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A review by ericlawton
Think Python by Allen B. Downey
5.0
I would have given 4* but it is available in PDF FOR FREE, authorized by author/publisher ,so definitely a 5*.
I'm an experienced programmer in a dozen or so languages so I read it quickly - it told me just what I wanted to know about differences between Python AS A LANGUAGE and Java, C++ .
Actually, the most important reason for learning any new language these days is the packages available and this intro didn't go into that at all. Python is a full general purpose language but the main reason for choosing over similar languages is for scientific packages. A survey chapter on these would have made it 5* even at full price.
I would also recommend the book for programming novices because it tells you some really useful things about introductory computer science as well; data structures and algorithms as well as object-oriented programming. Just a hint, not enough to really learn them, but so you will know they are out there and just as important as the language syntax and will dig deeper when ready.
I'm an experienced programmer in a dozen or so languages so I read it quickly - it told me just what I wanted to know about differences between Python AS A LANGUAGE and Java, C++ .
Actually, the most important reason for learning any new language these days is the packages available and this intro didn't go into that at all. Python is a full general purpose language but the main reason for choosing over similar languages is for scientific packages. A survey chapter on these would have made it 5* even at full price.
I would also recommend the book for programming novices because it tells you some really useful things about introductory computer science as well; data structures and algorithms as well as object-oriented programming. Just a hint, not enough to really learn them, but so you will know they are out there and just as important as the language syntax and will dig deeper when ready.