Programming With Python

Rating:
Summary: Shoddy editing?
Review: OK, I just bought this book today and haven't even finished the whole thing, but based on what I've seen I may not (I actually wish I could return except I've opened the software). From what I've seen though:

A lot of code is HIGHLY inefficient....I've written code that does the same thing with a third the number of lines. A lot of the code is just not well thought out or thorough. For instance he provides code for converting Roman numerals back to numbers, but it doesn't check for invalid characters. Additionally it doesn't check to make sure the characters are in the proper sequence -- what it does roughly, is if it finds an "I" it builds a math expression "+1", then "+5" for "V" "+10" for "X" and so forth. But what this would allow is an invalid roman numeral, "IL", to be turned into the number 51.

The author does point out that he didn't necessarily write all the code, but for crying out loud he should have checked it better. And there are other types of errors, such a multiple statements on the same line, without the necessary seperator. The only reason I give it two stars is that I've gotten some inspiration for new (to me) ideas from it, but I can actually get that from just about any computer book.

PS The code on the CD-ROM seems to be in UNIX format requiring unzipping using tar.

Rating:
Summary: Shoddy editing?
Review: OK, I just bought this book today and haven't even finished the whole thing, but based on what I've seen I may not (I actually wish I could return except I've opened the software). From what I've seen though:

A lot of code is HIGHLY inefficient....I've written code that does the same thing with a third the number of lines. A lot of the code is just not well thought out or thorough. For instance he provides code for converting Roman numerals back to numbers, but it doesn't check for invalid characters. Additionally it doesn't check to make sure the characters are in the proper sequence -- what it does roughly, is if it finds an "I" it builds a math expression "+1", then "+5" for "V" "+10" for "X" and so forth. But what this would allow is an invalid roman numeral, "IL", to be turned into the number 51.

The author does point out that he didn't necessarily write all the code, but for crying out loud he should have checked it better. And there are other types of errors, such a multiple statements on the same line, without the necessary seperator. The only reason I give it two stars is that I've gotten some inspiration for new (to me) ideas from it, but I can actually get that from just about any computer book.

PS The code on the CD-ROM seems to be in UNIX format requiring unzipping using tar.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Disappointed
Review: This book fails miserably. I was quite surprise how a professional writer put so little effort into this book; the end result is more of an beginning outline than a completed book: no overview, lack of focus, no apparent structure. The authors claim you can learn Python by reading over their 40 annotated scripts. First, the scripts are not fully explained; often no more than a few paragraphs. Second, the book does not document how any of the examples relate to the Python syntax. The documentation provided with the Python source code is better than this fruitless effort.

Rating:
Summary: Superficial and Overpriced.
Review: This book seems designed for programmers who have more money than time. It's presented in a quick, here's some code, you figure it out fashion. It reminds me of a college student's attempt to finish a term paper by spending the weekend surfing the net, doing a lot of cut & paste, and throwing in a comment here and there to hold it together by . Not very professional or satisfying.

Perhaps if this book had come out 3 years ago it could have filled some programmers need for a quick, high level overview of Python. Today however, most of what is in this book is available for free on the net and there are far better Python books to spend your money on.

If you're looking for a good introduction to Python, look somewhere else. I recommend "Learning Python (Help for Programmers)" or, if you comfortable with the basics and prefer to learn by studying other peoples code, try "Python Annotated Archives" (which, unlike this book, really is annotated).