Python Basics: A Practical Introduction to Python 3

This book is an excellent introduction to the Python language. The basics are covered, there are links to on-line resources, and there are links to on-line quizzes. Now in its fourth edition, the authors have the experience to transmit information so that the reader can absorb it readily. Beginners can learn the main points of Python3 while more experienced programmers can review and gain insight into the details of the language.

I'm trying to learn programming after 20yrs, and 2 failed attempts. Went to college as a kid to major in IT, took C++ and C# courses but ended up flunking out. Now with life getting more expensive I figured it's time to try for a better career and maybe achieve an old dream. I've tried free online website, apps, and even a game but nothing really stuck with me until this book. I can honestly say this has been the best experience learning to program. The book is written in clear easy to understand language, provided numerous examples to try for yourself, and builds on what it covers. I often find myself looking up the solutions to each sections' challenges not to see the answer, but to understand what I did differently to accomplish the same goal. That alone has shown me way to improve my budding skills. I should note that the book often refers you to their online resource site (the solutions are all online for example), so having Internet access is a must!

While still reading the book and performing the exercises is good practice, I feel that the book is a good example of a practical introduction. Python 3 is a great programming language to learn, and the book has a fairly sufficient foundation for learning the language. Prior experience with Python 3 is not necessary, but understanding how a programming language works is a good primer to learn Python 3 and the book is structured like a timely exercise and practice format. Each topic is followed by a series of practical exercises, and doing these exercises helps with the knowledge gained. Some aspects of the language are covered that may be glossed over in a general explanation, but the book is patient with these aspects. Overall, I recommend this book for someone who wants to learn Python 3 in a few months (about two months on a continuous basis; otherwise, three to four months average for the whole book).

Why I like This Book I'm a fan of RealPython Tutorials and the instructors. I already had purchased the digital copy of this book. I know enough about Python now to not read from start to finish, but I'll refer to the book all the time. I needed a scraper to check on availability of equipment and a gym equipment site. Bingo! I start with the scraping using the Beautiful Soup parsing library. I can't say enough good things about this book for clarity of writing and examples that you can follow. This is a book written by instructors that know Python well rather than a programmer, and this shows in it's ease of learning. Why Did I Buy This Book? I tinker with Python for RaspBerry Pi, web scraping etc. I'd like to get into machine learning but can't commit the time yet.

I have started getting back into coding once again with Python and prior to that Java. Until now the books i got were good but not great and failed to hold my interest. I find this Python basics book to be so well written and interesting. I just hit chapter 7 and unlike some reviews I have read I have seen nothing that was not covered in prior chapters. Yes an Index would have been nice but anything i need to go back and refresh is readily available on Google. For me so far it is mostly going back to look at syntax. The review exercises and challenges get a bit more complex with each chapter which is great. Finally what I really like is that their examples often intentionally produce errors and odd behaviors and then they give very good explanations as to why it is that way and what to watch out for. I lied, that wasn't the final thing. I also like the that they will teach you something and then say it is a bad practice to do that.

I recommend this book for everyone learning Python. The style is friendly, and it guides you through difficult topics in a step-by-step fashion. The examples and exercises are interesting, ranging from easy to challenging. Solutions are provided in the website. This book is part of a larger project: Real Python. So I also encourage everyone to go to their website (a very nice website, by the way) and learn more advanced topics and techniques. Congratulations to the Real Python team, and thank you from thousands of learners around the world!

So I bought the digital version of this book when it's still in pre-release. I bought this book when it's available in paper format. RealPython is the standard when it comes to Python learning. However, one page in the book is crooked and the page is also cut weird. It stands out from the rest of the pages when the book is closed. I'm not sure if it's an issue with just my book or it's the same for everyone. However, the whole page is still visible, so it does not interfere with reading, but it is a bother that the physical book is not perfect for how many revisions it's gone through during the pre-release digital versions. The page that's crooked and cut wrong in my book is on page 525 & 526.

"Python Basics" will take you from beginner to intermediate coder (as long as you code along with the book and do the challenges). By the time you reach the last page you should have learned the basics of Python and be ready to continue your journey using the authors' suggestions in the last chapter. Only complaints: I'd like to see 1) a chapter on using the internet to deal with coding problems and 2) a chapter on using an IDE like pycharm or visual studio code and 3) an index.

Overall, I regret buying this book. I have never seen a programming (or any book) without an index...what kind of moron writes a book like that? It makes it EXTREMELY frustrating to use, borderline un-usable. It's easy to read style is good but I find that it severely lacks detail, so is not really appropriate as a textbook to learn from. Foer example, the chapter on classes is extremely brief and I was expecting to learn more from it that something I could almost get on a Wikipedia page. Overall very frustrating and difficult to use, primarily due to the lack of depth and lack of an INDEX!!

ok

Ce livre ne se perd pas dans les détails en ce concentrent sur l'essentiel. Vous pouvez télécharger les exemples et les exercices. La page web de l'auteur offre beaucoup de matériel supplémentaire.

Excelente books for beginners and intermediate programmers. Cool content! Maybe too easy for experiment pythonistas.

Nonostante avessi già comprato la versione digitale, ho acquistato anche quella cartacea per avere sempre sottomano quella che considero una guida irrinunciabile per chi, da solo, sta imparando a sviluppare programmi in python. Confrontando questo con altri testi per principianti, si evince chiaramente la completezza degli argomenti trattati da chi "mangia" python tutti i giorni ed ha una vasta esperienza didattica nel settore