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James R. Payne
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Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional, 2nd Edition (The Experts Voice in Open Source) (Beginning From Novice to Professional) 2nd Edition

by Magnus Lie Hetland (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 88
See all formats and editions
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Gain a fundamental understanding of Python's syntax and features with the second edition of Beginning Python, an up–to–date introduction and practical reference. Covering a wide array of Python–related programming topics, including addressing language internals, database integration, network programming, and web services, you'll be guided by sound development principles. Ten accompanying projects will ensure you can get your hands dirty in no time.

Updated to reflect the latest in Python programming paradigms and several of the most crucial features found in Python 3.0 (otherwise known as Python 3000), advanced topics, such as extending Python and packaging/distributing Python applications, are also covered.

Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    9380501609
  2. ISBN-13
    978-9380501604
  3. Edition
    2nd
  4. Publisher
    Apress
  5. Publication date
    September 10, 2008
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7.01 x 1.55 x 9.25 inches
  8. Print length
    718 pages
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1590599829
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Apress; 2nd edition (September 10, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 718 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9380501609
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9380501604
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.62 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.01 x 1.55 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 88

About the author

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James R. Payne

James R. Payne

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James R. Payne was introduced to programming when he was just 10 years old. He started off hacking text-based games like Lemonade Stand to gain an advantage while playing and soon started creating his own text-based Role-Playing Games in the style of Dungeons and Dragons and inspired by his favorite comic books. The enjoyment of those early days stuck with him, and he continues to be drawn back into the programming world throughout his career.

Payne is the former Editor-in-Chief/Community Manager of Developer Shed, an online publication and community consisting of 14 websites and forums dedicated to programming, web development, and Internet Marketing. He's written over a thousand articles on coding and marketing, covering virtually every language and platform available. His first book, Beginning Python (Wrox Press) was published in 2010. In addition, he has published over 2,000 articles covering topics ranging from gaming to aerospace/aeronautics and also writes adult horror and young adult fantasy books.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
88 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2010
Verified Purchase
The first book I read on Python was "A Byte of Python". You can find it on the net. It is free. That book was compact, effortless, useful, but, still, a rather basic intro.

I was looking for a something, which would take me further. We had quite a few Python books scattered around the office. Long story short, I liked none of them. Then I chanced upon James Payne's book, and I cannot praise it enough!! Very well structured, very readable, actually, engaging! Full of useful, clear, elegant examples, it covers a lot of subjects, but not at the expense of basics or clarity. Every new subject, whether it is network or database access, continues to teach you the language itself. It is quite good as a reference too.

It is not for absolutely clueless, but if you have even minimal experience with programming, I bet, you will find it remarkably useful. It is a book Python deserves.
15 people found this helpful
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Rusty Alexander Stiles
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for beginners
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2011
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This book is great for beginners to get them to a point where they will be comfortable learning advanced topics found in later books. I would recommend reading  Python 3 Object Oriented Programming  after this book to have a really through understanding of python. This book can have you ready to write your own applications, but the hardest part will be knowing how to apply what you learn in this book. The best way to see how to apply the different ways to apply the knowledge is to read the source code of an open source project, ideally one that relates to your area of interest. The book I linked above is also very good at describing how to apply the techniques taught, but requires prior knowledge of the python language.
3 people found this helpful
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Angello Jesus Maggio
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2009
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Love the book is incredibly fun.
I program in a Linux computer and this books helps me a lot.
It teaches you how to program in Unix systems and in Windows systems.
is 20 chapters of learning and 5 chapters of projects.
the projects include:
-Creating a chat.
-Creating video games.
-Creating Share file system.
-and more...

However if you want to specialize in game developing I recommend the book from the same publishre "Game Programming with Python and Pygame" because this books goes over games only in the last chapter and briefly.
2 people found this helpful
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Michael
2.0 out of 5 stars It's just bad and not suitable for anyone
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2012
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This is just not a good book to learn Python. It's full of errors, has faulty code, and even for a 'beginning' book is incomplete in its presentation of beginner's level material of the Python language. I bought it to supplement the required textbook for Python class, I wish I hadn't have wasted my money on it. To qualify my statement I've programmed in several languages to know a good or bad book when I see it. I've programmed in C, C++, Visual Basic 6, Java, Perl, PHP, and ColdFusion, and I own at least one book on each of those languages. For most of those languages I own at least two books if not more, and spread across all of those languages some of those books are Wrox books. If you're completely new to programming then I suggest you shop around for another beginner's book and skip this one. If you've had exposure to other languages and know the fundamentals like loops, arrays, functions, conditional statements, and maybe (but not required) a thing or two about classes then I would suggest Beginning Python by Magnus Lie Hetland. And just to be clear that book is a beginner's book on learning Python only if you already know the fundamentals of computer programming. It is not a first time ever computer programmer's book. So though I also have issues with Hetland's book it's still pretty good although the material is dense, can take some time to absorb, and there aren't any exercises to test your knowledge. But all things considered for someone that has prior programming experience Hetland's book is much better than Payne's. Getting back to Payne, my number one gripe out of the several I have is chapter 5 and his presentation of functions. If I didn't already know what a function was and how they should be used then I would have never fully comprehended that material. Payne's presentation was just absolutely awful. He uses a convoluted example of making an omelet and returning the ingredients for the type of omelet you want to make. I think a far more meaningful example would have been something like writing functions to gather names, job titles, departments, and phone numbers for a phone directory and then returning the information in a neatly formatted directory. I have more gripes about this book but I'll stop with what I just wrote because a lot of those concerns are covered in some of the other poor reviews. The only redeeming quality of this book is that Payne included exercises at the end of each chapter. If you have the skills then in a meaningful way you can vastly expand on the examples presented and even make up your own which is what I did with Hetland's book.
3 people found this helpful
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Cory A. Schwartz
4.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoying this book
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2010
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I have read several other books on python, and I really found this one helpful. It gets through the basics and keeps going into basic GUI programming, web CGI programming, multithreading, everything. To top it all off, this book is more modern than other books I read through. It has sections on 2.6 but focuses on 3.1. I'd really recommend this if you want to learn USEFUL python programming.
3 people found this helpful
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Alex
5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2011
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I picked up this book knowing very little python and it really helped me get up to speed quickly. I don't know why but this book just clicked with me and I was able to get my head around the concepts easily. Highly recommended for beginners, it brings you up to speed with everything up to web frameworks, gui toolkits and more. Try Python Cookbook from O'Reilly for your next read or for more experienced coders.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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abhishek kumar mishra
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on February 1, 2017
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best book for python.
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Scott S
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid first step
Reviewed in Canada on April 26, 2015
Verified Purchase
Got me started, and found very quickly I was able to start doing more useful things on my own, while still going back as a reference. It is a beginner book definitely, but a solid one.
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Vicent
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good
Reviewed in Spain on September 11, 2016
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One of the best programming books I have ever read...If you want to learn Python buy it! Lots of useful examples too.
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PL76
5.0 out of 5 stars Geniales Buch
Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
Das Buch ist einfach genial. Ich kann nur die Begeisterung der anderen Rezensionen bestätigen. Ich fasse kurz zusammen, was ich am Buch besonders gut finde:
- der Author ist kompetent und schreibt in einer einfachen aber prägnanten Weise, so dass das Buch gut verständlich ist.
- das Lesen ist auf Grund einer klaren Strukturierung angenehm, einzelne Themen sind schnell wiederzufinden.
- das Buch stammt ursprünglich aus der Zeit vor Python 3, daher werden die Syntaxregel von Python 2 zugrunde gelegt. Nichtdestotrotz sind die Unterschiede zu Python 3 syntaktisch erklärt, dazu wird meistend auch der Hintergrund der Veränderung erklärt - also man kann getrost das Buch auch für Anwendungen und Programmierung in Python 3 verwenden.
- der Inhalt ist umfangreich, trotzdem sind die Themen durch zahlreiche Beispiele gut zu verdauen. Mit den ersten 10-12 Kapiteln kann man Vieles erreichen (das ist mein Fall, ich nutze Python nicht für Webprogrammierung oder mit Database, sondern für Ingenieursrechnungen).
- Die letzten 10 Kapiteln konzentrieren sich auf (mehr oder weniger) komplexere Projekte - für Interessierte sicherlich eine gute Lektüre.
- Besonders interessant: die Ausnahmebehandlung (exception handling) ist sehr gut beschrieben, genauso wie ihr Einsatz zum Testen von Skripten.
- Ein Minuspunkt: zur Programmierung von GUIs ist wenig drinnen. Man sollte dazu zusätzliche Literatur verwenden.

Zur Programmierungssprache selbst: ich bin kein Profiprogrammierer, habe aber schon einige Erfahrung mit anderen (vor allem old-style) Sprachen. Ich bin von Python richtig begeistert. Die Lesbarkeit der Skripte und die Möglichkeit, mit wenigen Zeilen viel zu erreichen, ist einfach nicht zu toppen. Zwei Tops dieser Sprache (unter Anderen) aus meiner Sicht: funktionale Programmierung und Generatoren. Vielleicht nicht auf Anhieb zu verinnerlichen, aber wenn man die beiden darauf hat, kann wirklich was Schönes rauskommen.
One person found this helpful
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Madcap coder
5.0 out of 5 stars The Third Testament
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 13, 2013
Verified Purchase
I've read a great many introductory language books in my time, and this is far, far and away the best. Really the best computer book I've ever read - full details with walk-throughs on all the most common pitfalls, nice examples carefully built up through the course of the book. Rarely do such proficient exponents of a language show such empathy for their readership. There are chapters on every aspect of this great language - I bought this to help with writing GIMP plug-ins, and I'm hooked. I very much doubt anypne would need a second Python book after this, and for such a powerful language, that's quite something.
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