Still Useful, after all these years., March 2, 2009

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 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...

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!