Good book choice?

[robin at execulink.com]

eva_ag at eresmas.com (Eva) wrote:

>I am new to Python but an experienced programmer in Fortran95 (not too
>object
>oriented). I am looking for a suited Python book. I'd like it to have
>clear ideas about OO, as well as an straight pointing into the core
>language.
>
>It seems that 'Python Essential Reference (2nd Edition)' is a good
>choice. There is also the book 'Making use of Python' (by Rashi
>Gupta). Is there any user that bought both? Is it good the treatment
>of OO in the former? Is there a lack of applications point of view in
>the former? Could anybody compare them? pros/cons?

Can't help you with those, but have had luck with Learning Python
(Mark Lutz & David Ascher, pub. O'Reilly), a great introduction to the
language that doesn't pad out its length with stuff you can read in
the reference documentation. I think it's the single-best Python book
out there. So do the other developers I work with.

Then you'll want to get the Python Cookbook (edited by Alex Martelli &
David Ascher, pub. O'Reilly) for in-depth analysis of common tasks and
thoughtful solutions. This is more advanced than your typical
Cookbook. It's going to be by my side a long time!

Start here: http://python.oreilly.com

-- robin