| Overview
Portable, powerful, and a breeze to use, Python is the popular open
source object-oriented programming language used for both
standalone programs and scripting applications. Python is
considered easy to learn, but there's no quicker way to mastery of
the language than learning from an expert teacher. This edition of
Learning Python puts you in the hands of two expert
teachers, Mark Lutz and David Ascher, whose friendly,
well-structured prose has guided many a programmer to proficiency
with the language.
Learning Python, Second Edition, offers programmers a
comprehensive learning tool for Python and object-oriented
programming. Thoroughly updated for the numerous language and class
presentation changes that have taken place since the release of the
first edition in 1999, this guide introduces the basic elements of
the latest release of Python 2.3 and covers new features, such as
list comprehensions, nested scopes, and iterators/generators.
Beyond language features, this edition of Learning Python
also includes new context for less-experienced programmers,
including fresh overviews of object-oriented programming and
dynamic typing, new discussions of program launch and configuration
options, new coverage of documentation sources, and more. There are
also new use cases throughout to make the application of language
features more concrete.
The first part of Learning Python gives programmers all the
information they'll need to understand and construct programs in
the Python language, including types, operators, statements,
classes, functions, modules and exceptions. The authors then
present more advanced material, showing how Python performs common
tasks by offering real applications and the libraries available for
those applications. Each chapter ends with a series of exercises
that will test your Python skills and measure your
understanding.
Learning Python, Second Edition is a self-paced book that
allows readers to focus on the core Python language in depth. As
you work through the book, you'll gain a deep and complete
understanding of the Python language that will help you to
understand the larger application-level examples that you'll
encounter on your own. If you're interested in learning Python--and
want to do so quickly and efficiently--then Learning Python,
Second Edition is your best choice.
Editorial ReviewsAmazon.comThe authors of Learning Python show you enough essentials of the Python scripting language to enable you to begin solving problems right away, then reveal more powerful aspects of the language one at a time. This approach is sure to appeal to programmers and system administrators who have urgent problems and a preference for learning by semi-guided experimentation. First off, Learning Python shows the relationships among Python scripts and their interpreter (in a mostly platform-neutral way). Then, the authors address the mechanics of the language itself, providing illustrations of how Python conceives of numbers, strings, and other objects as well as the operators you use to work with them. Dictionaries, lists, tuples, and other data structures specific to Python receive plenty of attention including complete examples. Authors Mark Lutz and David Ascher build on that fundamental information in their discussions of functions and modules, which evolve into coverage of namespaces, classes, and the object-oriented aspects of Python programming. There's also information on creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for Python applications with Tkinter. In addition to its careful expository prose, Learning Python includes exercises that both test your Python skills and help reveal more elusive truths about the language. | Book DescriptionPortable, powerful, and a breeze to use, Python is the popular open source object-oriented programming language used for both standalone programs and scripting applications. Python is considered easy to learn, but there's no quicker way to mastery of the language than learning from an expert teacher. This edition of Learning Python puts you in the hands of two expert teachers, Mark Lutz and David Ascher, whose friendly, well-structured prose has guided many a programmer to proficiency with the language.
Learning Python, Second Edition, offers programmers a comprehensive learning tool for Python and object-oriented programming. Thoroughly updated for the numerous language and class presentation changes that have taken place since the release of the first edition in 1999, this guide introduces the basic elements of the latest release of Python 2.3 and covers new features, such as list comprehensions, nested scopes, and iterators/generators.
Beyond language features, this edition of Learning Python also includes new context for less-experienced programmers, including fresh overviews of object-oriented programming and dynamic typing, new discussions of program launch and configuration options, new coverage of documentation sources, and more. There are also new use cases throughout to make the application of language features more concrete.
The first part of Learning Python gives programmers all the information they'll need to understand and construct programs in the Python language, including types, operators, statements, classes, functions, modules and exceptions. The authors then present more advanced material, showing how Python performs common tasks by offering real applications and the libraries available for those applications. Each chapter ends with a series of exercises that will test your Python skills and measure your understanding.
Learning Python, Second Edition is a self-paced book that allows readers to focus on the core Python language in depth. As you work through the book, you'll gain a deep and complete understanding of the Python language that will help you to understand the larger application-level examples that you'll encounter on your own. If you're interested in learning Python--and want to do so quickly and efficiently--then Learning Python, Second Edition is your best choice. |
Other Readers Also Read | Top Sellers in This Category | Browse Similar Topics | | | Top Level Categories:Sub-Categories: | | | | |
Reader Reviews From Amazon (Ranked by 'Helpfulness') Average Customer Rating: based on 105 reviews. An excelente introduction, 2008-02-27 Reviewer rating: That's it. If you want to learn Python, it's a great place to start. Be sure to follow up with Programming Python, by the same author. | Good for reading and reference, 2008-02-16 Reviewer rating: I am pleased with this book. I read about half of the way through it and then decided to keep it close by as a reference guide. As a reading guide to 'Learning Python' it can get a little monotonous. This really isn't the author's fault, who shows a slight, persistent but non-distracting humor. I think some monotony is inherent in learning any programming language - 1) here is "Concept A," 2) here is how/why "Concept A" is implemented in general, 3) here are some particulars to keep in mind when implementing "Concept A", 4) here are the myriad of variable methods of implementation. This book covers mostly the 1 through 3 ideas above and leaves most of idea 4 for more advanced books or reference material. The author does a good job of managing content. There are places that give an overview and state that more detail is ahead, but the instance where a concept or implementation is initially mentioned and the degree to which it is described is adequate for the current context. The 'more detail' that eventually comes along then fits nicely into its own 'more detailed' context. In other words, I didn't feel like I had to jump forward 5 chapters to understand one aspect of the current chapter. What the book lacks, or blissfully does not include, is any lengthy code constructions (this can be good, bad, or mean nothing, depending on your learning style and requirements). "Python Programming, An Intro to Computer Science" is a bit more engaging but, ultimately, is not as verbose or specific where needed. I read through allot of books and actually see these two as worthy complements. I also use Python Programming, Python Essential Reference, Python in a Nutshell and Python Cookbook as supplemental references. Sometimes I am looking for an overview of a concept, just an example of code syntax, all the options available for implementing a construct, or how someone else approached a common problem, etc. Each book has its time and place. I tend to use Learning Python for the overview with some examples and consider it a useful companion to the online and other reference materials. | Much better than previous editions, 2008-01-30 Reviewer rating: I bought an earlier incarnation of this title a year or two ago and sent it back immediately. I was pretty wary of making the same mistake twice, but I'm happy to say that this 3rd edition is a significant improvement. I have a feeling it's a bit too obtuse for those who are new to programming in general, but if you've been at it for a while and simply need to pick up the various and less commonly used features of the language, it's a fine introductory text. It even highlights some of the upcoming changes in Python 3; not necessarily in any meaningful way, but it gives you enough information to future-proof your code as much as possible so as to make porting easier.
Unfortunately it is riddled with tragically unfunny Monty Python catchphrases you probably got tired of hearing 20 years ago. I can't wait for someone to create a language named "Rick James" or "What" so we can go on hearing Chappelle's Show quotes regurgitated ad nauseum. | Great for beginners, 2008-01-27 Reviewer rating: I admit i haven't finished the book yet, but i'll give my impressions here. The book is a great source for beginners. If the reader is a experienced programmer on other languages, the first part is somehow a bit of waste of time. It takes a time before the book asks you for doing real code, and for the impatient this is a real draw back. But if it is your first contact with languages like Python or Perl, this is a good book. | Written by the world leader in Python training, 2008-01-06 Reviewer rating: Mark Lutz's LEARNING PYTHON, 3RD EDITION covers the latest edition of Python and includes tips on the program's built-in object types, statements, functions, modules, exceptions and more. College-level collections strong in programming languages in general and Python in particular will appreciate the coverage, written by the world leader in Python training and author of many previous writings on Python since 1992. |
Some information above was provided using data from Amazon.com. View at Amazon > |
| |
|
|
