Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:  
Summary: Be Prepared If You Don't Know C/C++
Comment: I'm only about 100 pages into the book and I'm finding the constant references to C/C++ are getting very annoying. Just about every section refers to C, assuming you are intimately familiar with the language. "Just like in C", "same role as in C", "similar to X function in C", "unlike in C", "if you've used C", and on, and on. I suppose this would be a positive for someone coming to Python straight from C, but for the rest of us it can become irksome quickly.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Presents the material, but way too much cheerleading.
Comment: This book does a good job of presenting the basics of the Python Language syntax, along with the built-in tookits that come with any Python Impelementation. However, an important thing to know when reading the language is also knowing what a particular language is good for and what it is not good for. It is at this task that _Learning_Python fails.
I understand that Mark Lutz and David Ascher are very enthusiastic of the language, but they lose credibility when, at every possible turn, they feel the need to take their dig at C/C++/Java. Some of these digs are misleading at best. For example, at one point the authors tout functions in Python as being superior to those in C++ because Python functions don't care about types, so any function works on types for which the statements in the function are all compatible, and makes a point about how this is not true in C++. This is misleading, because C++ (even at the time my copy of the book was printed) had introduced templates, which allows for much the same flexibility as Python functions. Do templates have their problems? Yes, but the book instead has us believe that this functionality does not exist at all in C++.
Also, at the beginning of the book is a section titled (in effect) "Why Use Python?". Instead of objectively listing the advantages and disadvantages of Python relative to the other languages, the advantages of Python are highly touted while the disadvantages of Python are deliberately minimized and brushed aside.
Contrast this behavior with Stroustrup's C++ book, where Stroustrup is careful to point out that C++ isn't right for everything, and that there are advantages to being well-versed in multiple languages, realizing that there is no need for one language to be *the* language. Overhyping Python does the reader a disservice -- either the reader will believe the authors, in which case the reader will try to use Python everywhere, or the reader will disbelieve the authors, at which point the author has no credibility and the reader will be less likely to take the author's points seriously.
Customer Rating:
Summary: My brothers is loving it and says its really easy
Comment: I bought this for my brother so I what I can tell you is what he tells me. He says that Python is really easy to learn, its very useful and the book is really ease to follow. He works with GIS software and that is what Python is for. He is enjoying the book very much and is very grateful with my choice! So I am happy I chose this book too!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Overview, Even if It is Slightly Dated...
Comment: Even though this book is a little dated, it still provides an excellent overview of the language and provides a great "pick and choose" reading format. There's a lot of useful, straightforward/clear information.
The organization of the book makes it a wonderful reference as well as an easy read. The ability to skim over certain sections when you already understand some base concepts makes it a wonderful, inexpensive intro/reference to/for Python for experienced developers.
Customer Rating:
Summary: good reference and beginner's manual
Comment: It's a good book. Absolutely worth the money if you're leaning Python. It has tutorials and explains things nicely. Sometimes it can be a little too verbose about computer science basics (explaining variables, etc.) which can be good for beginners but is annoying if you already know. Does a good job at covering what you need to know about Python, and not bad for the price.
|
|
|
