Customer Reviews

An Introduction to Python

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have read several texts on python, all of them basically teaching me Java with python syntax. This is the first book I've read that taught me python with python syntax.

Pros: You will finally understand how to write python code. The book leaves no part of the language uncovered.

Cons: This is really a language reference, if you don't know how to program well in another language I don't know if it would be spectacularly useful. It does not cover any API's extensively.

I love it, and for the price you can't go wrong.

This is the most concise, yet thorough, description of Python I have found among a half-dozen of the most highly-rated books about Python. It is thorough, yet to the point. It covers aspects of Python not found in any of the other books (I found the online version of this book by searching for such a topic, but wanted the physical book). Guido van Rossum is the author of the Python Language, so he is the definitive source for information about Python; and his books are very readable.

This book is very readable for anyone who is experienced in another language. Although Python itself may be a good first language, this book is a bit too concise for someone learning a programming language for the first time. For such a person, I would recommend "The Quick Python Book" by Harms and McDonald ("Dive Into Python" by Pilgrim and "Core Python Programming" by Chun are also good).

Good book for a beginner like me. Recently updated for python 2.5. I like the author's style and also because he offers the book for free on the web. I wanted to support the author for all of his hard work.

I see this this book as being to Python what K&R is to C. A terse yet useful overview of the basics of the programming language by the creator of the language itself. I personally found the writing to be a little dry, but the short chapters made it more than tolerable. I think it's a great book as a first read to get started in the language, but don't expect to be writing any sophisticated code based on the content of this book alone, as it really is just an introduction to the language. It will definitely leave you wanting for more information (though I mean that in a good way...).

As a bonus, the purchase of this book also helps to support the Python Software Foundation that continues to evolve the Python language.

You can't beat it for insight into the language. It's a little dry but it's the best primer I have seen on Python.

This book is literally the printed version of the online Python introduction from Guido. If (like me) there's comfort to learning Python on paper, this is a good investment. It now holds my notes as well as the text.