Best reads: Python programming
By Russell Barnes. Posted
Python is a great first programming language, but you need to choose a book that matches your learning style. Find out which of our five essential Python programming books suits you…
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Learn Python the Hard Way (Third Edition)
Author: Zed Shaw
Publisher: Addison Wesley
Price: £24.99 (free online)
ISBN: 978-0321884916
The “hard way” is typing it all in until you absorb the syntax and spot mistakes. Works well, but Shaw doesn’t cover Python 3.
Program Arcade Games: With Python and Pygame
Author: Dr. Paul Vincent Craven
Publisher: CreateSpace
Price: £21.99 (free online)
ISBN: 978-1500825966
Balances games and programming exercises to keep the learner going. Very popular: available in several languages on the website.
Writing Idiomatic Python 3.3
Author: Jeff Knupp
Publisher: CreateSpace
Price: £13.97
ISBN: 978-1482374810
Get pythonic from the start: concise guide to idiomatic code; best after another text, but suits some brave learners.
Dive Into Python 3
Author: Mark Pilgrim
Publisher: APress
Price: £35.49 (free online)
ISBN: 978-1430224150
Dives straight into code then the explanations follow. A concise but comprehensive start that will appeal to independent study types.
Learning Python – 5th Edition
Author: Mark Lutz
Publisher: O’Reilly
Price: £43.50
ISBN: 978-1449355739
Comprehensive doorstop (1600 pages); great for programmers new to Python and (Object Orientation). Covers Python 2.7 and 3.3.
Russell runs Raspberry Pi Press, which includes The MagPi, Hello World, HackSpace magazine, and book projects. He’s a massive sci-fi bore.
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