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Compared to most (if not all) programming books, the approach this book takes is unconventional and rewarding. The book starts off with the basics one would expect: strings, text, etc. The difference is, the author does not explain what any on the syntax really means. In fact he says more than once (to paraphrase): Don't worry if you don't understand any of this, just do the exercise (directly copy code from the book) and keep moving. After each exercise, there is a short study drill where you are typically told to make specific changes to the code. Shadows of explanations are sometimes contained in these drills. The end of each exercise is also followed by a QA of "Common Student Questions". Further, early on the author gives some interesting tips for examining the code you just wrote (and probably don't understand) that I had never thought of before and are quite enlightening. In exercise 5, the author explicitly states, "The problem with teaching you programming is that to understand many of my descriptions, you need to know how to do programming already. The way I solve this is I make you do something, and then I explain it later." I cannot agree with this method of teaching a programming language more. At least for my own learning style, it is ideal. As the book progresses, the logical order the exercises are layed out causing things to come together even before he get's into the detailed explanation. Once those detailed explanations are finally introduced, covered, and your are done with this book, you will be better off than with any other beginning book at which point you can comfortably move into more advanced material. A quick note on the authors writing style: he can be very sarcastic and sometimes sounds almost a bit pessimistic, but it is all with humorous undertones that make the book fun to read. I cannot recommend this book enough. After I submit this review, I am on my way to see if he has more books in "Hard Way" series.
EDIT: Regarding complaints of the Kindle version. This happens to be the version of I am reviewing. I you want to use this side by side with an editor and a shell, you may have to shrink the font size as you web browser will (naturally) attempt to squeeze the text into whatever size you narrow your browsers width to. Personally, I am using a tiling window manager under Linux so I can shift things around as needed on a single monitor without decreasing the font size. Another solution is to use two monitors. I don't know what it looks like on my Kindle Paperwhite and don't have it with me at the moment.
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From the Publisher
A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code
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The Next Step for New Python Programmers
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Quickly Get Productive with Python
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Become a Python Programmer and Have Fun Doing It
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The Hands-On, Example-Rich Introduction to Pandas Data Analysis in Python
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| Customer Reviews |
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| Price | $19.87 | $16.88 | $32.05 | $39.99 | $36.73 |
| User Experience Level | New to programming and/or Python | Perfect for everyone who’s already started working with Python, including junior developers and seasoned Python programmers upgrading to Python 3.6+ | Although this book is for people who may be new to programming altogether, it also caters to people who want to know how Python works and how it’s fundamentally different 'under the hood.' | For absolute beginners who’ve never written a line of code. | Any level of Python experience (none to fluent) New to data analysis. |
| Learning Approach | You’ll learn Python by working through brilliantly crafted exercises. Read them. Type their code precisely. (No copying and pasting!) Fix your mistakes. Watch the programs run. | Hands-on - you’ll go far beyond the basics and learn how to analyze a concept, idea, or problem and then how to deisgn solutions by working through 52 crafted projects. Also includes access to 12 hours of video files. | Takes you by the hand and teaching by examples that are explained line by line. There is heavy emphasis on examples that are fun and useful, including games, graphics, database applications, file storage, puzzles, and more. You will learn how to think 'Pythonically' and avoid common 'gotchas'. | Friendly, easy, full-color. Each chapter will tell you a bit more about programming. It will show you how to do something, and then invite you to make something of your own by using what you’ve learned. | Introduces key concepts through simple but practical examples, incrementally building on them to solve more difficult, real-world problems. Brings together practical knowledge and insight for solving real problems with Pandas, even if you’re new to Python data analysis. |
| Key Topics | Organizing and writing code; Object-orinted programming; Basic game development; Basic web development | Quick hacks; Data structures; Parsing text; SQL and object relational mapping | In addition to Python fundamentals, this book pays a lot of attention to intermediate and even advanced features, including list comprehension, generators, multidimensional lists (matrixes), and decorators. | Programming fundamentals Advanced programming Useful Python | "Tidy" data; Cleaning and munging data; How to fit your data to models ; Fitting models in other languages |
| Python Versions Covered | Python 3 | Python 3.6 | Python 3.0 with notes about adapting examples to Python 2.0. | Python 2.7 Python 3 | Python 3 (Anaconda) |
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Customers say
Customers find this Python book great for beginners, praising its readability with step-by-step instructions and easy-to-digest content. Moreover, the language receives positive feedback, with one customer noting it serves as an excellent introduction. However, the writing style and target level receive mixed reactions, with some finding it simply written while others disagree, and several customers noting it's not suitable for programmers. Additionally, the tone receives criticism, with one customer describing it as condescending.
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60 customers mention content, 48 positive, 12 negative
Pretty good book, i think is a great book for someone who is already familiar with windows Shell, I personally stick to beginner books.Read more
Excellent book that encourages you to just get your hands dirty with programming....Read more
...Great book for a beginner like me....Read more
I was very disappointed by this book. First of all, the author insists on using Python v2 not v3 and doesn't explain why....Read more
50 customers mention learning, 44 positive, 6 negative
...A great way to learn Python and segway into other languages.Read more
This book presents an excellent way to learn the Python language. I have not finished with the book yet (because it allows me to go at my own pace)....Read more
This book has a good workflow for learning Python. I bought it for a class, and it was very clear to me.Read more
Great read and very enlightening!Read more
25 customers mention readability, 19 positive, 6 negative
Greatness. Very direct and this books makes you think about what you are doing and why. Zed does not tell you or gives you just enough....Read more
Easy to read and understand. Practice, practice, practice. The method of teaching is great for building knowledge and confidence.Read more
A nice little introduction.Read more
I don't know to whom the book is for I only know that it is not for beginners....Read more
5 customers mention language, 5 positive, 0 negative
...I really enjoyed learning the powerful language from this book and applying it to get started in scientific research....Read more
...Otherwise, an excellent introduction to the language.Read more
...Python is an excellent programming language that I now use almost every day, but it works best (in my experience) with a much different paradigm...Read more
Great book if you want to study Python from scratch. Easy language with examples.Read more
13 customers mention writing style, 7 positive, 6 negative
Good book simply written. if you follow the book you will learn, step by step.Read more
This book was written for the earlier version of Python and I need a guide for the most current version.Read more
...I'm 2/3 into the book and I feel very confident writing out the examples and then writing my own versions of the samples to fully understand what I...Read more
...The author's style is somewhat condescending; at best it's very abrupt and terse....Read more
12 customers mention target level, 6 positive, 6 negative
Good for new programmers. Teaches the basics and leaves out the frills. Encourages independent research.Read more
This definitely is not a book for programmers attempting to learn a new language. It might be good for someone who hasn't programmed before ...Read more
...helped me understand the terminal a lot better and helped me start to grasp how programming works. Highly recommended for beginners.Read more
...for these admonishments is ill-founded and seems difficult to excuse giving beginning programmers when they're just starting out and desperate to...Read more
8 customers mention effectiveness, 5 positive, 3 negative
Helped so much. I don’t know any programming and this helped sooooo much!Read more
...Plus, it’s outdated as it is based on Python 2. You will not find support for what you are trying to learn....Read more
...'ll work on your system, and the method of teaching by doing is extremely effective, quick, and actually pretty fun....Read more
...has a unique way of teaching and is a little unorthodox, yet very effective....Read more
6 customers mention tone, 1 positive, 5 negative
...A quick note on the authors writing style: he can be very sarcastic and sometimes sounds almost a bit pessimistic, but it is all with humorous...Read more
...some readers like Zed's blunt "hard way" style, but I found his tone unencouraging - i.e., if you are trying to tackle a challenging new subject you...Read more
...The reasoning for these admonishments is ill-founded and seems difficult to excuse giving beginning programmers when they're just starting out and...Read more
...Zed Shaw's tone is condescending. His examples are uninformative. This book is a waste of money....Read more
East to understand for beginners
Great book if you want to study Python from scratch. Easy language with examples.
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Top reviews from other countries
- DarthVader 👀Reviewed in India on September 19, 2020
Excellent 👌🏾
The book is a great introductory text to python. Unlike the title, the book provides an easy approach to python learning.DarthVader 👀Excellent 👌🏾
Reviewed in India on September 19, 2020
The author puts you in the driving seat, contrary to the popular approach of rote learning. You can only learn a new task if you’re motivated; hence the author places the onus on you. Hence he leaves quite a few things for the reader to do and find out, which I’m sure helps learning.
I don’t have a background in computer science at my graduate level. Still I am able to follow the book very easily.
That’s the beauty of Zed Shaw method 👌🏾
#Cons:
None for the book
However the seller is showing inflated MRP in order to make you believe you’re getting a good bargain. I was shown a high price and a discount when placing order; However I got the book at the MRP (photo enclosed).
Amazon needs to discredit such sellers and practices on its portal
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Cliente AmazonReviewed in Spain on February 22, 2017
Se aprende de verdad
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - Maurizio VadalaReviewed in Canada on July 21, 2015
I started this course through their website as it was ...
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase -
Marcus K.Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2016
Gar nicht mal so "hard"
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase - EmanueleReviewed in Italy on February 23, 2019
A must have for Python learning
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
