Customer Reviews

Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional (Books for Professionals by Professionals)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I admit it. I really like Python as a programming language. So there. :-)
I think that Magnus has a very reasonable approach to presenting Python as a programming language. The real benefit to this book, however, is the collection of projects, and the way in which they are presented. Each project chapter is presented using the following template:

- What's the problem
- Useful tools
- Preparations
- First implementation
- Second implementation
...
- Putting it all together
- Further exploration

Far too many programming books present the "final" code in all its "glory" with no indication to the reader that it took multiple iterations to get to the code that was presented.

Yes, this takes a bit more room, but for those to whom programming is new, it is a very valuable technique. It is really important for programmers to realize that the first draft, or attempt, doesn't have to (and will almost never) be right, or complete.

Thanks
Magnus!

With the move to Python 3.0, I've been reading newer Python books a lot recently, either in final print form or pre-publication drafts. Then a friend just gave me her copy of this book, which I had read before but did not own.

I ended up re-reading a lot of this book and loving it more this time around. In particular, Magnus writes true Python code, getting to the heart of the language itself. I've read one too many "Python" books that are merely re-writes of a programming book from another language. Sure, you can re-write your C or Java code in Python, but to really grasp the beauty and efficiency of Python, you should be writing true Python (Pythonic) code. Magnus gets it, and this book is definitely worth reading, even now. It would be nice to have a version updated to 3.0, but this book is much better than the few 3.0 books I have seen published so far.

I've been programming computers since 1960. This is the best book I've ever seen on learning a new language. Material is introduced at the right pace, in the right order, and in a very readable fashion. I highly recommend it. I tried other books on Python (free and non-free) and chose this one as the best for me. I think it will be the best for you, too!

This book is pretty well written and easy to understand. The first few chapters seem really analogous to the MIT OCW beginning Python course.

My main issue with the book is that it is supposed to cover Python 3. The author states that the Python 2 syntax is nearly identical to Python 3 and that where it is different in the book he will make note of it. However, there are several examples that will give errors in Python 3 that are not noted by the author.

The cover of this book clearly says "Covered Version 3". Unfortnately, the extent of this coverages is Appendix D, about 7 pages. The rest of this book covers version 2.5. Sounds like a sneaky way to sell a second edition.

As a non-programmer (well, a dabbler I suppose), I thought this book would be perfect start for my foray into Python. While there are some good points, such as the appendices and projects at the end, I found this book extremely frustrating. Instead of presenting each new method or concept simply, and then adding complexity as you gain familiarity with the basics of its function, Magnus seems to throw the kitchen sink of everything you've covered thus far in the book into the opening example.

Additionally he has the annoying habit of naming variables he uses in the examples to things so close to the basic functionality he is describing, that you are left wondering if it is indeed a variable he's created or built-in functionality that he is calling. This leaves you having to substitute his variable with your own just to test it and find out. For example, he uses the variable 'key' in the same section he is talking about the keys() method.

Another annoyance is his employment of the interactive shell as a means of entering your code. Who really does this? Sure it's ok for really short examples, but most people code using a text editor. If he took this into account, it would negate the need for all the '>>>' characters printed in the book which are nothing but a distraction.

This practice of course lends itself to the breaking up of the code examples into snippets -- which, while on the surface seem easier to digest, just make things more complicated when you are flipping multiple pages and concatenating snippets in your head to come up with the meaning of the entire sequence. This would be fine if they presented the entire code block at the end, but they don't.

To combat this, I found myself downloading the source from the Apress website to paste the snippets together... but of course it's incomplete, missing entire chapters.

Don't get me wrong, there is some good stuff in here, but I think this book needs some serious attention paid to presentation if there is to be a third edition.

Mangnus Hetland's book was my intro to the python world. He strikes a balance between being tutorial for a programmer with shaky feet to being empowering by giving insights into software development ideas for bigger projects. Speaking of those, not only does he enrich the book with a tour of the object oriented and pattern filled language. To show these pieces in practice, he offers multiple practical project pieces (parsing markups like html/xml, building GUIs, erecting a web service) that make a rookie feel good to see working. And he does so with iterative programming, showing a simple implementation and then a more filled in one, as is natural for a programmer to go through without feeling overwhelmed. Throughout the book he throws all sorts of wisdom from the various hats that he wears, (teacher, developer and Pythonista...). I credit a lot to him the scripts I have running on production servers.

I picked up this book knowing very little python and it really helped me get up to speed quickly. I don't know why but this book just clicked with me and I was able to get my head around the concepts easily. Highly recommended for beginners, it brings you up to speed with everything up to web frameworks, gui toolkits and more. Try Python Cookbook from O'Reilly for your next read or for more experienced coders.

While the concepts were easy to understand, I really can't say that I've learned Python after reading this book. All chapters end with a quiz to answer questions about Python concepts, but almost none have relevant coding exercises to go along with them. You can read about concepts forever, but until you actually sit down and write out some code, there's no way you'll understand how a language works. Disappointed with this overall.

I took this book with me on vacation and read it cover to cover. I have ready many books on various languages so I have experience the good and the very very bad. This book bubbled up on my very good list. I now feel comfortable with Python and have already started developing in it.

Not only does the author pack the book with many examples, he does a great job explaining why it works and why one way is better then another. He also covers the long and short approaches to certain language constructs. Apress continue to produce good quality books. This is a perfect example.

I recommend it for anyone at any level who wants to learn all they need about python.
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