Python book to buy?

Question

Is it worth to buy Python In A Nutshell second edition or should I wait for next version

Suggestion for any other book is welcome

I am looking for a book like The c++ progrogramming language by stroustrup but for python

Answer 1

Have you considered Dive Into Python already? Note that this was last updated May 20th, 2004, so you will need to look elsewhere for information on newer features.

Answer 2

This is the best starting place for Python: Dive into Python.

You can even buy a book-copy if you'd like but the online version is free.

Answer 3

If you're set on the O'Reilly book, it may be a good idea to wait to get the coverage on Python 2.6 (and likely 3.0).

Answer 4

I'd highly recommend the Python Cookbook, especially if you're past the "Teach yourself Python" stage and are wanting to solidify your knowledge. It's a really useful book with a lot of practical solutions to practical problems, all done in a pythonic manner.

Answer 5

I'd not buy printed book at all. Python is evolving so fast, that books don't cover new features even in the moment you buy it. For example that O'Reilly book (2^nd ed.) is already 2 years old and does NOT even cover Python 2.5.

Answer 6

I'd recommend the free e-book How to Think Like a Computer Scientist - Learning With Python

Answer 7

I learned Python recently by using Dive Into Python downloaded from Mark Pilgrim's site, plus a lot of Google and Stack Overflow searches. Then, I ordered Python Cookbook so that I could do explore topics deeper than what can be found in introductory books or web searches. It seems that there is so much content online for free that buying a printed book is not really necessary.

Answer 8

The "Which Python book should I get?" question gets asked a lot around here, so be sure to check the archives for other suggestions.

I agree with the Dive into Python references. If you are interested in some of the newer features, check out the work-in-progress Dive into Python 3.

Also, I'm making my way through Core Python Programming and have been impressed so far.

Answer 9

If you already know how to program, then I would recommend not getting Learning Python. It's much longer than it needs to be to cover the material it does. However, if you're looking for a good introduction to programming by way of Python then the book would work just fine.

Answer 10

People at my work have the same question. If you're just starting to learn python, I recommend the following:

• Don't buy or read any python books.
• Give yourself half a day to walk through the excellent online tutorial: http://docs.python.org/tutorial/index.html
• Bookmark the tutorial and the library reference in your browser: http://docs.python.org/library/index.html
• Go write some code!

Answer 11

If i were you, I would read, in order:

1. A Byte of Python
2. Dive into Python
3. The "official" python tutoraial