G. Aiken said
Essential reading if you are starting out with Drupal. I have several books on drupal that are somewhat meaningless without the foundation this book offers. Buy it!
Kevin Marshall said
Drupal for Dummies is a great introduction to one of the most powerful and popular PHP based frameworks/systems out there!
This book really helps a non-programmer or non-web developer go from having an idea about a web site to ACTUALLY having a real, functioning, and useful web site. And it does it in a very clear, clean, and plain-English sort of way.
I really recommend this book to anyone that's been 'too scared' to dive into web development or anyone that thinks doing 'real' websites is too technical and hard.
Randy Lent said
Drupal for Dummies is an excellent introduction to Drupal. Ms. Beighley's writing style is refreshingly clear and concise. This is the third book on Drupal that I have read in the past few weeks, and I wish it had been my first. While I cannot judge this book from the perspective of someone with no previous exposure to Drupal, I did find it to be well-written and an excellent review of material I have read elsewhere. I was pleased that the author includes instructions on backing up a Drupal website, as this information was lacking in the first Drupal book I read. (See my review of Sams Teach Yourself Drupal in 24 Hours)
I have installed Drupal on my desktop computer using first BitNami, and then WAMP, and ran into complications that sent me to the Drupal forums for solutions. At one point in reading Drupal for Dummies, I thought the book to be perhaps a little too optimistic, but then Ms. Beighley did point out that the reader may need to seek help elsewhere to overcome difficulties with installing Drupal. For a localhost installation, the author recommends XAMPP. I wonder if I could have avoided problems if I had tried XAMPP first.
I should disclose that I did not do the hands-on exercises in the book. I read Drupal for Dummies after working through several chapters of Using Drupal so I didn't feel the need to repeat procedures that I had already done. I did, however, read all of the exercises in Drupal for Dummies and found them to be very well presented.
A book cannot be both concise (and cheap) and comprehensive. Drupal for Dummies is concise. If you decide that you are serious about pursuing web development with Drupal, Drupal for Dummies will not be the only Drupal book you will buy, but it is an excellent introduction and a real bargain.
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