Foundations of Python Network Programming (Foundations)

Python Cookbook

Learning Python, Second Edition

Python in a Nutshell

Python

Dive Into Python

Format: Paperback
Author: Mark Pilgrim
ReleaseDate: 19 July, 2004
Publisher: Apress
Rating:

Instant favorite
. Very nice. I had to buy this one after having read the whole PDF version. . .

It's not a beginner's guide - but that was pretty obvious. I think it's unfair to take away stars for that. ESPECIALLY because everybody can preview the PDF version online!.

Polishing your Python
Many of the more powerful Python features are exposed like introspection, streams, unit testing, and generators. Dive into Python moves quickly into Objects and puts them to use in processing XML, HTML, and making RPC/SOAP calls. In addition, many gems are dropped along the way(classes as behaiving like dict. . . ). DIPy is really a concise, intensive immersion into deep Python very skillfully done.

The first time I read DIPy I was fascinated but knew I was missing a lot. I backtracked and read Beginning Python by Magnus Lie Hetland and some other basic Python books. DIPy does not dwell on the basics - it tells you once and expects you to make sure you understand before moving on.

I am reluctant to admit it but it wasn't untill the third read where everything made sense(Chapter 17 is especially wonderful). It also became clear that DIPy ventures where no other Python book goes and the author accomplished something extraordinary.

In short, DIPy was not a quick read but well worth the effort. .

essentially "Quick Python" second edition albeit abridged
The book does jump right in with non-trivial examples. I'm starting a new Python job soon and so picked up a hard copy of Dive Into Python. However I find all the references to external resources/websites disconcerting: these must certainly work much better in the free online version of the book. Furthermore I had occasion to pull my old copy of the "Quick Python Book" off the shelf in the meantime, and "Dive Into Python" is formatted in much the same way with footnotes embedded in the code examples. However, Dive Into Python does not pull it off as well as its predecessor. First, the footnotes don't stand out well enough: in the Quick Python Book they are bolder. Also there is too much wasted white space: in the Quick Python Book sometimes the footnotes were explained directly in the right hand margin, in Dive Into Python they always take up new lines under the code sample. These issues combined with a larger font and smaller page, and although the two books are approximately the same length in pages, I'm sure the Quick Python Book contains significantly more material. Yes Dive Into Python is much more up to date, but, other things being equal, compared to its predecessor, it's quite disappointing, at least in hardcopy.