complex and subtle text processing that you never imagined could be automated. Regular expressions can save you time and aggravation. They can be used to craft elegant solutions to a wide range of problems. Once you've mastered regular expressions, they'll become an invaluable part of your toolkit. You will wonder how you ever got by without them.

Yet despite their wide availability, flexibility, and unparalleled power, regular expressions are frequently underutilized. Yet what is power in the hands of an expert can be fraught with peril for the unwary. Mastering Regular Expressions will help you navigate the minefield to becoming an expert and help you optimize your use of regular expressions.

Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition, now includes a full chapter devoted to PHP and its powerful and expressive suite of regular expression functions, in addition to enhanced PHP coverage in the central "core" chapters. Furthermore, this edition has been updated throughout to reflect advances in other languages, including expanded in-depth coverage of Sun's java.util.regex package, which has emerged as the standard Java regex implementation.Topics include:

• A comparison of features among different versions of many languages and tools
• How the regular expression engine works
• Optimization (major savings available here!)
• Matching just what you want, but not what you don't want
• Sections and chapters on individual languages

Written in the lucid, entertaining tone that makes a complex, dry topic become crystal-clear to programmers, and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions, Third Edition offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use.

Reviews of this new edition and the second edition:

"There isn't a better (or more useful) book available on regular expressions."
--Zak Greant, Managing Director, eZ Systems

"A real tour-de-force of a book which not only covers the mechanics of regexes in extraordinary detail but also talks about efficiency and the use of regexes in Perl, Java, and .NET...If you use regular expressions as part of your professional work (even if you already have a good book on whatever language you're programming in) I would strongly recommend this book to you."
--Dr. Chris Brown, Linux Format

"The author does an outstanding job leading the reader from regex novice to master. The book is extremely easy to read and chock full of useful and relevant examples...Regular expressions are valuable tools that every developer should have in their toolbox. Mastering Regular Expressions is the definitive guide to the subject, and an outstanding resource that belongs on every programmer's bookshelf. Ten out of Ten Horseshoes."
--Jason Menard, Java Ranch

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The recipes are well documented and the examples aren't too arcane; even beginners will be able to pick up the lessons taught here. The authors write in relatively easy-to-understand language (for a technical guide). Through this book and its arsenal of recipes, you will learn many new things about Perl to help you through your toughest projects. The next time you're working on a project at 2 a.m., you'll thank yourself for the guidance and direction The Perl Cookbook provides. --Doug Beaver

Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Tom Christiansen, Nathan Torkington
Release Date: 1998-08-01
ISBN/EAN: 1565922433 / 9781565922433

New Price: $14.71 / Used Price: $4.44

Takes an easy, visual approach to teaching PHP scripting, using pictures to guide you through the language and show you what to do.

Works like a reference book--you look up what you need and then get straight to work.

No long-winded passes--concise, straightforward commentary explains what you need to know.

Companion Web site contains complete source code for examples in the book, online resources, updates, and more.

Affordable--perhaps the least expensive PHP book you'll find! PHP: VQS Companion Web Site

Chapter 1: Getting Started With PHP Basic Syntax Sending Data to the Browser Testing Your Script Sending Text to the Browser Sending HTML to the Browser Using White Space in PHP (and HTML) Adding Comments to Your Scripts

Chapter 2: Variables What are Variables? Variable Syntax Types of Variables Assigning Values to Variables Predefined Variables

Chapter 3: HTML Forms and PHP Creating a Simple Form Using Get or Post Receiving Data from a Form in PHP Inputting Data Manually

Chapter 4: Using Numbers Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying, and Dividing Formatting Numbers Incrementing and Decrementing a Number Using Multiple Operators Using Built-in Mathematical Functions

Chapter 5: Using Strings Trimming Strings Connecting Strings (Concatenation) Encoding and Decoding Strings Encrypting and Decrypting Strings Pulling Out Parts from a String

Chapter 6: Control Structures The If Conditional More Operators Using Else Using Elseif The Switch Conditional The While Loop The For Loop

Chapter 7: Using Arrays Creating an Array Adding Items to an Array Accessing Array Elements Sorting Arrays Transforming Between Strings and Arrays Creating an Array from a Form Creating Multidimensional Arrays

Chapter 8: Regular Expressions What are Regular Expressions? Defining a Simple Pattern Matching Patterns Defining More Complicated Patterns Matching and Replacing Patterns

Chapter 9: Creating Functions Creating and Using Simple Functions Creating and Calling Functions that Take Arguments Creating and Using Functions that Return a Value Variables and Functions

Chapter 10: Files and Directories File Permissions Writing to Files Reading from Files Directories Handling File Uploads Renaming and Deleting Files and Directories

Chapter 11: Databases Connecting to and Creating a Database

Creating a Table Sending Data to a Database Retrieving Data from a Database

Chapter 12: Cookies Creating and Reading from Cookies Adding Parameters to a Cookie Deleting a Cookie

Chapter 13: Creating Web Applications Using include and require Determining the Date and Time Using http Headers Sending Email

Chapter 14: Debugging Common Errors Error Reporting and Logging Debugging Detective Work Using the Die Statement

Appendix A: Installation and Configuration Installing on a Linux Server Installing on a Windows 2000 Server Configuration

Appendix B: Security Cryptography and SSL Writing Secure PHP Security Resources

Appendix C: PHP Resources The PHP Manual Web Sites and Newsgroups Database Resources Advanced Topics Tables

Publisher: Peachpit Press
Author: Larry Ullman
Release Date: 2001-03-29
ISBN/EAN: 0201727870 / 9780201727876

New Price: $8.50 / Used Price: $0.45

HTML: Complete coverage of the HTML 3.2 spec, major Netscape and Internet Explorer extensions, frames, cascading style sheets, dynamic/layered HTML via either extended style sheets or the LAYER and ILAYER elements.

Java: Java 1.1 and 1.0. Detailed coverage of the 1.1 event model. Exhaustive coverage of *every* AWT component. Basic syntax, OOP intro, threads, sockets, RMI, JDBC, serialization, inner classes, double buffering, etc. Hundreds of examples.

CGI Programming: The HTTP specification (request methods, request headers, response status line, response headers, cookies). The client side (HTML forms, sending GET and POST data from applets). The server side (CGI environment variables, writing CGI programs in Java, a CGI form parser and cookie value parser in java, the servlet API, CGI alternatives). An overview of public-key cryptography.

JavaScript: JavaScript 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2. Writing cross-platform scripts. Customizing pages. Manipulating layers. Validating CGI forms. Animating images. Handling events. Regular expressions. Complete quick reference to all of JavaScript 1.2.

The text presents over 200 HTML and JavaScript documents, and more than 250 Java classes, which are also available on the book's CD-ROM.

Becoming a Web developer these days requires expertise in a variety of disparate languages and tools and usually requires a whole shelf of books. Core Web Programming delivers all you need to become a competent Web developer in one massive text. It covers HTML, Java, Common Gateway Interface (CGI), and JavaScript thoroughly with plenty of real-world programming examples.

The first part of the book covers HTML 3.2, including the basic tags and more advanced topics such as frames and cascading style sheets. This section discusses Netscape and Microsoft extensions to HTML (such as using plug-ins for playing multimedia content and ActiveX controls). The tutorial to HTML is comparable to those in other books of this category and includes some of the author's tips for creating more portable HTML.

The next section covers the basics of Java from a programmer's standpoint, including the advantages of Java and how to access Java documentation and tools. The tutorial that follows stresses the built-in libraries in core Java, covering drawing images and other graphics capabilities. Event handling in Java Developer's Kit (JDK) 1.02 (probably unnecessary these days) and JDK 1.1 receive full treatment. The chapter on graphics double-buffering for smooth animation within Java programs is particularly useful, and the author's treatment of how to access the network capabilities of Java is perhaps unmatched. (Topics here include how to load URLs using Java's network classes and even how to create a simple HTTP server in Java.)

The third section of this text moves to CGI programming using Java on the server. The author introduces the basics of HTTP and describes how data are passed to CGI programs from the client. Though this section lacks a discussion of Perl (which is still the preferred language for CGI development), the treatment of CGI fundamentals and the basics of Java servlets is good. (Java servlets are an alternative--with some advantages--to Perl.)

The fourth and final section of the book returns to the client side once more, with a tutorial on JavaScript, the scripting language for Netscape browsers. Topics such as how to use cookies to store information on local machines and how to validate arguments for CGI forms help round out a successful tour of the technologies that developers need to program on the Web.

Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR
Authors: Marty Hall, Larry Brown
Release Date: 2001-06-03
ISBN/EAN: 0130897930 / 9780130897930

New Price: $74.20 / Used Price: $2.95

New Price: $18.43 / Used Price: $9.98

JavaScript is the language of the Web. Used for programming all major browsers, JavaScript gives you the ability to enhance your web site by creating interactive, dynamic, and personalized pages. Our focus in this book is on client-side scripting, but JavaScript is also hugely popular as a scripting language in server-side environments, a subject that we cover in later chapters.

What does this book cover?

Beginning JavaScript assumes no prior knowledge of programming languages, but will teach you all the fundamental concepts that you need as you progress. After covering the core JavaScript language, you'll move on to learn about more advanced techniques, including Dynamic HTML, using cookies, debugging techniques, and server-side scripting with ASP. By the end of this book, you will have mastered the art of using JavaScript to create dynamic and professional-looking web pages.

Here are a few of the things you'll learn in this book:

• Fundamental programming concepts
• Comprehensive practical tutorial in JavaScript
• Cross-browser scripting, including Netscape 6
• Cookie creation and use
• Plug-ins and ActiveX controls
• Dynamic HTML
• Scripting the W3C DOM
• Server-side JavaScript with ASP

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who wants to learn JavaScript. You will need a very basic knowledge of HTML, but no prior programming experience is necessary. Whether you want to pick up some programming skills, or want to find out how to transfer your existing programming knowledge to the Web, then this book is for you. All you need is a text editor (like Notepad) and a browser, and you're ready to go!

Suitable for learning basic programming for Web browsers, Beginning JavaScript is a patient, introductory tutorial on writing scripts successfully. It teaches you how to create client-side scripts (including full coverage of fundamentals like variables and flow control, plus plenty of screen shots.)

JavaScript is a good way to learn programming. It's powerful, of course, but the book takes small steps, using scripts that work with string and time data first, and then moving to manipulating browser objects like forms and windows. A running case study for a trivia game helps anchor the steps with a practical (and fun) example. There are plenty of tips on debugging your scripts (including how to use the Microsoft Script Debugger tool), and each section includes sample questions. (The book also offers extensive answers in over 80 pages at the end of the book.)

There's plenty of material on the differences between Internet Explorer and Netscape, especially when it comes to Dynamic HTML (DHTML). Coverage of the Document Object Model (DOM) for browsers helps bring the text up to date on some of the latest standards in Web browsers (including the new Netscape 6).

While the focus of Beginning JavaScript clearly is on the client, later sections turn to server-side ASP development (in which the sample trivia game is enhanced with ASPs written in JavaScript using ADO and Microsoft Access.) Reference sections on JavaScript and the browser object model for Internet Explorer and Netscape (through version 4.x) round out the material.

In all, with its approachable style and clearly rendered code examples, Beginning JavaScript makes for a worthwhile first book of programming for today's browsers. Even if you haven't programmed before, this text can give you the tools you need to bring your static Web pages to life. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Introduction to JavaScript
• Cross-browser compatibility issues
• JavaScript data types and variables
• Displaying errors
• Calculations
• Operators
• String handling
• Flow control statements
• Loops
• Introduction to using objects
• The browser object model
• HTML forms (including types of input controls)
• Frames and windows
• Tutorial for regular expressions
• Advanced string methods
• Date, time, and timer objects
• Common errors
• The Microsoft Script Debugger
• Cookies
• Dynamic HTML (DHTML) on Internet Explorer 4.0 and Netscape Navigator 4.x
• The Document Object Model (DOM)
• ActiveX controls and plug-ins used with JavaScript
• Server-scripting
• Introduction to ASP and databases (including SQL basics and database design with Microsoft Access)
• Sample case study for a trivia game
• Sample exercises and answers
• References to JavaScript
• Internet Explorer 4 and 5 and Netscape Navigator 4 objects
• ASP object model reference

New Price: $4.48 / Used Price: $4.93

• An acclaimed tutorial on using Ruby.
• The definitive reference to the language.
• Complete documentation on all built-in classes, modules, and methods
• Complete descriptions of all 98 standard libraries.

New Price: $26.11 / Used Price: $22.84

* The Basics: where to write your scripts; how to upload them and set file permissions; how to run them

* How to decode form data and save it to a file or e-mail it to yourself

* How to create, read, write, and search data files

* How to use Server-Side Includes to add dynamic content to your web page, plus a complete list of Apache SSI directives (and examples of their use)

* How to use random numbers for rotating banner ads and random image pickers

* How to format strings, dates, and times, and how to create countdown clocks

* How to redirect visitors to another site

* How to write secure scripts

* How to use cookies

* How to extend your programs by using modules like CGI.pm and GD.pm

* How to create a MySQL database, and write scripts that interact with databases using the DBI module

Several Appendices are also included:

* A list of online resources, for more information about Perl and CGI, and where to look for CGI jobs

* A Unix tutorial, with examples and information on basic shell commands

* A Password tutorial that shows you how to password-protect your web site

CGI Programming 101: Programming Perl for the World Wide Web is a concise presentation of the key elements of Perl CGI, which makes it perfect for programmers who are under the gun. If you need to get up to speed on text strings, for example, you can read that chapter and be a pro within about 10 minutes.

Form processing is addressed early on, followed by searching and sorting techniques, illustrations of how to use server-side includes (SSI), and other critical issues. There's also a chapter on using MySQL--an open-source SQL database. In general, if you want to get the most out of this book, you'll be better off having some programming experience, be it in BASIC or C++.

The only element missing from this introductory course is an appendix containing Perl's reserved characters, operators, and functions; instead, this material is presented throughout the book. But CGI Programming 101 is still one of the most efficient ways to get up to speed with Perl CGI. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered: Perl variables, CGI environment variables, form processing, data file I/O, searching/sorting, server-side includes (SSI), random number generation, strings, date and time manipulation, HTTP cookies, e-mail processing, securing scripts, Perl modules, database programming, and custom Perl modules.

Publisher: CGI101.com
Author: Jacqueline D. Hamilton
Release Date: 2000-02
ISBN/EAN: 0966942604 / 9780966942606

New Price: $11.90 / Used Price: $4.80

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Behind every successful web page is an overworked and underappreciated webmaster.

Webmasters make sure that the information on a site is accessible and usable; that the site is always available; that performance is good; that users can get the information that they need; and that the site can collect the information it needs to serve those users. These disparate tasks require many different tools and skills. Webmaster in a Nutshell pulls together in a single volume all the essential reference information for webmasters working on UNIX-based web servers.

In this second edition of Webmaster in a Nutshell, we've updated our material to include the latest versions of HTML and Javascript, and also expanded the book to cover the newest technologies emerging on the Web. The book covers:

• HTML 4.0, with special attention to forms, tables and frames
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
• XML, the next-generation markup language for the Web
• CGI, with a chapter dedicated to the Perl module CGI.pm
• JavaScript 1.2
• PHP, the HTML-embedded programming language
• HTTP 1.1, the underlying protocol that drives the Web
• Apache server administration, including Apache modules
• mod_perl, the Apache module for enhancing CGI
performance and providing a Perl interface to the Apache API

Webmaster in a Nutshell, part of the bestselling O'Reilly series of reference books, makes it easy to find the information you want about the technologies you use. You'll keep your other books on the shelf; you'll keep Webmaster in a Nutshell next to your keyboard.

Today's Webmasters must be literate in a number of different--and ever-evolving-- languages and technologies. Webmaster in a Nutshell is meant as a tool for dealing with this demanding requirement. Although this title leans a bit toward freeware tools, it offers plenty of universal information as well.

This guide briefly tours the Web and covers basic HTML, tables, forms, and frames in a series of quick reads. (This discussion offers just enough information to jog the memory to proper HTML usage.) You'll get in-depth coverage of cascading style sheets (CSS), the Extensible Markup Language (XML), JavaScript, HTTP, CGI, and Perl. Stephen Spainhour and Robert Eckstein explore CSS in brief but do cover the pending W3C standard. They also provide a refreshingly quick overview of XML. To present JavaScript, the book makes excellent use of diagrams to illustrate the object hierarchy and the way the language works with windows and frames.

Webmaster takes on a decidedly public domain slant in its presentation of server configuration, primarily aimed at the freeware Apache server, and PHP, the freeware server-side scripting language. Even if you don't code with these tools, however, this book offers plenty of industry-standard reference. --Stephen Plain

Publisher: O'Reilly
Authors: Stephen Spainhour, Robert Eckstein
Release Date: 1999-06-01
ISBN/EAN: 1565923251 / 9781565923256

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