Customer Reviews

Python How to Program, 1/e

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

 

 

Previously, I reviewed the "Java How to Program" book and found it to be a terrible waste, sure to take all the fun and creativity out of programming. So when I saw this book on the shelf, I flipped through it, hoping that the free-wheeling nature of Python might have lead the Deitels towards a more enlightened approach to instruction. I quickly found that this book has many lessons to teach (although few that I would agree with). For example:

* Python programmers are NOT having more fun than Java (or other) programmers; all languages are equally stultifying.

* Learning a language is a tedious task, centered around learning features of the syntax in a prescribed order. (This is like learning to cook by trying ingredients one at a time in alphabetical order, without ever trying to put together something tasty.)

* The practice of programming has no underlying principles, only an endless series of tips presented in overly-garish multicolor pages. (You'd be better off with a single chapter of "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" than with anything in this book.)

* Programming is inherently boring, involving endless repetitive typing; it is better for the programmer to do a lot of work than to expect the computer to. For example, consider this example from chapter 4 (Fig 4.7):

===================================

import random

frequency1 = 0
frequency2 = 0
frequency3 = 0
frequency4 = 0
frequency5 = 0
frequency6 = 0

for roll in range( 1, 6001 ): # 6000 die rolls
___face = random.randrange( 1, 7 )

___if face == 1: # frequency counted
______frequency1 += 1
___elif face == 2:
______frequency2 += 1
___elif face == 3:
______frequency3 += 1
___elif face == 4:
______frequency4 += 1
___elif face == 5:
______frequency5 += 1
___elif face == 6:
______frequency6 += 1
___else: # simple error handling
______print "should never get here!"

print "Face %13s" % "Frequency"
print " 1 %13d" % frequency1
print " 2 %13d" % frequency2
print " 3 %13d" % frequency3
print " 4 %13d" % frequency4
print " 5 %13d" % frequency5
print " 6 %13d" % frequency6

===================================

(Note I use "_" for blank because Amazon won't indent code properly.) This is 30 lines (42 if you count the copyright notice) for something that a grade-schooler could tell you (I know -- I asked one) is better done with 7 lines:

import random

def roll(n, sides=6):
____freq = [0] * sides
____for roll in range(n):
________freq[random.randrange(sides)] += 1
____return freq

print roll(6000)

I find it a case of unconscionable student-abuse to present examples like this, but I suppose the Deitels had their reasons: perhaps they hadn't introduced lists (or functions) yet. Perhaps lists (or functions) didn't fit readily into their idea of the right order to learn concepts in BASIC (which must therefore be the best order to learn concepts in every other language).

If you want to learn Python, or learn to Program with Python as your first language, try another book such as "Learning Python" or "Programming Python".

If you want to ensure that you won't appreciate why Python is the way it is and why it is interesting; if you want to be bored and avoid learning how to do something creative, by all means stick to this book.

I purchased Deitel & Deitel's C++ How to Program book long ago, and found it to be comprehensive and extrordinarily helpful.

When I picked up Python How to Program, I expected the same incredible experience. Instead, I was sorely disappointed by their complete lack of Pythonic thinking. It seems as if they took one of their other How to Program books and ran a code converter across it to migrate it to Python. As a previous reviewer pointed out, some of the examples are horrificly implemented, a clear case of programming in Python with the "C/C++ mentality."

The examples seemed fun, but no amount of fun can compensate for the fact that this book teaches you nothing about how to truely be a Python programmer. Anyone can read the lexical syntax descriptions on the python.org website and code the examples in this book. It gives me the feeling that Harvey Deitel did not learn Python for any reason other than to write an expensive book about it, and has no idea how to actually use the language.

I was also a technical reviewer for the book, and really liked it. Even considering the price of the book, I think it's quite valuable, because it explains the basics of so many topics in a manner that makes sense. If you are new to programming and would like to try out different things to see what you might like, such as web programming, XML, designing windows (lowercase 'w') that will work on a variety of platforms, databases, sockets, etc., you may find that this book provides material you would otherwise look through a literal stack of books to find. No programming book is perfect, but I think this one is pretty good.

No doubt about it the most well written and comprehensive Python book to date. This
Deitel team is hard to beat. They display a complete understanding in all their books
and are able to deliver an amazingly strong range and depth for all users. This
is a fluidly based book for all knowledge levels. The first 6 chapters are perfect for
beginning Pythoners. A really fun part of the book for me, was chapter 24 where you
get to create a CD player, Movie player, and a Space-Cruiser game. I was also pleased
that they included a chapter for web accessibility for Internet users with disabilities.
Most web site designers ignore web site accessibility, but in the future they will eventually have
to comply with the WCAG web site guidelines. On a side note, did you know that HTML is dead?
The Appendix has 2 chapters on XHTML, the new replacement for HTML.

Even though Guido Van Rossum derived the Python name after the popular BBC
comedy show, the Python language really has 2 sides; one of programming fun and the
other of programming power. The Deitel team really illustrates Python's power in several areas.
They delve fully into: control structures, functions, lists, tuples, dictionaries, CGI, OOP, classes,
inheritance, GUI, exceptions, strings, regular expressions, files, XML, XHTML, databases,
process management, multithreading, networking, security, data structures, multimedia,
voiceXML, WML, and Python server pages. Chapter 23 is a complete online
bookstore program that is pretty impressive.

I'm very excited about this book and the part that Python will play in the future of
programming and the Internet. I really see a promising future for Python in e-commerce.
I can tell you that from 5 years of hardcore web development, Python's big advantage over Perl
is that its more suited to OOP based CGI programs than Perl. I used Perl for 2 years for nothing but
web CGI and now I find myself using Python more and more. I'm not knocking Perl, I still use it,
and it certainly holds it's own areas, but when it comes to CGI and OOP applications development,
Python is fast, efficient and very tough to beat.

The CD that comes with the book has the following programs: Alice 99 Interactive 3D,
Python 2.2, Apache Web Server 1.3.22, Webware 0.6, Pixo Microbrowser 2.1, IBM WebSphere
Voice Server SDK 2.0 for Win 2k, web site links mentioned in the book and the code examples
from the book.

No matter what your skill level in Python, this book will aid you in your web development quest
and you won't be sorry for the purchase. Be a part of the Internet's new development future. Be a Pythoner.

Bibles, in the profane sense of the word, are huge books filled with clutter and not meaningful structure, which attempt to cover way more than they should. This is a clear example. It might be worth a quick look to a particular chapter, just to get a quick grasp of a particular area like XML, pygame, tkinter, etc. But definitely, this is not the book a beginner should use to learn the language, because as many said before, it seems to be a blind translation from their also crippled Java book. This reader, who cherished their C/C++ book couldn't be more dissappointed.

I provided technical review (I was one of many) for this book, but frankly I didn't enjoy it all that much. It does cover the material well, but the presentation is dry and the print (typeface) is unpleasant in my opinion.

As a textbook it would be quite effective; if they would reissue it in a clean, easy-to-read format (like an O'Reilly or New Riders book for instance) I'd rate it higher.

This book on Python is very complete and at the time it was published was better than any other book on Python. It is still an excellent book and has more information than any other Python book on the market. I have used the book as my major reference work for several years. For non-GUI programming you will find most of your questions answered in this book. The general tips on structure and theory of programming are particularly useful for people who do not have a formal education and degree in computer science.

I hope the authors will come out with a new edition that heavily covers newer GUI options including wxPython.

If you are new to Python this book is your best option although there have been some changes in Python since this book was published. If you are familiar with Python it can still be a valuable resource for you. If you have a formal education in computer science and also know the peculiarities of Python then perhaps several more specialized books on particular facets of the language and its uses would be more appropriate for you.

GUI programming is not covered sufficiently in this book to eliminate your need for another book focused specifically on the GUI of your choice. I anxiously await the publication of the book on the wxPython GUI which has been delayed several times and is now due by March of 2006.

I am a practicing mechanical engineer who's programming experience is based mainly in Fortran90. I wanted to learn Python as quickly as possible, but in a well structured manner. I tried learing Python from the book 'Learning Python', but became discouraged after a few days when the discussion became disjointed. 'Python How to Program' is an excellent book and reference for Python. It is extremely thorough covering many topics including object-oriented programming (three chapters) and web programming. This book will form the foundation of my Pyhton library. Each Python subject is introduced in a simple manner and then proceeds to a more advanced level. Many examples are presented with thorough discussions in each chapter. Detailed summaries are presented after each chapter. This is an excellent book for self-study. I have recommeded it to many of my engineering colleagues.

An excellent intro to Object oriented programming in general and Python in particular. A real hefty volume. Wish I could afford it.

The book has a lot of hand waving but no concrete information on Python where it matters. For example there is no comparison of it with Perl. In fact they never say how the two can work.

Also the authors do not cover at all the Meta Object Protocol of Python or for example how it does virtual pointer-based interface inheritance. These are important concepts that a student of Python must know. Also missing is any information on the transmutation of objects under constraints.

All in all, way too elementary.