Programming Python: Powerful Object-Oriented Programming 4th Edition

Wow this book is a tome! But it sort of needs to be, because it gives such a comprehensive overview of the python language, and also manages to explain ever some of the more obscure topics using lots of clear examples. I'd recommend reading at least an introductory text on python before approaching this. The author suggests "Learning Python", I think partially because he wrote it. That's not to say it's a bad suggestion, and in fact he's even said he designed the books to play well with each other in a certain order. Another good option is Python Crash Course. If you have some professional background in python, you'll be fine jumping right into this. If you're a brand newbie, you'll probably want a primer before this though.

A great guide to Python programming. Yes, it can get tedious and a bit dry (but I like tedious and dry!). This reads like a college lecture, but it is thorough. If you're looking for a paper copy for your library, get this.NOTE: This is a big book. More importantly, this is also available for free in PDF format. Just do a google search.

If you've read beginner-level books and have a decent grasp of the Python basics, this is probably the next book that you're looking for. I spent hours trying to find a decent text to figure out things like tkinter (most of the web resources are outdated), which is really how I came across this title in the first place, but it covers a lot of the other "in-between" subject matter as well. The author does well with comments and explanations. Kindle formatting has been easy to read and follow.

This is a real mega-work on advanced topics and implementations in Python. A must.My only reservation is one I have about all his books, that language gets very contorted and unclear in the middle of things that need elucidation. Sometimes I'm unsure I've read something more than gibberish. Often he could explain things in a far simpler way. His drive to appease different computer-language religions and Python versions generates a lot of clutter in the learning process. He also doesn't bother the explain simple things that people will need if they are to use Python, such as how to get something as simple as the time and date, or how to use the pickle/shelve processes, which are really foundational and deserve some clarity and exposition. Drive-by explanations for basics are not useful.

I learned a lot from this book. It is very detailed and explains some of the thinking behind how Python is structured. The author uses a lot of repetition to cover each topic. It is a good learning technique in a live teaching environment but maybe a bit heavy in a book format. That would be my only minor criticism.

This book awesome, it covers many topics I'm interested in and to the depth and degree that I need as new person to Python as I learn best by example. Will admit I was confused at first by the title, but I can't say enough about how great this book. It is huge, but again for me, I love the detail and depth and variety of topics, a lot of bang for the cost. And yes he uses Windows 7, but python is portable that way. Read the preface and you won't be confused by what it covers. Thank you Mark Lutz!!!

I read the first book, learning Python, and contrary to a lot of people's negative comments, I believe that if you take the time and work through his scripting rather than simply read it, you will have a very good grasp on the fundamentals of Python.However, I am currently on p.125 of this book, and so far it is an exercise of reading a little about some functionality in Python, and then reading his script that never in a millions years would I have come up with on my own. To this point, there has been no exercises. I simply copy his code, run them, and hope that I get the same results (I say hope, because I have a Mac and he uses a Windows computer. See p. 120 for a specific example where he writes code specifically for windows). Anyway, I don't feel like I am "Programming Python."Personally, I can get past his continual references to what is going to be covered in later chapters, because I have learned to breeze by those sections. However, I don't personally learn well from simply copying someone's code and then moving on. I will see how this pans out.

As much as we loved Learning Python, this book is even better by orders of magnitude. This is truly the definitive author on the subject. His tutorial based approach and explanations will have what you learned in the first book put into a working framework that will take off the training wheels and let you enjoy all the sights. A must read if you are interesting in "knowing" how to effectively program in Python.