Python teaching book recommendations: 3.3+ and with exercises

[TP]

On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 7:36 AM, Chris Angelico <rosuav at gmail.com> wrote:

> One of my younger brothers, still school age, is to be studying some
> aspect of computing for the next term or two. I strongly recommended
> he learn Python (it has a bit more future than studying the internals
> of OS/2), and my/his father then asked me what book I'd recommend him
> to study through. I know this has come up a few times, but searching
> back in my emails didn't give a clear answer.
>
> Whether it's an ebook or in paper doesn't matter, but there need to be
> exercises that the student can perform on his own, and then an
> external tutor (aka my dad) then check up on. Python 3 is a must;
> preferably something designed for 3.3+ as that's what he'll be using.
> Beyond that, I was just asked to recommend "the best", which is
> unfortunately vague... but I gather they'll be deferring to the
> expertise of the list in figuring out what that means :)
>
> So, within those not-very-many restrictions, what would you all
> recommend? Let's get a nice discussion going and see where it leads us
> (most likely to a resident troll ranting about a favorite topic, but
> hey, maybe Dihedral will come out with some nugget of wisdom for us)!
>

Since I've been using Python for years, I've only skimmed new books.
Personally, I found the standard Python tutorial [1] (and reading the
What's New sections) more than adequate for originally learning Python.

Anyway, given your constraints, here's what I've come up with (stipulating
Python 3, limits the number of available books. And requiring exercises is
even stricter):

Python for Kids - A Playful Introduction to Programming - J. Briggs (No
Starch, 2013) [2]. Python 3.2? Not necessarily just for kids but definitely
slanted towards younger readers. Has "Programming Puzzles".

Think Python - A. Downey (O'Reilly, 2012) [3]. For Python 2 & 3. Exercises
but no answers? There is also a Python 3 specific version available. Free.

Beginning Python - Using Python 2.6 and Python 3.1 - J. Payne (Wrox, 2010)
[4]. Has exercises but... they seem a bit simplistic to me. Answers in
Appendix A.

Head First Python - Barry (OReilly,2011) [5] Python 3. Says for people who
already know another language (and I would have to agree with that).
Exercises.

Introduction to Programming Using Python - Y. Liang (Pearson, 2013) [6]. A
bit dull looking. Probably a college textbook? Lots of exercises. Author
also has similar books on C++ & Java. Expensive.

Ignoring the constraints, here's another one that looks really interesting:

Hello Python - A. Briggs (Manning, 2012) [7]. Python 2 only. Learn by
incrementally writing and improving working programs. Less focused on
syntax and more on getting the job done. No exercises per se, but since
goal is working programs, progress can be still be checked. More about the
"batteries" (including somewhat surprisingly pyglet, twisted & django).

    From the Preface:

    "I thought back to how I first learned to program. I didn't read an
    entire programming book from cover to cover and then write a program
    after I knew everything there was to know. Instead I started with a
    goal, something that I wanted to do, and worked toward it, figuring
    things out as I went. I read programming books from time to time,
    but really only to figure out the bits I was stuck on. When I was
    done, my programs weren't particularly elegant or fast, but they
    were mine---I knew how they worked, and they solved a real problem
    that I was having."

    Page 9:

    "We'll be using the latest version of Python 2, because most of the
    libraries that we'll use in this book don’t yet support Python 3."

[1] http://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html

[2] http://nostarch.com/pythonforkids

[3] http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html

[4]
http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/Beginning-Python-Using-Python-2-6-and-Python-3-1.productCd-0470414634.html

[5] http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920003434.do

[6]
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Introduction-to-Programming-Using-Python/9780132747189.page

[7] http://www.manning.com/briggs/
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