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Python bundle

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get it, it is useful
get away from it, not useful
half baked bundle

why python?

5 years ago
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My opinion:
If you are a beginner for programming those books may overwhelm you. If you have a programming background and want to learn Python, buy it.

5 years ago
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+1

5 years ago
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I think, for almost everything youtube/forums is the best beginner source. Actually, for later as well :D

5 years ago
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Those do not seem useful for a total beginner.
If you wish to learn programming, you should learn programming first, and then decide if books are the right format for you to continue learning.

Personal opinion; all the information you need to learn all of these topics is available online for free. Will the books give a better / more structured overview? Maybe. Maybe not.

5 years ago
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In my experience and personal opinion, Udemy Courses have the best teaching material. And there's always a 90% sale on courses. Youtube isn't bad either, but you don't have the support and level of professionality that Udemy brings to the table.

5 years ago
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5 years ago
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thanks a lot for all your comments !!

5 years ago
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yeah, as the other users said, I really think this isn't suited for beginners so I'd save some money investing on something else =)

5 years ago
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Check out coursera's python for everyone course and the site recommended by Sighery up a few comments. Coursera's Dr Chuck is a great teacher with a great lecture - for free.

5 years ago
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I took a brief look at the Tier 1 books..

Introducing Python:

  • aimed at beginning programmers, yet Chapter 1 is pretty awful with that in mind
  • boring/unimaginative Chapter 2; you find this kind of approach in every mediocre programming book
  • this continues in Chapter 3
  • examples continue to be uninspired, but at least a lot of the content is code
  • wow, Python closures and lambdas mentioned already on pages 95 and 96
  • your usual introduction to Object-oriented programming with animal examples starts at Chapter 6
  • pretty heavy (but useful) stuff in Chapter 7
  • way too much stuff in Chapter 8, making it kind of useless
  • somewhat the same problem with Chapter 9
  • 100+ pages of the book are appendices
    Conclusion: below average book, maybe good for someone who knows some programming language but not Python

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Python:

  • this really is a guide to tools and best practices
  • also available and FREE to read online at https://docs.python-guide.org/
  • good content but a lot of it is not that useful for beginners
    Conclusion: it's ok

Elegant SciPy:

  • for people who already know Python, and are interested SciPy (processing of scientific data, used in "data science" as well)
  • uses examples that look like they're from the real world
  • but there are also some weird/funny visualizations
    Conclusion: seems like a solid book

Natural Language Processing with Python:

  • the book is like 10+ years old
  • may still be ok if you're interested in NLP and NLTK specifically
    Conclusion: maybe ok (look for other opionions)

So in my opinion at least the first tier alone is not really worth it, unless you're interested in SciPy.

5 years ago
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About Tier 2 books..

Think Python:

  • also available for FREE at http://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/
  • somewhat similar to Introducing Python
  • similarly boring examples, but at least there's some graphics code too
  • lots of exercises which is good of course
    Conclusion: your average programming book, but you can get it for free

Think Bayes:

Python Data Science Handbook:

  • EDIT: also FREE to read at https://jakevdp.github.io/PythonDataScienceHandbook/
  • good companion to Elegant SciPy
  • a lot of dry examples
  • nice introduction to visualization with Matplotlib and many, many examples
  • looks like a pretty solid chapter (almost 200 pages) on machine learning
  • where it seems to advocate Seaborn which has (had) troubling issues
    Conclusion: seems like a good book

Thoughtful Machine Learning with Python:

  • EDIT2: also seems FREE to read online at https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/thoughtful-machine-learning/9781491924129/
  • probably good after the previous book
  • subtitle says "A Test-driven Approach", yet I can't seem to find much at all about TDD in the book except briefly in Chapter 1
  • does seem to explain the used algorithms well (but for background you probably need to have a working understanding of probability and basic statistics at least)
    Conclusion: seems like a good book

If you're interested in "data science", it's probably worth it, though the inclusion of the free books is a bad choice.
EDIT: Wait a minute, all of these are FREE to read online...

5 years ago*
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Will comment on Tier 3 books tomorrow.

EDIT:

Fluent Python:

  • definitely not a beginners' book; maybe a good "3rd book" or so, for those who want to master Python
  • really good content (even if a lot of the code examples have that made-up quality typical to most programming books)
    Conclusion: solid book

Web Scraping with Python:

  • pretty thorough introduction on the subject; 2018 edition so that's good, too
  • code examples are not just "toys", i.e. you can adapt them for your own use (just be sure to add error handling etc.)
  • the legalities and ethics chapter should really be at the beginning, not the end of the book..
    Conclusion: good book

Test-Driven Development with Python:

  • thorough mega-tutorial on the subject; not a beginners' book
  • covers specifically the Django framework (which is a fairly complex beast)
    Conclusion: looks like a solid book

Flask Web Development:

Twisted Network Programming Essentials:

  • from 2013; you may want to check out a newer book
  • also Twisted itself may be out of date (you may have to use old Python versions to utilize it)
    Conclusion: possibly out of date (look for other opinions)

I'd say with Tier 3 it's not a horrible deal for $15, but the good books are not aimed at beginners.

5 years ago*
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thanks for your work

5 years ago
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There should have been a like button somewhere. Since there is not here is a <3.

5 years ago
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Since there isn't a " like" button I decided to click the blue heart button instead :)

5 years ago
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This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

5 years ago
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There are regularly free books on Packtpub, often about Python too. Most seem to be rather advanced but some are for beginners too. To give you an impression, so far I got these Python books there for free:

Learning Python
Python Projects for Kids
Learning Python Application Development
Python GUI Programming Cookbook - Second Edition
Learning Python Design Patterns - Second Edition
Learning Predictive Analytics with Python
Expert Python Programming - Second Edition
Modern Python Cookbook
Artificial Intelligence with Python
Python 3 Object-oriented Programming - Second Edition
Scientific Computing with Python 3
Mastering Python Networking
Python Machine Learning By Example
Python Machine Learning Cookbook
Advanced Machine Learning with Python
Python Deep Learning
Python High Performance - Second Edition
Python Web Scraping - Second Edition
Building RESTful Python Web Services
Mastering Python Design Patterns
Learning Data Mining with Python
Python Data Science Essentials - Second Edition
Mastering Social Media Mining with Python
Python for Secret Agents
Bayesian Analysis with Python
Learning OpenCV 3 Computer Vision with Python - Second Edition
Python Geospatial Development - Third Edition

5 years ago
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Thanks, didn't know about that. :)

5 years ago
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Thank you so much for this!

5 years ago
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5 years ago*
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You can already get everything for free.

5 years ago
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