Learn Python Programming: An in-depth introduction to the fundamentals of Python, 3rd Edition

The book excels in balancing theory with practical application. It doesn't just explain concepts; it reinforces them through real-world projects, including API development with FastAPI and GUI programming using Tkinter. This hands-on approach has been instrumental in solidifying my understanding. The inclusion of updated content for Python 3.9, along with new chapters on APIs and packaging, ensures that the material is current and relevant. Additionally, the availability of code examples online is a significant advantage, allowing for easy reference and experimentation. Considerations While the book is comprehensive, it assumes a basic familiarity with programming concepts. For absolute beginners, this might necessitate supplementary resources to fully grasp the material. However, for those with some prior exposure, it's an excellent guide to deepen Python proficiency. Final Thoughts Overall, Learn Python Programming stands out as a thorough and practical guide. Its structured approach and emphasis on real-world applications make it a valuable asset for anyone looking to enhance their Python skills.

I've docked a star from this rating because this book is not ideal for busy people who want to quickly learn the language so they can get on with their own projects. To get the best out of this book one would have to download the chapter examples, work through their code, which is much more than is presented in the text, and follow up all the links and references to documentation and dependencies which cover the entirety of the immense Python ecosystem. If I did have the time to follow up on every reference I would probably give the book five stars. The earlier part of the book deals very well with the core language. People like myself coming to Python from earlier generation languages such as C++, Java, Tcl, etc. can quickly start messing about and muddling along according to familiar paradigms. But the real power of Python only becomes apparent when one understands the advanced data types and language constructs that make Python a genuinely next generation language. The language style that arises from a full understanding of these features is called Pythonic, and to write as such, to write Pythonically. All this makes for compact and highly readable code, of which I thoroughly approve. As the book progresses however the explanation of the core language becomes increasingly intermixed with aspects of the broader Python ecosystem which are necessarily brief in their treatment and often too brief for the text alone to stand on its own without getting ever more involved in the example code and following up on references to a large array of third party tools and their documentation. The authors seem keen to use the opportunity to cover a career's worth of general observations and best practice heuristics on the whole field of programming more generally. All good stuff, especially for beginners, but off the point for someone wanting to master the language and get on with their own projects. I would estimate that it could take a good few months for the diligent reader to really work through the material not just of the text, but the accompanying sample programs and the documentary references as well. There's no doubt that a beginner or a computer science student would find this a really solid underpinning to a career both in writing Python and programming more generally. If, like me, you're in a bit of a hurry to get on and apply Python to your own purposes then much of the latter half of the book could feel like a distraction. Perhaps further down the line the areas covered there will tun out to be of relevant interest. How good a reference the book will then make is hard to say. As observed, on many topics the text alone is just too brief to give a confident grounding in the material covered.

Liked the book. Great effort by the writers. Introduces concepts in a light-weight fashion without either the high-handedness or the dumbing-down seen in some other books. I liked their decorators example. Obviously have a lot left to read and practice.

This is an excellent book for those looking to grasp the fundamentals of Python Programming. The book starts from the foundations and assumes only basic prior programming experience. There is plenty for more advanced pythonistas to get their hands on too. The book is organised into 15 logical chapters, starting with the more fundamental features of python and progressing to more advanced and higher level topics. I found the writing to be clear and easy to follow. The book is right up to date, making use of Python 3.9 and covers some of the latest things in Python like the Walrus operator and the FastAPI framework. As a mid-level developer I particularly enjoyed Chapters 9, 14 and 15. Chapter 9 covers Cryptography and Tokens and enhanced my understanding of JWT and authentication. Chapter 14 covers API development in the context of FastAPI and served as an excellent introduction to the FastAPI framework. Chapter 15 covers Packaging. Packaging in Python is a bit of a nightmare and the chapter goes into detail about the building, packaging and publishing process from start to finish. Overall, there is plenty to keep Python developers of all levels busy here. Beginners will derive a lot of value from reading through all the chapters, and those with more experience will most likely be interested in specific chapters and will find the book highly useful as a reference. Highly recommended.

The book ought to explain concepts eg that a virtual environment has the python installation. As it’s base. Diagrams would help. As a software engineer I understand the benefit of using meaningful names; why, in chapter 1, when creating a virtual environment have the authors chosen to name it lpp3ed? If there is a good reason for this name why is there is no explanation?

Phew, python is hard going!

É um livro para quem já sabe programar e tem umas noções de PYTHON. Aborda vários temas importantes. Deveria aprofundar melhor a parte gráfica.

It's an amazing book, due to all their detailed and friendly explanations in each chapter of the book. Congrats for the authors

As someone coming from a science background, I think this book is fantastic. It goes over all the basics in an easy to understand way. After I learned all the basics, I successfully created a user interface for my job that actually works! I would say this book presupposes you have basic knowledge of mathematical functions (adding, subtracting, squaring, recursive formulas). I spent a lot of time on this book and took good notes, and read every chapter except for the final two. I like how they have the code available online as well.

After a preliminary review, I am very pleased with the chapter layout, in depth language review, syntax, and coding examples. I purchased a previous so called highly rated and reviewed Python beginners book but it was so simplistic it became boring very quickly. I like books that get to the specifics early like this book. Thank you. I look forward to purchasing more advanced Python books from Packt.

Learn Python programming, for begginers and advanced users.