So it’s 2013! I thought an update on “The Yii Book” would be a good way to start off the year. As you may know, I am behind schedule on the book, but this is apparently how I write books (i.e., always behind schedule). Not that it makes it right. Anyway…
I was hoping to have the book done by the end of February, but that doesn’t look plausible at the moment. My hopeful, revised schedule is therefore:
- Post another update around mid-January. This should include Chapter 8, “Working with Databases,” Chapter 9, “Working with Forms,” and Chapter 10, “Maintaining State”.
- Post another update by the end of January. This should complete Part 2 of the book, through Chapter 14.
- Write Part 3 of the book in February. That’s 8 chapters, probably released in two updates.
- Write Part 4 of the book in March. That’s 4 chapters and brings us to the end of the book.
I think this is a reasonably manageable schedule. I’m not taking on any new projects until the book is done, nor am I doing any traveling. In short, it’s all Yii book all the time from here on out.
After the entire book has been written, I’ll probably spend a couple of weeks going back through the whole thing to make final edits. I’ll fix any remaining errors, clear up anything that’s been confusing, and so forth. I’ll probably play with LaTeX some more to sharpen up the layout and formatting one last time. Once I’ve done all that, I’ll post an official release of version 1.0 of the book. This really should be in April at the latest.
Once version 1 of the book is in the can, there will be three things left to do (i.e., that I’ve obligated myself to pursue):
- Update the book for version 2 of the Yii framework
- Have the book translated into other languages
- Have the book printed
I’ll have to see where things stand with version 2 of Yii before making a decision as to the order. If Yii 2 is close, I’ll update the book before having it translated or printed. If Yii 2 does not seem to be close, I’ll go ahead with the translation and printing before updating it for Yii 2.
Note that anyone who buys the book will get all future updates, including the major overhaul for Yii 2, for free. (I’m currently saying all updates until the end of 2014 will be free for existing purchasers.)
The translations will be a separate purchase, with the pricing to be determined. I might offer translations at a discount to those that have purchased the English edition, and at full price to those that have not. Not sure about this one. Some of the money for the translations will be going to the translators.
The printed version of the book will be a separate purchase, too, with the pricing also to be determined. Again, I might offer the print version at a discount to those that purchased the electronic edition, and at full price to those that have not. Not sure about this one either.
I won’t be printing any translated versions of the book, I can’t imagine.
So that’s where things stand on “The Yii Book”. Let me know if you have any questions or problems. My sincerest thanks to everyone for their interest in the book and especially to those that have already bought a copy.
