N. Childs said
This is by far the best of the five Python books I have, and one of the best general programming books I've read. The book covers every aspect of Python, from basic syntax to regular expressions, object-oriented programming, database manipulation, GUI development, and Jython. The numerous examples are compact and emphasize the topic being presented. And Wesley Chun explains the philosophy behind Python and how to make programs more "Pythonesque."
mtlimber said
This was recommended in a review on Slashdot, but I'm a little disappointed. Sometimes Chun just gives code with no explanation, and other times he glosses over examples of how to use things in favor of prose. I've also found some typos, perhaps the most amusing of which is his repeatedly calling Python creator Guido van Rossum "van Rossum Guido" in one part of the book.
I haven't read any other Python books, but even if this one really is a best-of-breed, IMHO it is just so-so.
Hence, I decided after about 400 pages to read other things instead. I got what I wanted out of it and have it for reference in the future. Besides, my retention of programming languages apart from practice is low, and at the mo, I don't have need or opportunity to exercise more language features than I've used up to now.
gmale said
I got this book because of its many positive reviews, but I'm not happy with it.
I'm a professional programmer. C++ is my main language, but I know C, Java, Perl, Smalltalk. I have used Python a fair amount in the past; I wanted to go through a Python book because I'm starting a new project in Python and the language has changed since I last used it.
My main criticism of this book (2nd edition, 3rd printing) is its sloppy production. It is loaded with typos, broken code, and other errors. I'm surprised that most other reviewers didn't comment on this fact. The author knows about many of these errors and has corrections posted on the web, where he airily excuses the book's errors as being "due to lack of time or priority during the highly-compressed editing phase." If he or the publisher really cared, many of these errors would have been corrected by the third printing. (Many would not require resetting even a full line of type.)
As other reviewers have said, Chun's writing is rather disorganized and conversational. That's not to my taste, but evidently it suits lots of people. For the length of the book, the depth is not great.
Some reviewers say that this is the best book they have seen for beginning programmers. Maybe they are not familiar with Kernighan and Ritchie's classic, _The C Programming Language_. That book, in my opinion, is the standard of excellence.
Overall I prefer Beazley's _Python Essential Reference_ 3rd edition to Chun's book. The Reference is terse and maybe not suitable for a novice, but it is thorough, accurate, well organized, and carefully produced. Chun does provide exercises after each chapter; that is the book's main positive feature, in my opinion.
Walter Alvey said
I recently changed my job. My new company uses Python as the main technology. Before starting this job, I didn't know Python at all. The project I worked on was on a tight schedule. Fortunately I got this book and I can immediately starting writing code in Python on the first day. The book is written in a very easy to read and understandable way. It covers almost everything you need to know about Python. The "Core Tip", "Core Note" and "Core Style" sections are especially useful and helpful. They are not just for the Python beginner to develop good coding skills and habits. They are also very valuable advice for the people who already know Python. If you want to learn Python quickly or if you want to expand your Python knowledge, this is a book for you.
L. Cullen said
I'm relatively new to Python, having programmed in 'C' and Pascal for many years, and have found this book to be a very good first book to read. As a programmer relatively new to Python I've found that it provides me with very good coverage of the language and its most popular modules. It is not a reference book like "Python In A Nutshell", which I would also recommend. It won't be sufficient if you plan on writing complex GUI applications using wxPython, but there's another good book available for that. Thanks to this book and a couple of others I've been able to produce several useful Python applications. If you're a programmer new to Python, I would recommend this book as one of the first you read.
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