The Yii Book: How to Master the Yii Framework with Larry Ullman's Expertise
The Yii Book by Larry Ullman: A Comprehensive Guide to the Yii Framework
If you are a web developer who wants to learn how to use one of the most popular and powerful PHP frameworks available today, then you should definitely check out The Yii Book by Larry Ullman.
the yii book larry ullman pdf
This book is a clear, concise, and thorough guide to the Yii framework that covers everything from very basics to advanced topics. It is written by a renowned author and expert in web development who has been using and teaching Yii for years.
In this article, we will give you an overview of what this book is about, who is the author, why is it useful for Yii developers, and how to get it. We will also compare the two editions of the book that cover different versions of Yii: Yii 1.1 and Yii 2.0.
What is Yii and why use it?
Yii is an open-source PHP framework that follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern and provides a fast, secure, and professional way to create web applications.
Some of the main features and benefits of using Yii are:
It is easy to install and configure, and has a friendly and active community.
It supports rapid development with the help of a powerful code generator tool called Gii, which can create models, controllers, views, forms, CRUD operations, and more with just a few clicks.
It has a rich set of built-in components and extensions that provide common functionalities such as database access, caching, authentication, authorization, validation, pagination, etc.
It supports ActiveRecord, which is an object-relational mapping (ORM) technique that allows you to manipulate database data as objects and relations.
It implements a role-based access control (RBAC) system that allows you to define permissions and rules for different users and actions.
It has a high performance and scalability, thanks to its efficient caching and lazy loading mechanisms.
It follows the best practices and standards of web development, such as PSR-4, Composer, PHPUnit, etc.
It is flexible and extensible, allowing you to customize and extend almost every aspect of the framework according to your needs.
With Yii, you can create any kind of web application, from simple blogs and portfolios to complex e-commerce and social networking sites.
What is covered in the book?
The Yii Book is divided into three parts: the first part introduces the framework and its basic concepts; the second part covers the first edition of the book for Yii 1.1; and the third part covers the second edition of the book for Yii 2.0.
The book has a total of 29 chapters and two appendices. Each chapter explains a specific topic or feature of Yii in detail, with clear examples and code snippets. The book also includes two complete example applications that are built with Yii: a content management system (CMS) and an e-commerce website. These applications demonstrate how to use Yii in real-world scenarios and how to apply the best practices and techniques learned throughout the book.
The book covers a wide range of topics, such as:
Installing and configuring Yii
Understanding MVC and OOP
Creating controllers, views, models, and forms
Using Gii to generate code
Working with databases and ActiveRecord
Implementing authentication and authorization
Using widgets, behaviors, modules, and extensions
Caching data and pages
Creating RESTful APIs
Testing applications with PHPUnit and Codeception
Migrating data and code between Yii versions
And much more...
The book is suitable for beginners who have some basic knowledge of PHP and web development, as well as for intermediate and advanced developers who want to master Yii and learn new skills and tricks.
How to get the book?
The Yii Book is written and self-published by Larry Ullman. It is currently available only in English and in electronic formats: PDF, epub, and mobi. You can purchase the book from his website: https://larry.pub/.
You can pay any price of $20 (USD) or higher, based on how much you can afford and what you expect his work will be worth. For that payment amount, you get:
The right to download the current edition in as many formats as you like and as many times as you like.
The right to download updates to the bookfor freeuntil December 31, 2019. And, of course, as many times as you like in as many formats as you like.
No Digital Rights Management (DRM) imposition.
If you have any questions, you can check the FAQ page on his website or contact him directly via email or social media.
The second edition of the book is incomplete! The Yii 1 version of the bookthe first editionis done. The Yii 2 version of the bookthe second editionis two-thirds complete (405 pages). You can download both after you pay. Larry is in the process of updating the entire book for Yii 2. He doesn't know how long that will take. If you'd rather wait until the entire book is done for Yii 2, then please come back later. Thanks!
The Yii Book: First Edition for Yii 1.1
However, Yii 1.1 is also outdated and no longer supported by the Yii team. It does not follow the latest standards and practices of web development, such as PSR-4, Composer, namespaces, dependency injection, etc. It also lacks some features and enhancements that are available in Yii 2.0, such as RESTful APIs, console commands, migrations, RBAC enhancements, etc.
Therefore, if you are starting a new project with Yii, it is recommended that you use Yii 2.0 instead of Yii 1.1. However, if you have an existing project that uses Yii 1.1, or if you want to learn the basics of Yii from a historical perspective, then reading the first edition of the book can still be useful and beneficial for you.
The basics of Yii 1.1
The first part of the first edition of the book covers the basics of Yii 1.1. It consists of 10 chapters that introduce you to the core concepts and components of the framework.
In these chapters, you will learn how to:
Install and configure Yii 1.1 on your web server and development environment
Understand the MVC and OOP paradigms that Yii follows and how they help you organize your code and logic
Create controllers that handle user requests and actions
Create views that display the user interface and output
Create models that represent and manipulate data from various sources, such as databases, files, sessions, etc.
Create forms that collect and validate user input
Use Gii to generate code for models, controllers, views, forms, CRUD operations, and more with just a few clicks
Use widgets to add common UI elements and functionalities to your views, such as menus, breadcrumbs, pagination, etc.
Use filters to perform common tasks before or after a controller action is executed, such as authentication, authorization, logging, etc.
Use themes and layouts to customize the appearance and structure of your views
By the end of this part, you will have a solid foundation of Yii 1.1 and be able to create basic web applications with it.
The advanced topics of Yii 1.1
The second part of the first edition of the book covers the advanced topics of Yii 1.1. It consists of 9 chapters that explain some of the more complex and powerful features of the framework.
In these chapters, you will learn how to:
Use behaviors to attach additional functionalities to your components without modifying their code
Use modules to group related components and functionalities into reusable packages
Use extensions to add third-party libraries and components to your application
Use events to trigger custom actions when certain events occur in your application
Use caching to improve the performance and scalability of your application by storing frequently used data or pages in memory or other storage systems
Use internationalization (i18n) and localization (l10n) to make your application support multiple languages and formats
Use error handling and logging to handle exceptions and errors gracefully and record important information for debugging and analysis
Use security measures to protect your application from common attacks and threats, such as XSS, CSRF, SQL injection, etc.
Use testing tools and techniques to ensure the quality and functionality of your application
By the end of this part, you will have a deep understanding of Yii 1.1 and be able to create complex and professional web applications with it.
The examples of Yii 1.1
The third part of the first edition of the book covers the examples of Yii 1.1. It consists of two chapters that show you how to build two complete web applications with Yii 1.1: a content management system (CMS) and an e-commerce website.
The CMS application allows you to create and manage pages, posts, comments, users, etc. It demonstrates how to use many features of Yii 1.1, such as ActiveRecord relations, RBAC system, widgets, filters, themes, modules, extensions, events, caching, i18n, error handling, logging, security, testing, etc.
The e-commerce website allows you to sell and buy products, manage orders, customers, inventory, etc. It demonstrates how to use some features of Yii 1.1 that are not covered in the CMS application, such as shopping cart, payment gateway, email sending, PDF generation, etc.
By the end of this part, you will have two fully functional web applications that you can use as templates or references for your own projects.
The Yii Book: Second Edition for Yii 2.0
The second edition of The Yii Book covers Yii version 2.0, which was released in October 2014 and is the latest and most advanced version of the framework. Yii 2.0 is a complete rewrite of Yii 1.1 that incorporates many new features and improvements, as well as some changes and breaks in compatibility.
Some of the main changes and improvements in Yii 2.0 compared to Yii 1.1 are:
It follows the PSR-4 standard for autoloading classes and uses Composer for managing dependencies
It uses namespaces to organize classes and avoid name conflicts
It uses dependency injection and service locator patterns to manage object creation and configuration
It supports RESTful APIs out of the box with a dedicated controller class and a set of helper methods
It supports console commands that can be executed from the command line or via cron jobs
It supports database migrations that can be applied or reverted programmatically
It enhances the RBAC system with rule-based access checks and hierarchical roles and permissions
It introduces new components and widgets, such as GridView, ListView, DetailView, ActiveForm, Pjax, etc.
It improves the performance and scalability with new caching components, such as Memcached, Redis, etc.
It improves the security measures with new features, such as password hashing, password reset, rate limiting, etc.
And much more...
Therefore, if you want to use the latest and greatest version of Yii, or if you want to upgrade your existing Yii 1.1 projects to Yii 2.0, then reading the second edition of the book is a must for you.
The basics of Yii 2.0
The first part of the second edition of the book covers the basics of Yii 2.0. It consists of 10 chapters that introduce you to the core concepts and components of the framework.
In these chapters, you will learn how to:
Install and configure Yii 2.0 on your web server and development environment
Understand the namespaces and autoloading mechanisms that Yii follows and how they help you organize your code and dependencies
Create controllers that handle user requests and actions
Create views that display the user interface and output
Create models that represent and manipulate data from various sources, such as databases, files, sessions, etc.
Create forms that collect and validate user input
Use Gii to generate code for models, controllers, views, forms, CRUD operations, and more with just a few clicks
Use widgets to add common UI elements and functionalities to your views, such as menus, breadcrumbs, pagination, etc.
Use filters to perform common tasks before or after a controller action is executed, such as authentication, authorization, logging, etc.
Use themes and layouts to customize the appearance and structure of your views
By the end of this part, you will have a solid foundation of Yii 2.0 and be able to create basic web applications with it.
The advanced topics of Yii 2.0
The second part of the second edition of the book covers the advanced topics of Yii 2.0. It consists of 9 chapters that explain some of the more complex and powerful features of the framework.
In these chapters, you will learn how to:
Use dependency injection and service locator to manage object creation and configuration
Create RESTful APIs that support CRUD operations, pagination, sorting, filtering, authentication, authorization, etc.
Create console commands that can be executed from the command line or via cron jobs
Create database migrations that can be applied or reverted programmatically
Use behaviors to attach additional functionalities to your components without modifying their code
Use modules to group related components and functionalities into reusable packages
Use extensions to add third-party libraries and components to your application
events occur in your application
Use caching to improve the performance and scalability of your application by storing frequently used data or pages in memory or other storage systems
Use internationalization (i18n) and localization (l10n) to make your application support multiple languages and formats
Use error handling and logging to handle exceptions and errors gracefully and record important information for debugging and analysis
Use security measures to protect your application from common attacks and threats, such as XSS, CSRF, SQL injection, etc.
Use testing tools and techniques to ensure the quality and functionality of your application
By the end of this part, you will have a deep understanding of Yii 2.0 and be able to create complex and professional web applications with it.
The examples of Yii 2.0
The third part of the second edition of the book covers the examples of Yii 2.0. It consists of two chapters that show you how to build two complete web applications with Yii 2.0: a content management system (CMS) and an e-commerce website.
The CMS application allows you to create and manage pages, posts, comments, users, etc. It demonstrates how to use many features of Yii 2.0, such as ActiveRecord relations, RBAC system, widgets, filters, themes, modules, extensions, events, caching, i18n, error handling, logging, security, testing, etc.
The e-commerce website allows you to sell and buy products, manage orders, customers, inventory, etc. It demonstrates how to use some features of Yii 2.0 that are not covered in the CMS application, such as RESTful APIs, console commands, migrations, shopping cart, payment gateway, email sending, PDF generation, etc.
By the end of this part, you will have two fully functional web applications that you can use as templates or references for your own projects.
Conclusion and FAQs
In this article, we have given you an overview of The Yii Book by Larry Ullman, a comprehensive guide to the Yii framework that covers both Yii 1.1 and Yii 2.0 versions. We have also compared the two editions of the book and summarized their main contents and topics.
If you are a web developer who wants to learn how to use one of the most popular and powerful PHP frameworks available today, then you should definitely read this book. It will teach you everything you need to know about Yii and help you create amazing web applications with it.
Here are some tips and resources for further learning:
Visit the official website of Yii at https://www.yiiframework.com/ for more information and documentation about the framework
Join the Yii community at https://forum.yiiframework.com/ for support and discussion with other developers
Follow Larry Ullman on his website at https://larry.pub/ for more books and articles about web development
Practice what you learn by creating your own web applications with Yii and share them with others
We hope you enjoyed this article and found it useful. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us or leave a comment below.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about The Yii Book and Yii framework:
What is the difference between Yii 1.1 and Yii 2.0?
Yii 1.1 and Yii 2.0 are different versions of the same framework that have some similarities and differences. Yii 2.0 is a complete rewrite of Yii 1.1 that incorporates many new features and improvements, as well as some changes and breaks in compatibility. For more details, see https://www.yiiframework.com/doc/guide/2.0/en/intro-upgrade-from-v1.
Which version of Yii should I use?
It depends on your situation and preference. If you are starting a new project with Yii, it is recommended that you use Yii 2.0 instead of Yii 1.1, as it is the latest and most advanced version of the framework. However, if you have an existing project that uses Yii 1.1, or if you want to learn the basics of Yii from a historical perspective, then reading the first edition of the book can still be useful and beneficial for you.
How can I upgrade my Yii 1.1 project to Yii 2.0?
There is no automatic or easy way to upgrade your Yii 1.1 project to Yii 2.0, as there are many changes and breaks in compatibility between the two versions. You will need to rewrite your code and adjust your configuration according to the new features and standards of Yii 2.0. For more guidance, see https://www.yiiframework.com/doc/guide/2.0/en/intro-upgrade-from-v1.
How can I get updates for The Yii Book?
If you have purchased The Yii Book from Larry Ullman's website, you can get updates for the book until December 31, 2019. You can download the latest version of the book in any format from your account page on his website. You can also subscribe to his newsletter or follow him on social media to get notified of new updates.
How can I contact Larry Ullman?
You can contact Larry Ullman via email at larry@larryullman.com or via social media on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. You can also leave a comment on his website or forum.
71b2f0854b