Python for Dummies

Condition of the book is almost new but took a bit longer time to delivery than expected

If you have programmed at the level of Visual Basic, or perhaps Excel macros, then this book is perfect for you. It's a pleasure to read -- with its variety of visual aids. In many books, the graphics just clutter the page. Not here. The concepts pop out at you and burn themselves into your memory. I doubt you can become productive in Python any faster than with this book.

Python For Dummies by Stef Maruch and Aahz Maruch is a pretty good introduction to the Python language, while also stressing proper technique and style... Contents: Part 1 - Getting Started: Introducing Python; Getting Your Hands on the Keyboard - Using Help, Interactive Mode; and IDLE; Basic Elements and Syntax; Grand Tour of the Python Language; Working Like a Programmer Part 2 - Building Blocks: So This Strings Walks into a Bar; Counting Your Way to Fun and Profit; Processing Lists and Tuples; Diving into Dictionaries Part 3 - Structures: Staying in Control; Fun with Functions; Building Applications with Modules and Packages; Getting Classy; Introducing New-Style Classes; Feeling Exceptional; Tackling Some Advanced Features Part 4 - Libraries: Using Python's Primary Services; Processing Text; Digging into Disk Data; Accessing the Internet Part 5 - The Part of Tens: Ten Critical Python Idioms; Ten Great Resources Part 6 - Appendixes: Getting and Installing Python; Python Version Differences Index Python For Dummies starts out by explaining how Python came to be, why it's different than other languages, and what sort of applications are best suited for the Python approach. After that's out of the way, you get coverage of each Python feature and how it works. If you've ever gone through a book on a new programming language, you'll recognize the general layout and approach. The authors don't assume much prior programming experience (typical for a Dummies book), so the material is approachable and the writing is conversational in tone. I appreciated the section on "Working Like a Programmer", as it tries to establish proper development technique and mindset. Too often, books like this just toss out the features and no thought is given to grounding the reader in style. Unfortunately, that can lead to bad habits that are hard to correct down the road. About the only thing I found lacking in this book were some larger, more comprehensive coding examples. Most of the code snippets are pretty small in nature, and aren't indicative of the type of programs you'd find in the wild. There are a couple larger examples, but I think it would have been nice to see a few more "real life" programs dissected and analyzed. Still, for someone getting started, you'll have enough to get started with... If you're looking for a gentle introduction to Python to get your feet wet, this might be an option you'd like to consider...