Hi Python tutor listers, as an intro I'll repost what I sent to my
Linux groups, since one of their members turned me on to you:
Before Borders imploded I'd joined their club so they'd send me 50%
coupons now and then. One afternoon last year I was in the store
browsing the computer books and this Python book caught my eye. I knew
very little about Python but I knew it had a good rep and I love Monty
Python so I bought the book then put in on the shelf. Only recently
did I get around to reading it and I only wish I'd done so sooner,
it's that good.
The book is "Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Third
Edition" by Michael Dawson, Course Technology, ISBN-13
978-1-4354-5500-9, published in 2010. He presumes you know nothing
about programming and then uses simple computer games to demonstrate
the power of Python. He starts with those text based games many of us
used to play, finishing off with GUI based games with music and
animation, and all the code is downloadable from the publisher's web
site. That's pretty good for a beginner book, I'd say.
Python itself is a beautiful language. Because it uses indenting for
constructing programming blocks, not semi-colons or braces, the code
is inherently clean and crisp. More about Python:
- it's easy to learn yet very powerful
- very concise and tight syntax
- comes with it's own IDE
- no compiling yet can create stand alone apps
- can be used for scripting or full blown applications
- runs on all the major OSs
- no variably type declarations, it can infer them
- lots of modules (pre-coded specific code routines) available
- can get productive quickly
- can code in a procedural or object-oriented style
Here's the typical introductory "Hello World" program:
print("Hello World")
Doesn't get much simpler than that!
He even gets into GUI programming, event driven design, sprites, etc.
For a book for a supposed absolute beginner I think that's amazing,
because I can see someone getting this even if they really have no
coding background. That's how clearly it's written and how clean and
clear the example code is.
One more side benefit of this book: it contains the gentlest, easiest
to digest introduction to object-oriented programming I've ever seen,
and I read a lot of computer stuff. If you're an old-timer like me who
only studied procedural languages, this is about as easy an
introduction to the power and flexibility of O-O programming that you
will ever find.
What I've been wanting to do for a long time is write an app that,
when my computer starts, displays a window with a quote of the day.
With this book I now have several ways to take my huge collected
quotes file, import it into arrays in a Python program, apply a random
function, and display a random quote each time I log on. That kind of
app is a natural for Python, but don't kid yourself - he actually
writes a space invaders type game using some game modules - and this
in a beginner book! Amazing.
This is a great book about a great language.
--
Frank L. "Cranky Frankie" Palmeri
Risible Riding Raconteur & Writer
" . . . and the extended forecast,
until you come back to me, baby,
is high tonight, low tomorrow,
and precipitation is expected."
- Tom Waits, "Emotional Weather Report"
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