Rating: 
Summary: The title is misleading...
Review: " Visual Quickstart Guide Python" is the title of the book, not "Python for the WWW, etc" as this site calls it. In fact, there is nothing in it about the WWW. I am not a professional programmer, so this is one of several titles that I purchased to learn the language, and am I glad I did.I am also sorry that it was not my first book, because it would have saved me money and time to get to speed with learning Python. It's the clearest, most attractive( and illustrated, too)and well written book that I've seen so far. Every topic is presented with a sense of order and clarity . For example, when I glanced at the table of contents, I found chapter 10 was dedicated entirely to "Files", some 40 pages covering everything from "opening a file" to "Saving Objects As Files". And when I opened the book to the "Opening a file" page, the first sentence,"Python file operations are done by using file objects rather than file names", told me how intelligently and yet gently the author introduces the student to new and important concepts of the Python language. The page includes "Tips" and a complete code example, neatly separated from the book text, for the student to enter in the computer. I did not have to chase the examples through the text as in some other books. As the author cautions, this book is not intended to be exaustive, especially for advanced programming topics. The 400 pages, however, are a delight to read and use as you learn Python. I've set aside all the other books for now. Thank you Mr. Fehily.
Rating:
Summary: The title is misleading...
Review: " Visual Quickstart Guide Python" is the title of the book, not "Python for the WWW, etc" as this site calls it. In fact, there is nothing in it about the WWW. I am not a professional programmer, so this is one of several titles that I purchased to learn the language, and am I glad I did.I am also sorry that it was not my first book, because it would have saved me money and time to get to speed with learning Python. It's the clearest, most attractive( and illustrated, too)and well written book that I've seen so far. Every topic is presented with a sense of order and clarity . For example, when I glanced at the table of contents, I found chapter 10 was dedicated entirely to "Files", some 40 pages covering everything from "opening a file" to "Saving Objects As Files". And when I opened the book to the "Opening a file" page, the first sentence,"Python file operations are done by using file objects rather than file names", told me how intelligently and yet gently the author introduces the student to new and important concepts of the Python language. The page includes "Tips" and a complete code example, neatly separated from the book text, for the student to enter in the computer. I did not have to chase the examples through the text as in some other books. As the author cautions, this book is not intended to be exaustive, especially for advanced programming topics. The 400 pages, however, are a delight to read and use as you learn Python. I've set aside all the other books for now. Thank you Mr. Fehily.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Tutorial
Review: Add this book to your bookshelf if you want to get quickly started with Python. This book succeeds in teaching you Python in its 410 pages. While bigger books have more detail about how Python works, this book is organized on how to complete a particular task. Tips are included for all topics.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent first book
Review: For an amateur programmer with some experience in other languages this is an excellent first book on python. I have to admit I like to read a fair amount about the programming language before I actually sit down and write some code and I read about half the book in a weekend (while interacting with my two kids ages 1.5 and 3 years). I liked the way the book was organized, the numerous examples on each section ranging from simple to difficult, and the various tips. In a week's time I went from not knowing anything about python to writing real life utility modules to process lists and communicate with other programs. The only criticism I have is the attempt to force this book into a visual quick start format. There is nothing "visual" about this book. The so called "visual" portions are code examples arranged as "figures". Also this book does not cover GUIs, and other useful python libraries such as NumPy, although it does tell you how to get the information from websites. I cannot disagree with the reviewer who stated that this book does not give any more information than that available online. I am not sure if that is true because I have only briefly scanned the online documentation. For someone like me who prefers to read books on paper, this is well worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent first book
Review: For an amateur programmer with some experience in other languages this is an excellent first book on python. I have to admit I like to read a fair amount about the programming language before I actually sit down and write some code and I read about half the book in a weekend (while interacting with my two kids ages 1.5 and 3 years). I liked the way the book was organized, the numerous examples on each section ranging from simple to difficult, and the various tips. In a week's time I went from not knowing anything about python to writing real life utility modules to process lists and communicate with other programs. The only criticism I have is the attempt to force this book into a visual quick start format. There is nothing "visual" about this book. The so called "visual" portions are code examples arranged as "figures". Also this book does not cover GUIs, and other useful python libraries such as NumPy, although it does tell you how to get the information from websites. I cannot disagree with the reviewer who stated that this book does not give any more information than that available online. I am not sure if that is true because I have only briefly scanned the online documentation. For someone like me who prefers to read books on paper, this is well worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional
Review: Getting stuck on trivial things is one of the most frustrating parts of learning a new language. This book is the best I have ever used for answering these small annoyances. The book also covers enough ground to make it a respectable language reference.The organization and presentation are outstanding. I can find answers in a caption where it would require skimming through a page and a half of "Python in a Nutshell" (another good book). The code snippets are directly to the point.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book for a Beginner
Review: I don't usually go for "QuickStart" books, but I decided to spring for this one... Honestly, it was the best investment a Python beginner like me could have made. First, I find the author's style clear and concise. Concepts are presented in a logical order. His examples range from the simple "proof of concept" ones to more involved ones, but all are easy to try out. Not only that, he covers a wide range of topics - so you get the fundamentals you need. Most importantly for me, the book was easy to read. I could pick it up and refer to it for a topic and not have to wade through pages of dense text to get to the core. All in all, a well organized, well written and invaluable resource for any new python programmer.
Rating:
Summary: New to Python? This book is the best.
Review: I purchased and read several Python books. Python Visual Quickstart Guide made for somewhat dry reading first time through. But when I sat down to write my first Python program, I soon found that this was the book I wanted open in front of me all the time. The book covers all the basics. Between the table of contents, the index, and the way the book is organized, finding what you need is almost always easy -- more so than any of the other books that I bought.
Rating:
Summary: "Visual" is misleading, but the book is very good
Review: I usually avoid "visual" computer books because they often have too many screen shots and little information. However, this book is different. I picked it up in a bookstore and found that it looked reasonable, so I bought it. I was right. So don't expect lots of screen shots or other visual aids. The book shows mainly very short code snippets in a Python command shell interpreter. Only where required (for example modules) complete scripts are given. But it works well, giving you just enough code to solve your problem. It is a very useful, nearly complete introduction and reference to core Python, including the installation. For special purpose libraries (Tkinter, other GUIs, regular expressions, integrating C/C++, number crunching, communication, Web) short hints are given where to look or you have to look yourself. One extremely important issue covered in this book is how to make deep copies of nested lists, which is hard to find in some other Python books. It covers Python up to 2.1, some features of 2.2 are mentioned. The book has a good value for the price.
Rating:
Summary: "Visual" is misleading, but the book is very good
Review: I usually avoid "visual" computer books because they often have too many screen shots and little information. However, this book is different. I picked it up in a bookstore and found that it looked reasonable, so I bought it. I was right. So don't expect lots of screen shots or other visual aids. The book shows mainly very short code snippets in a Python command shell interpreter. Only where required (for example modules) complete scripts are given. But it works well, giving you just enough code to solve your problem. It is a very useful, nearly complete introduction and reference to core Python, including the installation. For special purpose libraries (Tkinter, other GUIs, regular expressions, integrating C/C++, number crunching, communication, Web) short hints are given where to look or you have to look yourself. One extremely important issue covered in this book is how to make deep copies of nested lists, which is hard to find in some other Python books. It covers Python up to 2.1, some features of 2.2 are mentioned. The book has a good value for the price.
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