Learning Python, 3rd Edition 3rd Edition

by Mark Lutz (Author)

279 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0596513986

ISBN-10: 0596513984

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Learning Python, 5th Edition

Learning Python, 5th Edition
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Portable, powerful, and a breeze to use, Python is ideal for both standalone programs and scripting applications. With this hands-on book, you can master the fundamentals of the core Python language quickly and efficiently, whether you're new to programming or just new to Python. Once you finish, you will know enough about the language to use it in any application domain you choose. Learning Python is based on material from author Mark Lutz's popular training courses, which he's taught over the past decade. Each chapter is a self-contained lesson that helps you thoroughly understand a key component of Python before you continue. Along with plenty of annotated examples, illustrations, and chapter summaries, every chapter also contains Brain Builder, a unique section with practical exercises and review quizzes that let you practice new skills and test your understanding as you go. This book covers: Types and Operations -- Python's major built-in object types in depth: numbers, lists, dictionaries, and more Statements and Syntax -- the code you type to create and process objects in Python, along with Python's general syntax model Functions -- Python's basic procedural tool for structuring and reusing code Modules -- packages of statements, functions, and other tools organized into larger components Classes and OOP -- Python's optional object-oriented programming tool for structuring code for customization and reuse Exceptions and Tools -- exception handling model and statements, plus a look at development tools for writing larger programs. Learning Python gives you a deep and complete understanding of the language that will help you comprehend any application-level examples of Python that you later encounter. If you're ready to discover what Google and YouTube see in Python, this book is the best way to get started.

Learning Python, 3rd Edition

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Product Details

Paperback: 752 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 3 edition (November 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0596513984
ISBN-13: 978-0596513986
Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.5 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (279 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #158 in Books > Computers & Technology > Operating Systems > Macintosh
- #422 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Web Programming > JavaScript
- #430 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Python

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Top Customer Reviews

Python doesn't need to be this tedious

ByResmaion November 28, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Another reviewer said that trying to learn Python from this book is like trying to learn english by reading the dictionary, and that couldn't be more true. Each discrete topic is covered in minute detail, so it isn't until page 500 or so of this 1500+ page book that you will have covered enough of the basics to write even a simple program. One of Python's strongest selling points is that it's easy to jump in and get programming right away, regardless of prior knowledge, so this book's approach is a major turn-off for anyone that wants to learn through practice and experience.

Speaking of which, readers will need to have at least some previous programming experience to make sense of this book, since it relies heavily on jargon that complete beginners are unlikely to understand. If you don't already know what functions, methods, strings, and such are (and experienced programmers here will laugh, but when you are first starting out, such terms can be confusing!) the author isn't going to explain, or if he does, it will be 200 pages later in a different section.

A more minor complaint is the dry and formal, textbook-like voice of the author. I don't need to be constantly entertained while learning, but I do need to have fun, and a little humor and personality go a long way.

I'm over a hundred pages in, and I give up. I need to actually program while learning to program. I was looking for a beginner friendly, tutorial style book that would encourage exploration and test my knowledge with quizzes. This isn't it. I think I will go back to my severely outdated copy of Beginning Python by Magnus Lie Hetland to brush up on basic program construction, then use this book as a reference as I get deeper into programming with Python.

66 comments 150 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A great reference, but not a tutorial

BycalvinnmeHALL OF FAMEon August 10, 2013

Format: Paperback

I like how O'Reilly breaks out its PERL books. There is "Learning PERL" for beginners, "Programming PERL" as a reference, and "PERL Cookbook" for solutions. Alas, this book, a weighty tome that makes the dictionary look skinny, should really be renamed "Programming Python". It's a great reference, but good luck trying to learn Python succinctly and from scratch. It's like trying to learn English by reading the dictionary. I'll give it 3 out of 5 on correctness and completeness, but like trying to buy a pair of shoes at a giant Megamart with no department signs, you'll eventually just get frustrated and leave.

1010 comments 254 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Finally the book that got me going!

Bymattiasostmaron September 7, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I was a total noob that wanted to learn to program and was advised to learn Python, since I want to do some text analysis. I started out with Learn Python the Hard Way (to mind numbing), tried CodeCademy.com (to general) and watched a lot of videos on youtube (too fragmented) and read a lot of different specialized books on Python (like Python for Data Analysis). THIS book is finally the one that step-by-step in a good old school-teacher way is the perfect fit for me. Gentle, start at page 1 and go one page at the time forward - and it all makes sense and is perfectly balanced.

I strongly recommend this book for anyone that is absolutely new to programming and have no ambitions to be a programmer, but only yo learn to use code as a tool.

55 comments 162 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Too thorough, makes for very dense reading.

ByMichael Noleton January 29, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Caveat - I've been programming since 1992 in C/C++, Pascal, Java, PHP and have recently decided it's time to learn Python. This review is intended for those that know basic programming principles

This book probably has more content about Python than you will ever need. The problem is, it makes for very dense reading as Mark tries to appeal to too broad an audience, both newbies to programming and veterans. This means he laboriously explains all the basics AND all of the minute details of the language. This means learning basics like methods and classes takes many more hours of reading than it should.

Mark's style is: when in doubt to be verbose. If there are three ways to do something in Python, all three methods are explained in detail (sometimes multiple times) and the "pythonic" or "best practice" often saved until all are explained in full detail. For example, Mark spends multiple pages on the difference between __str__ and __repr__ (two methods you can override for class output) across several chapters, rather than just concisely explaining to use __repr__ most of the time, explain the difference and maybe a sidebar/appendix on the minutia of why "most of the time" you should just use __repr__ but there are a few exceptions.

Going back, I realized another reviewer summed it up perfectly -- "It's like learning the English language by reading a dictionary."

DO buy this book if you want to have a reference dictionary that has ever minute detail about Python.
DON'T buy this book if you are new to the language and want to get going quickly.

I've moved to just writing the code and following online tutorials, and when I run into a problem I don't understand diving into the book to try to find the reasons.

11 comment 74 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

If it ain't in this book, you probably don't need it

Published 1 day ago by starchief

Product was exactly as described. Comprehensive book.

Published 4 days ago by Amazon Customer

Published 17 days ago by Mark Labelle

By far the best python reference I have ever used

By far the best python reference I have ever used. Really. The book worth each cent of it's cost

Published 27 days ago by Denis

You will find that required and useful information is repeated just like in a classroom --> ...

I have read about 500 pages of the text so far and based on this I can say that:
--> This book keeps me focused on learning the Language instead of tricks(that are...Read more

Published 29 days ago by S.Ahmed

Way too much of pages! Nobody can learn anything from the book like that.

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer

Love this book.
If you like detailed instruction in a conversational tone this is a great book to learn Python from.Read more

Published 1 month ago by Uncle Buck

Anyhow I think it's organization could be better. After reading the first 300 pages only about ...

This book is very thoroughly and detailed in it's explanations of every aspect of Python. It also was the only book at this level I could find that dealt with both versions 2.Read more

Published 1 month ago by Kjell-Einar Ofstad

Great thorough introduction to a versatile language.

Sure this book is super long, but it will give you a great foundation of Python programming. The content will help you understand the intricacies of the language that will help...Read more

Published 1 month ago by Timoteo

Product arrived on time and as described.

Published 1 month ago by Michael Mitchell

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