PHP Web Services: APIs for the Modern Web

I use a lot of web services in my work – both accessing others’ data and sharing my own. Upon embarking on these projects, I never had a formal introduction to APIs. In typical developer fashion, I just dove into the deep end and only then learned to swim. However, some of us don’t learn that way and require a written tutorial. Even those of us who do dive in without reading the print first end up needing to solidify concepts later – something best facilitated by comprehensive treatments. For web services (i.e., APIs or Application Programmer Interfaces) in the PHP programming language, Mitchell’s work fills that need by providing a short but comprehensive treatment. It’s power-packed with concepts, code examples, and places to explore more for details.Topics include everything you can think of around the API space: HTTP fundamentals, headers, cookies, data formats, access points, tools, documentation, project management, and maintenance. Mitchell covers it all. As such, it’s helpful to fill in gaps of knowledge that experience alone as a developer did not expose me to. At 180 pages, it’s a very quick and available read. I plan to refer back to the content while this book sits on my shelf.The appropriate audiences for this book include intermediate and advanced PHP programmers along with engineering-savvy project managers. Those still mastering the fundamentals of PHP will probably find this book too advanced. Those interested in the engineering concepts and not just the code will find this book accessible to their needs as readers can skip over the code if desired. Those overachievers who seek ultimate mastery can visit URLs referencing the Internet for more details.I’m glad that O’Reilly chose to come out with a second edition of this book in 2016. The state of the art hasn’t changed much six years after that date (at the time of my writing), but the state of the art certainly did change between 2013 and 2016. Those who seek to master API technology in PHP (still the most dominant programming language of the web) will do well to consult, borrow from, and bounce forward off of Mitchell’s learning contained in this book.

In preparation for building a RESTful API for my own personal app (and other on-the-job projects), I recently read Lorna Jane Mitchell's book " PHP Web Services: APIs for the Modern Web ". It was fantastic and everything one could hope for in a technical read. It covered a wide range of topics, and yet each was in just enough detail that I could create working samples of my own. It wasn't a very long read either, despite covering a great deal of material. I was able to read it cover-to-cover in about two days. Not only was it quick, but it was pleasant as well, which often isn't the case with technical material. It flowed nicely, and Lorna kept my attention.In terms of the material itself, by the end I felt like I had a great handle on these topics:* The flow from request to response* Different protocols (RPC, SOAP, REST)* Data formats (JSON, XML...)* Various tools for implementation: from CLI, to PHP, to online.* Different testing approaches* Documentation* Best practices and an approach to design robust servicesThank you Lorna for putting together such a valuable resource!

Easy to understand and to the point

Great book to start off with web development! Helped me tremendously. Would recommend to beginners.

OK, not great.

In het boek komen geen functionele voorbeelden tegen: bijvoorbeeld hoe webservices effectief kunnen worden geimplementeerd aan de clientside en de serverside. $25 is veel geld voor een boek wat alleen algemene informatie geeft over web services.

very little information in the book for practical purpose ... probably suitable for manager types who only have to have superficial information.

Great read!

Really nicely written. Good example code.Since I'm not an expert on PHP Web Services, (hence buying the book), I can't say for sure that it's perfect, but it has met my need perfectly. (Does that even make sense?).Recommended.

I found this book very informative, but most of the space is given over to supporting tools, (as creating Web services with PHP is very easy).

Great book, really enjoyed it. Wish it covered authenticating users over an API too (oAuth preferably) though. Good introduction though.

No diré que comprar este libro haya sido una completa pérdida de dinero y tiempo, pero esperaba que fuera mejor. El problema es que habla de muchos temas interesantes (y todos relevantes al título), pero sin profundidad alguna. Se limita a introducirlos, darte un par de ejemplos y pasar al siguiente capítulo.Dicho de una vez: si lo que buscas es una introducción, PHP web services está bien; pero si es una referencia, mejor busca en otra parte.

I was hoping this would help me with a project that required knowledge of SOAP, which it did, and it also helped me to understand other Web services with JSON.