Sams Teach Yourself Python in 24 Hours

I already own several Python books, but I bought this one because of its clear explanation and examples of Object Oriented programming concepts. Python is easy to learn, and the first 2/3 of this book include easy to follow lessons through the basics. The last 1/3 of the book covers GUI programming in Tkinter. Many people might have benefited more from coverage of CGI programming than GUI programming. There is very little CGI programming coverage, although in Python CGI programming is trivial anyway. There is already a book on Tkinter, so it is unfortunate that the author did not cover wxPython, an elegant GUI development kit.If you are new to Python or are trying to learn OO (even Java) this book can help.

I choose this as a companion text to the documents which come with the Python download. The two compliment each other. In general, the text is clear and the examples in the tables give a good idea of the material in the text. The print in the tables, however, is very small and in a light typeface which is extremely difficult to read. The text needs to be covered twice and read carefully. It also helps if you have any backround in scripting languages. All in all, it is a good resource, but it will not be the only one for me.

What I like: - Easy to understand. The author did a good job. - Casual writing style. (You learn a thing or two about Zen.) - Includes enough ref info on its topics, but not too detailed/technical.What I don't like: the editorial works. - Sample codes/output are presented as computer screen dumps. The color (gray scale) is hard to read, and characters are small. - The book description touts CGI as one of the book topics, but it's only covered lightly and briefly to add much value. - Chapter/hour 1 and 2 should be combined as 1. Too brief & too light.