Is it any good?

[Alan Gauld]

On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 00:47:01 +0100, Tim Ronning
<tim.ronning at start.no> wrote:
> I wonder if I could get some feedback from the list on a Python book I'm 
> about to order from the net. The book is called "Python How to Program" by 
> Deithel & Deithel. Issued on Prentice Hall 2002. I'm not an experienced 
> Python programmer and I'm looking for a comprehensive but also an 
> "understandable" book. I'm also open for suggestions.

I have the Deitel book and find it good as an intro to a huge
range of topics - maybe the only book on pyGame? - but in each
case it (infuriatingly) stops just at the point where I need
more. In other words it gives enough to get you interested in a
topic but not quite enough to use as a reference for real work.
Given the size of the book and its scope that's not surprising
and as a taster its fine.

The basic Python coverage is better elsewhere but if you only
want one book on Python and are happy digging detail online then
its probably OK.

An alternative (and no more expensive) is a combination of a
basic tutor (Quick Python, Learning Python if you already can
program, my book or Ivan van Lanningham's if you can't) to get
started plus something like Programming Python or Text Processing
in Python or one of the Python Web/XML books - whatever your
specialism is likely to be....
 
Alan G.
Author of the Learn to Program website
http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/alan.gauld