This is the Safari online edition of the printed book.

Python is a remarkably powerful dynamic programming language that is used in a wide variety of application domains such as Web, database access, desktop GUIs, game and software development, and network programming. Fans of Python use the phrase "batteries included" to describe the standard library, which covers everything from asynchronous processing to zip files. The language itself is a flexible powerhouse that can handle practically any application domain. This task-based tutorial is for students with no programming experience as well as those programmers who have some experience with the programming language and now want to take their skills to the next level. The book walks a reader through all the fundamentals and then moves on to more advanced topics. It's a complete end-to-end tutorial and reference.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 3 Ratings

Informative, but not for the beginner - 2009-03-09
Reviewer Rating:
I've been hearing a lot about Python, its excellent syntax, and myriad of uses, so I decided to look for something to introduce me to the language. I ended up picking up Python: Visual QuickStart Guide because it's a light read and comes at a bargain bin price.

The book is written from the perspective that you're a complete beginner at Python. However, this tone makes a lot less sense as you go through the book; the book's examples seem to exist purely to demonstrate how the language's syntax looks. Indeed, there is very little practical application of anything you will learn from this book. It goes into minimal detail, and often what explanation it does offer is useless.

On the plus side, it is one of the first books on the shelves for Python 3. Anyone looking for a quick way to get up to date on Python 3 won't be disappointed. There's even a handy appendix highlighting the differences between Python 2 and Python 3. However, anyone just beginning Python who is looking for a comprehensive walkthrough of the language is going to be disappointed by this book. It amounts to little more than a syntax reference. I've read this book all the way through, and while I understand most of the language's syntax, I still have zero ability to build a Python application for any use. Many of the more in-depth features the book only mentions briefly, and usually only to tell you to check the official Python documentation online for more information, which to the beginner is absolutely useless since the official docs are highly technical and oriented toward a developer.

If you're looking for a book that's going to walk you through Python step by step, this is not your book. Not only is it about 180-pages light, but the text only takes up about half the page for some reason and it's a small sized book. There's less content in 180-pages of this book than there is in the first 60 of other programming books I own. It's a quick read and a great way to get started with Python and its basic syntax. However, taking your abilities further is best left to other, more complete books.

Great little guide - 2008-12-27
Reviewer Rating:
This is actually a very easy to read little text, packing a lot of information into a very small text. Highly recommended!

Short and sweet - 2009-04-18
Reviewer Rating:
A decent enough primer. Python is fun language to work with and this primer gets you going fast.

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