Best book on Python?

[Don O'Donnell]

Ian Bolton wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> (I looked at the FAQ and the answer to this was very old, so I am asking
> directly.)
> 
> I am based in the UK and have read about a quarter of a borrowed copy of
> Programming Python 1st edition.  Now that I am back at uni and no longer
> have access to the other book, I am gonna have to buy one.  I've looked at
> Programming Python 2nd edition and it looks good, but is it the best one out
> for an beginner-intermediate programmer?  (My Python experience is limited
> to about 10 weeks worth of programming.)  Also, where's the cheapest place
> to get hold of PP2, or whatever you recommend?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ian

Hi Ian,

If you already are familiar with the basic concepts of programming and
don't need a lot of hand-holding, the best Python book, in my opinion,
is David Beazley's "Python Essential Reference".  Be sure to get the
second edition.  It covers the basic language and standard library
without a lot of excess filler.  It's a great reference book, easy to
tote around, and if you don't need a lot of examples and commentary it
also make a good tutorial, at least it's how I learned the language. 

I have the first edition of programming Python (a gift) but haven't
really used it much.  It seems to spend a lot of time on showing how to
apply Python to solving typical software design problems, which may be
helpful to you, and which you won't get from "PER".

Personally, I try to avoid the thousand page plus tombs that are
cluttering the market these days, their information density is just so
low that I waste too much time trying to get through them.  But, of
course, you may feel differently.

Bruce Eckle is writing a "Thinking in Python" book.  I don't think it's
been published yet, but it may be available for downloading on the net. 
His "Thinking in Java" (also downloadable) is one of the best on Java,
so I'm looking forward to reading his take on Python.

Also, as a general rule, you can't do too badly with books published by
O'Reilly or Wronx.

A cheap place to buy computer books is www.bookpool.com.  You can
usually get 30 to 40% discounts there.  However I'm not sure if they
ship to the UK.

Cheers,
Don