Re: [Tutor] Life after beginner
Pat Martin wrote: > Hello, > > I have been reading about and playing with programming in python for > awhile now. I have most of the basics down. I know what a tuple is, I > know how to load modules, and I understand a fair amount of beginning > programming theory. I have written some scripts for both home and work > and have become fairly proficient at reading python code. > > My question is, what next? Is there some intermediate tutorials or books > out there that I can start learning some real meat in the language? > Things that just writing a simple script I might miss. I really want to > learn about in depth programming and programming style but I am far from > an expert. But with all the languages I have learned (really touched on) > C, C++ perl, and python I seem to get to this point and then I am not > sure where to go from here. I want to be able to write large projects in > python and carry that experience over to the other languages as well. So > any insight would be welcome. It sounds like you are looking for two different kinds of learning. First, you want a deeper knowledge of Python - what are the advanced features, how is Python really used? I found the book Python Cookbook to be a great intermediate step in my own learning - it is full of well-written, idiomatic Python code that shows you how experienced practitioners actually use the language. Second, you want to get better at the craft of programming. This is harder than learning Python and takes practice. Look at books that are not specifically Python oriented. As well as the books Danny and Alan recommend, I have some favorites listed here: http://personalpages.tds.net/~kent37/BookList.html Kent ___ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
Re: [Tutor] Life after beginner
Hi Pat, > My question is, what next? Is there some intermediate tutorials or books There are lots of more advanced books, usually focusing on a particular topic. Some examples include: Python and Tkinter programming by Grayson Python Programming on Win32 by Hammond Text Processing in Python by Mertz and there are others on XML, etc. Programming Python by Lutz is also fairly in-depth and the new third edition promises to be more so. (I intend to replace my first edition when it finally hits the streets!) And of course Dive into Python sits somewhere between beginner tutor and advanced specialist book. > just writing a simple script I might miss. I really want to learn about in > depth programming and programming style but I am far from an expert. But > with all the languages I have learned (really touched on) C, C++ perl, Programming style covers two things: 1) Good fundamental programming rtechnique and 2) language idioms If you want to be a better programmer in general then you should consider reading some general programming books such as: Code Complete by McConnelk - Every programmer should read this Programming Pearls by Benley - likewise The Pragmattic Programmer by Hunt & Thomas The Practice of Programming by Kernighan/Pike These all discuss general techniques for making programs more readable, maintainable and more efficient, regardless of language. (In fact most include examples in multiple languages) > I want to be able to write large projects in python and carry that > experience over to the other languages as well. So join a large project. Sourceforge has lots of opensource projects crying out for volunteers. You can start by writing documentation as a way of getting to know the system, then testing new releases, then doing bug fixes and finally coding new features. All contributions are welcomed. And you can see your software being used by the world at large. HTH, Alan G Author of the learn to program web tutor http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/alan.gauld ___ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor
Re: [Tutor] Life after beginner
On Mon, 30 Jan 2006, Pat Martin wrote: > My question is, what next? Is there some intermediate tutorials or books > out there that I can start learning some real meat in the language? Hi Pat, Maybe you'd like something like: http://diveintopython.org/ which is pretty meaty (or, if you're vegetarian... er, maybe... gluteny?) It goes into using Python to do more substantial things like unit testing and making web services. You may also want to look at books that don't focus exclusively on Python. There are some classics like Code Complete, for example, that show fundamental and practical programming concepts: http://www.cc2e.com/ There are a lot more books out there, but my brain is off right now. *grin* I'm sure others can suggest other books. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask. Best of wishes! ___ Tutor maillist - Tutor@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor