Is it any good?

[Jules Dubois]

On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 00:47:01 +0100, in article 
<mailman.157.1067291240.702.python-list at python.org>, Tim Ronning wrote:

> The book is called "Python How to Program" by 
> Deithel & Deithel. Issued on Prentice Hall 2002. 

Deitel and Deitel have a mixed reputation.  I've heard a few more negative 
comments about their other books than I've heard postive comments.

> I'm not an experienced 
> Python programmer and I'm looking for a comprehensive but also an 
> "understandable" book. I'm also open for suggestions.

Are you an experienced programmer?  If so, I recommend _Python in a 
Nutshell_, by Alex Martelli.  I think it's one of the best technical 
references available on any programming subject.

It's well-written and it's as comprehensive as you're going to get in a 
book.  Unfortunately for books, new versions of the software may be 
published at a much quicker rate than new versions of the books covering 
them.  For a reference, you could also print some of the nice documentation 
available for Python.  I paid ~US$60 for the ~1000 pages I took to a local 
printer.

Is it understandable?  Definitely.  However, it's not an introductory 
programming text.  (Even experienced programmers may find some topics 
suitable for "Guru Meditation."  I still have trouble with Custom 
Meta-Classes in Chapter 5, but that's just me.)

If you don't consider yourself an experienced programmer, have you looked 
at _Learning Python_ and/or _Programming Python_, both published by 
O'Reilly and Associates?