The "for Dummies" series of books

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I just bought PHP and MySQL for Dummies. I could've gone with the O'Reilly series or something, but no, the Dummies franchise won out. I bought a book that calls me a dummy. However, I am a dummy when it comes to PHP and MySQL, so maybe this shows a zen-like acceptance of my state?

Have you ever bought one of these books? What kind of luck did you have with it?

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:32 (twenty-two years ago)

also in the bookstore I saw "Google For Dummies"...it was at least as thick as my PHP book. Surely PHP is not as easy as Google?

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:32 (twenty-two years ago)

TS: X for Dummies vs the Complete Idiot's Guide to X

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Sunday, 5 October 2003 17:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Classic. They're not condecending; they assume that you know that you know nothing, and workupwars from their.

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Sunday, 5 October 2003 18:03 (twenty-two years ago)

The For Dummies series seems kind of cluttered and poorly laid-out, and some of them were obviously written very quickly and without much care to detail. I used to have the HTML one and hated it! I think it really varies from topic to topic - I'm sure some of them are good, but I looked through Macs For Dummies and it was giving tips that even I (as a dummy) knew were poor advice. Also, I really dislike the For Dummies "sense of humour," but that's more a personal bias. The Complete Idiot's Guide versions look more sensible overall.

― Poppy (poppy), Sunday, 5 October 2003 18:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I liked it better when dummies stayed dummies.

― hstencil, Sunday, 5 October 2003 18:12 (twenty-two years ago)

"for Dummies"- Classic
"chicken soup"- Dud

― brg30 (brg30), Sunday, 5 October 2003 18:36 (twenty-two years ago)

"google for dummies"? are you kidding?

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Sunday, 5 October 2003 18:37 (twenty-two years ago)

There's a looong and rather disturbing article about the chicken soup books in this week's New Yorker...

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Sunday, 5 October 2003 18:41 (twenty-two years ago)

I actually have PHP/MySQL for Dummies myself, and it's okay for learning the general language structure and all that, but it's done fuckall for me as far as figuring out how to sensibly DESIGN a site. I mean, I know what it is I want to do and how I want to implement it, but it's indexed really badly, misses some crucial points on database structures, and ultimately doesn't teach independent PHP design.

So I'd say, buy it to learn the ropes, but buy something else slightly more advanced and much more comprehensive when you actually need to get started on the work itself.

― Girolamo Savonarola, Sunday, 5 October 2003 19:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Go directly to the PHP and MySQL books from Wrox Press. I find them pretty superior to the O'Reilly equivalents. I refuse to buy a "dummy" or an "idiot" book.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 5 October 2003 19:22 (twenty-two years ago)

So many of the "Dummies" books are poorly written, and most of the rest of them are so incomprehensive as not to be worth the paper. "Wine for Dummies," et. al. You learn as much about wine just by asking aomeone at a party.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Sunday, 5 October 2003 20:03 (twenty-two years ago)

twelve years pass...

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/01/14/15/3029173A00000578-3399427-image-a-30_1452783906436.jpg

Daniel Jones was described as an 'eccentric Walter Mitty' character during the trial when one of the accused men told of his strange habits.

Police found a box of dust masks, the book 'Forensics for Dummies', a drill, balaclavas and a walkie-talkie at his house.

The trial heard Jones, of Enfield, was 'eccentric to extremes' and would speak to his white-haired terrier dog, Rocket, as if it were human.

Accused Carl Wood told the court: 'Danny is a very sensitive guy, a very funny man. Eccentric to extremes, that everyone who knew Danny would say he was mad. He would go to bed in his mother's dressing gown with a fez on.'

Jones has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1975, with convictions for robbery, handling stolen goods and and burglary.

― christmas capybara (nakhchivan), Thursday, 14 January 2016 17:51 (nine years ago)

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The "for Dummies" series of books - C or D?