What is best way to learn Python for advanced developer?

[Ethan Furman]

On 07/31/2014 10:46 AM, Je Ph wrote:

> Ethan et al, has anyone completed the oreilly python 1 through python 4 training courses (part of their Python
> Certificate track)? Looks like it will take over 2 months to complete it and it's expensive.

I have completed all four courses.  The time it takes to get through a course will depend primarily on how much of 
Python you already know and understand.

> I'm trying to decide if it's worth the investment. With a full time job, it would take me a lot longer than contiguous 2
> months to go through the training. My objectives are A) to gain more python experience, B) while gaining more
> programming exposure. Although I have my CS degree and can read and understand code well, I haven't had to write many
> programs yet.
>
> Will this course help with both objectives?

The O'Reilly courses are aimed at teaching Python, so the projects are smaller and not terribly useful once the classes 
are done (although the homeworks can be great references to peek at and refresh memory later).

The Udacity courses are less at teaching Python, and more on how to use Python -- for example, the Web class uses Python 
to develop a blog site, complete with user authentication, templating, and a postgres database backend.  While it is 
free, they also offer a paid version which gives both active feedback and help, and a certificate at the end.  Not sure 
how price compares to O'Reilly.

I would recommend trying the Udacity courses first (the free version), and then if you find yourself getting stuck 
frequently you can decide if you want to pay Udacity for the extra help, or go to O'Reilly and sharpen your Python 
skills.  Assuming, of course, that you can't get the help you from either the Python Tutor or Python List options.

--
~Ethan~