Programming newbie coming from Ruby: a few Python questions

[crystalattice]

simonharrison at fastmail.co.uk wrote:
> Hi all. I've been try to learn ruby for a few months but I'm about
> ready to give up. The available books either assume a programming
> background, or are out of date. Anyway, I think python may suit me more
> due to its 'theres one way to do it' philosophy (hope the quote is
> right)! Another quote that I liked was:
>
>  'Clever is not considered a compliment in Python.' (don't know where I
> read that...)
>
> In Ruby, there are many ways to do the same thing and cleverness seems
> to be held in high regard. These attitudes are not too helpful for
> beginners in my experience. Anyway, enough waffle.
>
> What books and tutorials are recommended to learn Python? The tutorial
> that comes with Python is great and has given me a good overview but I
> think I'd benefit from some programming projects, now I have a little
> understanding of how Python works.
>
> Ideally, I'd like a whole series of projects where I'm walked through
> how to go about writing real Python. The way I look at it, nobody
> learnt to build a house just from reading about building materials!
>
> Any other tips for getting up to speed with Python fairly quickly will
> be greatly appreciated.
>
> If anyone can help, thanks very much
Of course there's the O'Reilly set:  Learning Python, Programming
Python, Python in a Nutshell, etc.  I found them great for an overview
and capabilities look at the language, but like you I prefer a more
project-oriented approach.  They are good to have on your reference
shelf though.

The best book I've found for "teaching" you the language is from Deitel
and Deitel:  Python, How to Program.  It's outdated in that is uses
Python 2.2 but the vast majority of concepts still apply; it does
mention when certain features are deprecated so you shouldn't have a
problem.

It is a college textbook so it goes into detail in many areas plus it
has the usual quizes, chapter summaries, and tests.  The tests are
usually easy enough to figure out but with enough difficulty to make
them challenging.  It covers a wide range of topics, from CGI and XML
to multithreading and networking.

It's normally $90-$100 but you should be able to find it used for <$40.