I third this opinion. This book gave me a lot of insight and helped me get comfortable using Python. I also recall looking at a document Guido published on how to get started with Python as well as reading the reference docs that come bundled with the language install. Of course I came from a background of already using Ruby so the departure wasn't altogether difficult. The languages are different but to me they seem like cousins :-)
Typically when I try to teach myself a new language, such as Python, Ruby, Smalltalk, Scheme, Haskell, etc. I check out my online catalog through my local library system. Usually I can find a couple of books to peruse. If I don't like them I can just drop them back off. Then I check out eBay for used books. This route was especially helpful for teaching myself Smalltalk, since a lot of the books were 10-20 years old so I picked them up for anywhere between $1.00 to $5.00. I digress. "Learning Python" by Mark Lutz is a thorough and complete introduction to what you need to know to get started. Even if you are coming into Python with no prior programming language exposure. John Salerno wrote: > vbgunz wrote: > > Learning Python by Mark Lutz will be the most perfect book to get you > > started! Perhaps there are others aimed at the non-programmer but after > > getting through that book (2 times) I finally left it with wings... It > > is a great book for the n00b in my humble opinion. After that, you'll > > pretty much start flying higher on your own as long as you always keep > > the python docs handy along with the addresses to comp.lang.python and > > it's IRC channel #python on irc.freenode.net... > > > > Good luck, welcome to Python! > > > > I second this opinion completely. Use this book to start with! It is a > wonderful intro to the language and will give you a solid foundation. > > As for waiting for a 3rd edition, don't do it! If you're like me, you'll > want the latest there is, so I was tempted to start with something newer > too (since this book covers up to 2.2), but honestly it covers > everything you need to know. There are maybe two or three new additions > that you can read about elsewhere, but Learning Python is THE book to > start with, IMO. > > Get it now! :) -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
