Perhaps I am just dumb

[Steve Holden]

"Sheila King" <usenet at thinkspot.net> wrote ...
> On 10 Feb 2002 00:34:45 -0800, wookiz at hotmail.com (wooks) wrote :
>
> > Sheila King <usenet at thinkspot.net> wrote ...
>
> > > I recommend:
>
> > > (2) Core Python Programming by Wesley Chun
> > > (not for beginning programmers...aimed at someone with some
programming
> > > experience...addresses the OO points and many features of the language
> > > quite well)
> >
> > Yes. Thats the one that all the reviews seem to point to. If I
> > remember rightly the copy in the bookshop I went to was rather dated.
> > Will investigate further.
>
> I thought there was only one edition of that book??? Mine is copyright
> 2001. If it based on Python 1.5.2 but has remarks and appendices for
> 2.0. The only book I know of that assume more than Python 2.0 is the
> Python 2.1 Bible (which I also have...and recommend only as a reference
> for someone who already knows Python). Most of the recent ones are
> either based on 1.5.2 with appendices referring to changes in 2.0, or
> they are based on 2.0. That's as recent as you're going to get.
>
Well, if I might be allowed to blow my own trumpet, "Python Web Programming"
is firmly based on 2.0, but mentions known futures and includes Andrew
Kuchling's "What's New in Python 2.1" and an almost-final "What's New in
Python 2.2" as an appendix (for which I am very grateful to Andrew). I
imagine that any recent books will also similarly include at least a nod
towards 2.1/2.2.

Broadly speaking you should expect anything based on 1.5.2 to be revised to
2.0 or later (like Lutz's "Programming Python" has been). If no revision
takes place, perhaps either the book inquestion was rather late to the 1.5.2
market, or hasn't sold well enough to justify a new edition.

One of the problems for Python authors, if my experience was typical, is
that recently the language has been developing pretty dynamically, and it's
difficult (given the nature of the publishing process) to track the changes
accurately. The 2.1 and 2.2 releases have introduced significant new
features into the language.

Fortunately the number of available books has increased recently, and while
there are some mediocre tomes there are also some very good ones. One useful
bibliography, although getting a little long in the tooth right now, can be
found at

    http://www.amk.ca/bookstore/python.html

Wooks, from everything you've written it appears as though you have all the
right skills to benefit from Python, and you just started into the Win32
specifics a bit too soon to feel entirely comfortable with the rest of the
language. With one of the more advanced intriductory texts, or even just by
interaction with this newsgroup, I'm sure you'll soon get where you want to
be.

hoping-for-chance-to-write-a-3.0-edition-ly y'rs  - steve
--
Consulting, training, speaking: http://www.holdenweb.com/
Author, Python Web Programming: http://pydish.holdenweb.com/pwp/

"This is Python.  We don't care much about theory, except where it
intersects with useful practice."  Aahz Maruch on c.l.py