Re: Best book on Python?

[Esmail Bonakdarian]

Esmail Bonakdarian wrote:
> I myself am looking for a small portable quick
> reference,
Scott David Daniels wrote:
Look into Python Essential Reference for that kind of
book -- no fat, lotsa goodies.
Hi Scott,
Thanks for the recommendation. I didn't know about this
book but looking at amazon, it looks a bit big for my
purposes (400+ pages) and covers only up to 2.1.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0735710910/ref=lpr_g_1/102-5580604-1195362?v=glance&s=books
I'll keep looking.
Cheers,
Esmail
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Jean Brouwers]

The text of David Mertz' book is available on line at



/jean Brouwers


In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Mirko Zeibig
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Maurice LING said the following on 12/12/2004 11:13 PM:
> >>Google for Dive Into Python. Its a free online publication, see if is 
> >>any good for you.
> >>
> >>Cheers,
> > 
> > 
> > I like "Dive into Python" for the fact that it tends to explain examples 
> > line by line in an annotated form but it may just be my personal 
> > preference.
> I second this. Another one I like is "Textprocessing  in Python" by 
> "David Mertz".
> 
> > If the focus is only on printed books and there is some experience with 
> > programming, "programming python" by Lutz from O'Reilly might be a good 
> > one.
> So what, "Dive into Python" is available in a printed version as well 
> ;-) (e.g. 
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1590593561/103-2217423-3565410).
> 
> Regards
> Mirko
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Luis M. Gonzalez]

This is a very good introduction online:
www.g2swaroop.net/byte-of-python

I also suggest:
- Learning Python 2nd Ed.
- Core Python

You can also try these online resources:
- Dive into Python
- Thinking in Python

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Re: Best book on Python?

[Mirko Zeibig]

Maurice LING said the following on 12/12/2004 11:13 PM:
Google for Dive Into Python. Its a free online publication, see if is 
any good for you.

Cheers,

I like "Dive into Python" for the fact that it tends to explain examples 
line by line in an annotated form but it may just be my personal 
preference.
I second this. Another one I like is "Textprocessing  in Python" by 
"David Mertz".

If the focus is only on printed books and there is some experience with 
programming, "programming python" by Lutz from O'Reilly might be a good 
one.
So what, "Dive into Python" is available in a printed version as well 
;-) (e.g. 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1590593561/103-2217423-3565410).

Regards
Mirko
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Scott David Daniels]

Esmail Bonakdarian wrote:
I myself am looking for a small portable quick
reference, thinking about the O'Reilly pocket guide
but I'm not sure how good it is. I read on amazon
that it doesn't have an index - that seems odd for
any book, and esp a quick ref.
Look into Python Essential Reference for that kind of
book -- no fat, lotsa goodies.
--Scott David Daniels
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Shawn Milo]

I asked some questions last week about how those in the group
learned Python, and I was given some suggestions. I ended
up buying several books. Here are my brief opinions about them.
In case it seems that I am too positive about these books, please
take into consideration that I purchased each of them after
reading plenty of reviews, and several suggestions from
other list members. This list is the cream of the crop.
In short, I would recommend that anyone keep all four
next to the keyboard. If cost is an issue, I recommend
getting them in the following order. "Dive Into Python"
is available for free from diveintopython.org, but it is
listed first because I think it is of the greatest immediate
value.
Dive Into Python
Python in a Nutshell
Python Cookbook
Learning Python

Shawn
Python Cookbook
  Very useful as a reference. There are examples for a great
  many things. Almost everything I've looked for is in this
  book. The only downside is that the samples are sometimes
  too advanced for me at my beginner level. I assume that
  this book is meant for readers with more that a couple
  of weeks' experience with Python, so I doubt that
  the problem is with the book.
Python in a Nutshell
  The best reference, because of the sheer volume of
  content. The only drawback is that, although all the
  options are there, clear explanations of how to make
  use of them are not provided, due to space considerations.
  This is not a negative comment -- once you have direction,
  you can pick up the rest elsewhere. However, I would
  not suggest using this as the sole reference.
Dive Into Python
  This book is awesome. I started reading this before the
  others arrived. I didn't get too far into it, because I jumped
  directly into a project for work using  Python, so I'm
  limping along, mainly using all three O'Reilly books as
  references. But this book jumps right into useful code, and
  does a good job of explaining it. I should have completed
  this book before moving on.
Learning Python
  This book seems too basic to be used as the sole learning
  tool, unless the person is new to programming, not just
  Python. But the book does contain a lot of valuable information,
  and the depth of the explainations makes it a good companion
  to the others in my little reference set.
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Re: Best book on Python?

[[EMAIL PROTECTED]]

The Python in a Nutshell by Alex Martelli is a very good book. For
someone completely new to programming, Learning Python by Lutz might be
a better choice.

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Re: Best book on Python?

[Esmail Bonakdarian]

Michael McGarry wrote:
Hi,
What is the best book covering Python?
Michael
I like these:
   Python Cookbook book
   Learning Python, 2nd ed
   Python in a Nutshell
Dive Into Python would also make a good choice
and the next book I would get (if I were to get
one more ;-)
I myself am looking for a small portable quick
reference, thinking about the O'Reilly pocket guide
but I'm not sure how good it is. I read on amazon
that it doesn't have an index - that seems odd for
any book, and esp a quick ref.
Esmail
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Michael McGarry]

Adil Hasan wrote:
 hello,
Just my 2 farthings worth...
 Although Python and Tkinter is a good book it was written at the time of
 Python 1.5 (so there may be some transformation that needs to be done
 on some of the examples) you may want to take a look at Python in 
 a Nutshell by A. Martelli published by O'Reilly. It has a section on
 Tkinter and many other things that you may find useful.
 ah

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004, Rod Haper wrote:

Michael McGarry wrote:
I have many years of programming experience and know a little bit of 
Tcl. I am looking for a book to detail on the features including GUI in 
a reference style.
Given that you have some acquaintance with Tcl, if you want a reference 
that caters toward GUI programming in Python using Tk, you might find 
this book of interest: "Python and Tkinter Programming" by John Grayson. 
 Manning Publications, 2000, 658p

--
Rod
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Thanks, in terms of GUI programming I am leaning towards Qt, since I can 
use this stuff in C++ as well. There is also a program called Qt 
designer that makes GUI design a drag and drop process.

Michael
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Adil Hasan]

 hello,
Just my 2 farthings worth...
 Although Python and Tkinter is a good book it was written at the time of
 Python 1.5 (so there may be some transformation that needs to be done
 on some of the examples) you may want to take a look at Python in 
 a Nutshell by A. Martelli published by O'Reilly. It has a section on
 Tkinter and many other things that you may find useful.
 ah

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004, Rod Haper wrote:

> Michael McGarry wrote:
> > I have many years of programming experience and know a little bit of 
> > Tcl. I am looking for a book to detail on the features including GUI in 
> > a reference style.
> 
> Given that you have some acquaintance with Tcl, if you want a reference 
> that caters toward GUI programming in Python using Tk, you might find 
> this book of interest: "Python and Tkinter Programming" by John Grayson. 
>   Manning Publications, 2000, 658p
> 
> -- 
> Rod
> -- 
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
> 

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Re: Best book on Python?

[Peter Hansen]

Maurice Ling wrote:
Yes it is somewhat ironic. I do think that a snake or something closer 
to a long, tube-like, legless animal will be more suitable. I have 
absolutely no idea how animals are chosen in O'Reilly.
Generally, with both subtlety and humour, judging by how often the
O'Reilly Python books appear with tasty little rabbits and rodents
on them...
-Peter
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Rod Haper]

Michael McGarry wrote:
I have many years of programming experience and know a little bit of 
Tcl. I am looking for a book to detail on the features including GUI in 
a reference style.
Given that you have some acquaintance with Tcl, if you want a reference 
that caters toward GUI programming in Python using Tk, you might find 
this book of interest: "Python and Tkinter Programming" by John Grayson. 
 Manning Publications, 2000, 658p

--
Rod
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Re: Best book on Python?

[BJörn Lindqvist]

I haven't read any Python paper books myself but as Christmas is
coming up, I've checked up on what Python books other people
recommend. Everyone who has reviewed Python books seem to like these
books:

* Python Essential Reference
* Python Cookbook
* Python in a Nutshell

The last two are both written by Alex Martelli and the cookbook is
IMHO really awesome.

-- 
mvh Björn
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Maurice Ling]

Daniel Bickett wrote:
If the focus is only on printed books and there is some experience with
programming, "programming python" by Lutz from O'Reilly might be a good
one.
   

I saw that book today at Barnes and Noble, and found it curiously
ironic that it had a very large mouse on the cover :) But maybe that's
just me.
Daniel Bickett
 

Yes it is somewhat ironic. I do think that a snake or something closer 
to a long, tube-like, legless animal will be more suitable. I have 
absolutely no idea how animals are chosen in O'Reilly.

maurice
begin:vcard
fn:Maurice Ling
n:Ling;Maurice
org:The University of Melbourne;Department of Zoology
adr:;;Gate 12, Genetics Lane;Parkville;Victoria;3010;Australia
email;internet:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
title:Probatory Ph.D. Candidate
tel;cell:+61 4 22781753
x-mozilla-html:FALSE
url:http://www.geocities.com/beldin79/
version:2.1
end:vcard

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Re: Best book on Python?

[Daniel Bickett]

> If the focus is only on printed books and there is some experience with
> programming, "programming python" by Lutz from O'Reilly might be a good
> one.

I saw that book today at Barnes and Noble, and found it curiously
ironic that it had a very large mouse on the cover :) But maybe that's
just me.

Daniel Bickett
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Maurice LING]

Michael McGarry wrote:
I have many years of programming experience and know a little bit of 
Tcl. I am looking for a book to detail on the features including GUI in 
a reference style.

Thanks,
Michael
I am assuming that you do not want to venture pass the standard 
libraries at this moment, so in terms of GUI, Tkinter is about the only 
choice within the standard libraries.

"Programming Python, 2nd Ed." has a good section of Tkinter and GUI 
development.

You might want to search thru Amazon for Tkinter and find something to 
your satisfaction.

Pass the standard libraries, there are other GUI kits like wxPython etc 
etc., each carries a set of online documentations.

maurice
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Paul Rubin]

Michael McGarry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> I have many years of programming experience and know a little bit of
> Tcl. I am looking for a book to detail on the features including GUI
> in a reference style.

Why not just use the online documentation?

There's also an excellent Tkinter manual at:

http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/lang.html
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Michael McGarry]

I have many years of programming experience and know a little bit of 
Tcl. I am looking for a book to detail on the features including GUI in 
a reference style.

Thanks,
Michael
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Maurice LING]

Google for Dive Into Python. Its a free online publication, see if is 
any good for you.

Cheers,
I like "Dive into Python" for the fact that it tends to explain examples 
line by line in an annotated form but it may just be my personal 
preference.

If the focus is only on printed books and there is some experience with 
programming, "programming python" by Lutz from O'Reilly might be a good 
one.

Personally, I learn with "Python: the complete reference" by Martin C. 
Brown from Osborne/McGraw-Hill. There is no reason as to why I chose 
this book to start except that it is on discount in my university's 
bookshop. Although I must confess that I do not start from zero ground 
as I've read the official "Python tutorial" and "Learning Python" before 
hand. I must say that the mindset is important. I had almost hit a "I 
have to learn python" situation, rather than "it is nice to know" situation.

If the focus includes online materials, then there is a mountain of free 
online tutorials to wade through. Although somehow the materials seems 
fragmented but it is a nice source as well, it can help you piece out 
what is essential about python.

Cheers
Maurice
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Dimitri Tcaciuc]

Michael McGarry wrote:
Hi,
What is the best book covering Python?
Michael
IMHO, you have to try at least several books. There's no such thing as 
'best book' for everybody. It's all very subjective, one book can work 
for you better than it worked for me.

Google for Dive Into Python. Its a free online publication, see if is 
any good for you.

Cheers,
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Re: Best book on Python?

[Peter Hansen]

Michael McGarry wrote:
What is the best book covering Python?
For what purpose?
Are you a complete newbie to Python?  To programming?
Are you looking for a technical reference, a tutorial,
information about a specific area (e.g. networking, GUIs),
or something else?
Please help the poor non-mindreaders amongst us to help you...
-Peter
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Best book on Python?

[Michael McGarry]

Hi,
What is the best book covering Python?
Michael
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