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It's well-written and can even help those with just a little php knowledge. "

I was recommended this book by a friend, at first glance not only was i hungrey for the book but i also got the urge to bake some cakes!!!!

I wont go into a mass depth about what the book has inside, all i will say is if you have an oscommerce store, then you NEED THIS BOOK!!!

IT IS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC"

Although the book is targeted at intermediate users already familiar with osCommerce, I found that most chapters (or recipes as they are appropriately referred to in the book) were easy to implement as long as you have a working installation of osCommerce in place and have some basic understanding of php and html.

Free download and installation instructions of osCommerce can be found at www.oscommerce.com, however this book will allow you to apply several key enhancements and additional functionality to your basic installation. You will find a range of useful applications; from simple code snippets to customize the design of your shopping cart to much more sophisticated functionality to tweak shipping, payment and other modules. Check out a full chapter summary above in this page.

For those not familiar yet with osCommerce, Monika makes each recipe easy to implement and understand. She always offers a "plain English" practical description of the application before delving into the insights of the code. Additionally, screenshots of the final result are offered as well as a list of new files to be created and files that will need to be modified (useful for preliminary backups).

I strongly recommend you buy this book, you will be glad you did as soon as you see your shopping cart projects take on additional life with these recipes. "

My wife kept me waiting until Christmas day but it was well worth the wait!!

An excellently written book, novelly themed as a cook book. This is actually very appropriate!

The book flows exceptionally well through the numerous (sixty nine)modifications. Each is explained in simple terms, that even I can follow and there is definitely plenty in here for everyone.

I would whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone who uses OSC, whether a novice or more experienced user. My favorite sections? Probably the graphical changes to make the sites look more unique plus improvements and additions to the Product Info pages - Excellent!!

I sincerely hope that there will be another installment soon. "

I was particularly pleased to find chapter 43 - I do not know of any other published source for a method of adding donations. It was very helpful! "

My wife thought that I was mad when I said that she had to drive home, I had to start reading it.

As soon as I got home I emailed the publisher for copies of the source code (to save my little fingers all that typing). The first recipe that really jumped out at me was in Chapter 2 'Create Separate Boxes for Each Top Category', I had toyed with solutions for this in the past with little success. This recipe was perfect for the job and was up an running in 10 minutes. I was amazed at how such a simple solution could provide great results.

Now I must say I am not the type of person who reads a book from cover to cover and then starts experimenting, I just get in and get my hands dirty!

One of the biggest questions I always get from my customers is 'How do I remove products from my shopping cart?' and I have to explain that you need to check the tick box and then click the update button, not anymore. Monika's recipe for a one click solution has saved me many man hours of replying to emails.

I always had a grumble whenever I had to change any of my stores' configuration values, all those options are not helped by the oscommerce default sort order and also the links were never highlighted (which you think they would be). In this book there is a recipe for highlighting and seperating the links into a more eye friendly display, grouping them by logic or even alphabetically.

As part of our future expansion plans we intend to start importing directly from China, Monika's recipe for adding an additional currency when entering a new product was just what we are looking for and this is already now a feature of our shop which will be put to very good use.

To summarise, this book is well worth the money, it will save you quite a few pounds in developer fees. It is neat, tidy and easy to follow and further more very very tasty!"

This book provides ready-made solutions to people who have installed osCommerce and now wish to change the way their prototype website looks and feels.

It's not for people who have yet to install osCommerce, nor is it for people who want to totally break the mould of the typical osCommerce 'look' with some advanced programming - but for all those others caught somewhere in between it's ideal.

Rhea (Vger on the osCommerce Forums) "

You won't just sit and read Deep Inside osCommerce from cover to cover. By the time I had finished chapter one I was already modifying my latest osCommerce project. As with any good cookbook, you will open it up to a recipe and work carefully through all the steps to completion. Each recipe is well laid out in an easy-to-follow style including screenshots clearly showing how the code change will affect an osCommerce default shop. The "Chef's suggestions" at the end of each recipe provide increased clarity and add greater depth.

If you know Monika Mathé by reputation from the osCommerce forum, you know she is a well-respected expert in the community and that her code is well thought out and effective. By publishing Deep Inside osCommerce Monika has given osCommerce store developers a useful resource. I give this book a full 5 stars, highly recommended for all osCommerce users. "

I've read in a few places that this is not a beginner's book. That really depends on your definition of "beginner." If you've managed to get osCommerce up and running, and if you've managed to install even just one or two of the contributions from the osCommerce support site, this book is for you. This is much closer to a beginner's book than to an expert's book, though I'm sure there isn't an expert out there who couldn't use at least some of the presentations.

At first glance, the chapter titles seem to be a little too "cute." But they grow on you. And you get to appreciate them. Besides which, a little light-heartedness mixed in with your work is a good thing. In what might be Monika's terms, I'd say it makes for a good recipe. I think of those titles as a sign that she enjoys what she's doing. And it's obvious she does. And when you enjoy what you're doing, you do it best. And she has.

The format of the book works well. At the beginning of each section, she presents specifically what that sections coding will accomplish. She then gives you the list of all the files you'll need to be working with. (This is a good time to back those up.) After, she explains in clear, concise and simple terms the step-by-step process to accomplish the goal.

Again, if you've installed a single contribution, you'll recognize the format and be immediately comfortable with it. While most of the instructions that go with the contributions on the osCommerce support site are well done (no pun intended), these are all very well done. I couldn't find a bit of confusion anywhere.

A great feature of the book was the insertion of screen shots to give a graphic display of the expected results. And her decision to use the default display was excellent. Everyone who has used osCommerce knows what that looks like and can immediately see what's changed.

In essence, what Monika has done in a very easy to understand manner is provide numerous recipes to make your eshop a little sleeker and more appealing, and your customers stay more pleasant. That, of course, should mean money in your pocket.

If you're planning to go into ecommerce and osCommerce is your choice (which I highly recommend), buy this book now. Even if you've never seen a bit of code in your life. By the time you get your first installation up and running (an incredibly easy chore), and you figure out how to get rid of "What's new here," "Lets see what we have here...," and "This is the default osCommerce setup...," you'll be ready for this book.

Just don't be tempted by the goodies in this book to ignore the contributions on the support site. They'll do a lot of good things for you that aren't covered and are not meant to be covered in this book. My one disappointment is that although Monika taught me how to put the billing address phone number in the confirmation email, she never taught me how to put the shipping address phone number in the confirmation email.

I'm going to repeat myself here for emphasis. If you're thinking of going into ecommerce and osCommerce is your choice, buy this book; you'll be glad you did.

And if you do that, I'll see you in the forums.

Look for me.

PS: After you buy the book, it's possible to get a download of the code to save yourself some typing. A great idea! "

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