Rating: 

Thanks, O'Reilly, for blowing nearly a whole day of my time because of errors and omissions in the book. I've been struggling with getting mySQL to work with PHP (after all, that's what the whole book is about!!!) only to discover the erratum on page 23.

Seriously, O'Reilly? The whole book is devoted to PHP and mySQL and you couldn't even get that right in the installation section? I have absolutely no confidence in this book now, given the gravity of that error, plus the other obvious errors I've seen so far. How can I trust any instructions I'm being given? I wonder how much more of my time you're hoping to throw away making me chase answers to problems that only exist because of errors in your book?

This is pathetic considering the book cost $30 USD.

Because of this single error I'm a day behind now. Some errors are trivial enough to be excusable. Failing to include steps in the installation instructions necessary to move forward with the very subject of the book is inexcusable.

Hey editors - how about actually proofing a book before you release it? Your obviously slack attitude has real consequences for your customers.

I also find it shameful that the author pretends that the errors in the book are OK or trivial. Failing to actually describe steps is not the same as a typographical error. But maybe she thinks I should have assumed I was supposed to do something that I was explicitly instructed NOT to do, in the same way we're supposed to assume "slash" means "backslash."

Do not buy this book. O'Reilly has not earned your money on this one.