Customer Reviews

Python for Bioinformatics (Chapman & Hall/CRC Mathematical & Computational Biology)

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I can only say that I highly recommend this book, especially for the biologist that is beginning in bioinformatics or python (or both). I cannot compare it to any other Python and Bioinformatics books (I'm planning to buy the another one), but I can say that I could learn a thing or two from Sebastian's book. Evidently is not a perfect book, as some of the explanations are a little bit rushed and might be difficult for a beginner. At the same time this is a very carefully thought and planned book and has more than enough for one to learn Python and apply the language to solve biological problems. I really liked the BioPython section, and this section made me use BioPython for the first time. Some of BioPython's examples in the book are light years ahead of the examples in the tool's website.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate Sebastian for his work and effort in putting together a nice tome for Python and Bioinformatics. It's a valuable resource for everyone in the field and certainly will help spread Python in the community.

This should not be your first python book, for that use "How to think like a computer scientist, Python version", which is available free online. But as the next book this one beats the heck out of any of the others I've tried, especially if Bioinformatics is your primary interest. Strives for logical completeness in his presentation of Python's features, unlike most books which give you a grab-bag. Approximately one zillion typos and errors in the English text, but who cares -- his code seems to be very tight, and all is available online. This is not Python for Idiots, but is not an exercise in some author demonstrating what opaque code he can generate either. He strives for clarity and moving you forward in small steps -- doesn't always succeed, but at least tries. Exceptional programming language book -- there is a good reason the used price is same as new -- this is not a book you'll discard soon.