[Tutor] Beginning Python and other resources (was Re: SlicingTuples)

[Patty]

Hi David - I was looking for the book you recomended below - "Python 3 
Object Oriented Programming" by Dusty Phillips - and found it on Amazon for 
$43 new on up and $70 for used but maybe that was hardback?  Do you happen 
to know of some other way to obtain it for less than $45?

Thanks

Patty

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David" <bouncingcats at gmail.com>
To: "John Russell" <thor at othala.us>
Cc: <tutor at python.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2010 3:47 PM
Subject: [Tutor] Beginning Python and other resources (was Re: 
SlicingTuples)


> On 12 December 2010 03:25, John Russell <thor at othala.us> wrote:
>> Last night I started working through a book (Beginning Python: Using 
>> Python
>> 2.6 and Python 3.1)  I bought to learn Python, and there is an example in 
>> it
>> that doesn't make sense to me.
>
> I have that book too, and several others thankfully. I'm just writing
> to share my experience, in case another perspective from another
> relatively new python user is helpful to anyone.
>
> I found that book is written towards a friendly beginner level, but it
> omits many details and is not a comprehensive reference. It does
> include plenty of examples on many topics. I have read the opposite
> criticism of other books, so it is probably impossible for one book to
> fit all needs.
>
> Personally I became weary of the food/fridge/kitchen theme of the
> early examples as it did not engage my interest at all, and there is
> so much of it. However I have found that book valuable for its Part
> III where it covers useful applications. Although I have come to
> expect that its examples will often need typos corrected or other
> small modifications to get them to run properly on Python 2.6.
>
> So while working through Parts I and II, if your experience is
> anything like mine where I moved away from it fairly quickly, you will
> definitely need other resources. Fortunately they are abundantly
> available. In case you are unaware, a Tutorial and Reference are
> integrated with Python. On my Linux box the tutorial is
> file:///usr/share/doc/python-docs-x.x.x/html/tutorial/index.html and
> the Alphabetic Index to the Reference is
> file:///usr/share/doc/python-docs-x.x.x/html/genindex.html
>
> I find the Tutorial easily readable, whereas the Reference can be
> challenging, but it is comprehensive and likely contains the answer to
> most questions, somewhere.
>
> As an exercise I thought I'd try to find the answer to your question
> using these built-in docs. The keyword is "slice" which we know from
> the book. I couldn't find any coverage in the 2.6 tutorial so I looked
> up "slice" in the Alphabetic Index, and the first link took me to a
> section which includes the answer: "The slicing now selects all items
> with index k such that i <= k < j where i and j are the specified
> lower and upper bounds".
>
> In case you are not aware, the web has a vast amount of great material
> for learning Python, see for example:
> http://wiki.python.org/moin/BeginnersGuide/NonProgrammers
> As Python is an evolving language, one needs be mindful of the
> differences between Python 2.x and Python 3.x when using this
> material.
>
> My favourite Python book of my small beginners collection is "Python 3
> Object Oriented Programming" by Dusty Phillips. It claims:
> "If you're new to object-oriented programming techniques, or if you
> have basic Python skills, and wish to learn in depth how and when to
> correctly apply object-oriented programming in Python, this is the
> book for you".
> I endorse that completely. Having learned the syntax basics elsewhere,
> for me this is a book like no other. I find its topic coverage and all
> its short examples consistently useful, powerful, and illuminating. I
> find it easy to read, well matched to my level and interest, and it
> has made a real difference to the code I write. I use classes with
> confidence now. For example, it gave me the background and confidence
> to design a custom sortable abstract class I needed, my first personal
> experience of the power of OOP.
>
> Tthe python and tutorial mailing lists are a wonderul resource as you
> are obviously aware. Thanks to all the contributors from whom I
> continue to learn.
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