Python for complete beginners: A friendly guide to coding, no experience required

I received a copy for review as I am teaching absolute beginners to programming and using Python to do this. Previously I was using online tutorials and another book as example texts. This book will take the absolute beginner through to being able to write useful code in a manner which is clear and concise. This is not a definitive guide to python, and indeed it even contains details on how to look things up, a skill that as a developer you will have to acquire, as the world of technology is ever shifting forward. Those new to programming often get what I call "Code Vertigo" the sheer size and complexity of the software/hardware world is scary and many that would make perfectly fine developers/prototypers are put off by this.. A text that manages to simplify the process of learning the basics, as well as providing paths to develop further is always welcome and this is one of those texts. N.B. I do not understand the comment regarding the font size made by another reviewer, the printed book font size is a little above average size for most printed books. so not "small"

A nice book that fulfills the expectations. Simple written and focuses to the point. I bought to brush up my basic knowledge on Python.

A truly excellent book. The title is Python for Complete Beginners which is exactly what it is, written very clearly and understandably, and with very well designed end of chapter questions an solutions. The background is that we tried "Automate the Boring Stuff" (takes far too much knowledge for granted) and got half way. Then "Python Programming for Absolute Beginners" (very good, but with a spectacularly steep learning curve - you have to pay careful attention to every word and the questions don't have answers) we gave up on the last chapter after somehow getting most of the questions to work but spending hours on internet chat groups finding similarly frustrated readers looking for the same well coded answers - a bad experience. After all this, Python for Complete Beginners was a breath of fresh air, and it includes some interesting commentary. For example P151, "because normal loops (for -in) in Python are so powerful, while loops are used much less frequently in Python than in other languages...". Highly recommended.

As promised the book is indeed for complete beginners. The only thing is the book is not that well presented.

This is a well presented book, the formatting is just right, physically its easy to read and in good condition. Contentswise I found it interesting - I'm not a developer but aware of concepts like data types, variables and loops and how they basically work. The problems he solves are well laid out and often go through a couple of stages refining to get the right answer, much like real life. It's not a difficult coding book in relative terms, but coding as a subject matter itself is challenging. As it is a programming book aimed at complete beginners I'd therefore say it's just right.

The book is written for non programmers and the people who have no experience with any language and computer sciences. This was not the case for me so had to return it.

Wow, the first time I ever felt I wasted money. After 10 pages of nonsense we go to many mnay pages of text explaining very little about coding and then find 3 lines of code which if you are a beginner like me, will me nothing because you learned nothing from previous pages. I also bought "Python Hunting" by Marley Adair and Brian Carling. This book is riviting as it teaches you to write a simple game while explaining all the code and why it is used in the way it was... Just my personal point of view.

Teaches you the basics

This book has introduced Python in a very clear, straight-forward, helpful, step-by-step manner that has proven to be very, very useful. After suffering through on-line tutorials with minimal understanding, this book combined with the end-of-chapter exercises has been far superior and rewarding. (not Ed, but Ed's spouse, Ed's a programmer-extraodinaire)

This book is exactly what I was looking for - a book to help me learn python as someone with virtually no previous knowledge of programming. Everything is very well explained and most of the exercises are designed to be useful, with open-ended solutions - you decide how to use the knowledge you've gained to solve the problem at hand.

The syntax for the commands is off. Print() or Print(" "). It does not explain how to set up your work space. Just down load and it should do it, but doesn't. I had my son come over and do that for me. I'm 55.

A good read. Not intended to be exhaustive, just an easy-to read and understand introduction to the language. Good price too!

The book has really helped with my understanding pf Python.