Is python for dummies a good book for absolute programming beginners?
by admin on Apr.13, 2010, under General Programming
I have juststarted working with python and know absolutely nothing about programming so is python for dummies a good book that will basically explain EVERYTHING in detail enough for me to comprehend? if python for dummies isnt a good book for absolute begginers for python and programming in general then what is a good book?
April 13th, 2010 on 5:57 pm
Hi
If you’re just getting into programming, then I must advise you not to follow the path of the python. It always leads to disappointment…. Don’t get me wrong, python does pack a bite, but unfortunately it pales in comparison to most decent languages. I highly recommend ‘C All-In-One Desk-Top reference for dummies’. It’s written by the guy who invented wrote the books, so you can be sure its good, and its 6 books in one (and still only costing around $35 US.
Hope this helps
April 13th, 2010 on 6:52 pm
Start with this tutorial:
http://docs.python.org/tut/tut.html
It’s where a large number of Python programmers got started.
Also, I’ve heard good things about this book:
http://www.diveintopython.org/toc/index.html
April 13th, 2010 on 7:31 pm
The Python for Dummies is a good book. (I own it and have read most of it). It’s readable and it does cover some basics as well as mention some ‘gotchas’ that are useful to experienced programmers.
However, for an absolute programming beginner there is an even better book available for free online. I put links to this and a couple others up on my webpage:
http://www.homeworkcat.com/Python/python.html
Start with the ‘How to think like…’ book and then perhaps move on to ‘for Dummies.’
Python is a fine language for beginners; it’s quite easy to write simple programs. The tutorial by Guido is a great reference, but it’s a bit tedious to read as an introduction.