The Open Source Zone

This is an introductory CS book disguised as a python book. If you are a seasoned programmer looking to use python for advanced practical stuff, then you may want to try one of the other python references. However if you are somehwat new to CS, or are looking for a book that teaches CS principles, focusing on the fundamentals of the field instead of a reference lookup text then this is a very easy to digest book. It focuses on algorithm development and other important underlying concepts that many other references assume you already know.

This is a fantastic book with lots of good "quick hitter" excercises to nail home the concepts. I highly recommend this book for newcomers.

I am a designer aspiring to develop stronger skills in JavaScript and ActionScript. I realized it would be helpful for me to get a better grounding in the core concepts and most general patterns of programming. I was attracted to this book for the subtitle, "An Introduction to Computer Science", and I had heard that Python is similar to the scripting type of languages that I need. I looked at a number of other books for this introductory purpose, one of which was "Learn to Program" (using Ruby) published by Pragmatic Programmers. Although "Learn to Program" is a very well done book (and Ruby similarly clear like Python), it is just a little too basic, light, and brief for what I wanted. "Python Programming" is great for beginners, but it also gives the kind of thorough grounding in clear concepts (a 'Computer Science 101') that is great for beginners to learn with and for experts to review and refresh themselves with.

This is an excellent introduction to Python. I also looked through the book by Alan Gauld but had some difficulties implementing code that he had in the text (could be that it uses an older version of Python?). In any event, Zelle clearly and effectively communicates the fundamentals of programming, and programming with Python. He uses examples which are immediately understandable and supportive of the underlying theory. Having little experience with programming languages, I needed someone that started at square one - Zelle does this and quickly gives the reader the tools necessary to start programming.

This is an excellent intro book for python. The fact that it touches on aspects of computer science allows it to be tied to some contextual relevancy. The book is clear, concise and explains the basics in appropriate detail. The book states that it would be a candidate for a primary textbook in a college-level, first course in computing. I think the key word here is "primary", which should not be confused with "only." The book itself is fluid and can be read through (and applied) rather quickly. The author obviously had a choice of subjects and level of detail for inclusion. That being said, this book is a great jumping off point for the more varied, specific, and finer details of the language. I personally, would not want to put students through the ongoing evolution of the dice gui or some other projects that the author uses to progress the student/self-learner through the development of the material presented. But the nice thing about the book is that given the well informed context and detail of the project environment, it is very easy to apply the concepts to a project more of your choosing and still be on the same page with the author's explanation of his project. Ultimately, the author offers a very open, yet safe (for newbies) environment to learn, explore, make mistakes, get back on track and actually come away with an understanding of the language as well as quite a bit of practice (if you choose).

I've always wanted to learn how to program and with a large number of languages available, the options can be overwhelming. Python is an excellent language to learn first due to its simplicity. This book introduces the Python language and the basics of computer science. At the end of each chapter, there are exercises where you apply the topics from the chapter. Some of the exercises can be very challenging, which I think is great.

It also helps if you know a bit of math.