Rating:  - most useful python book to have on your shelf
I'm new to python but not programming. Like a lot of people I had a need to get up to speed really quickly on Python so I purchased several Python books (Learning Python, Python Essential Reference, and this book). What I've found is that once you learn the basics, I find myself using this book much more than the others. It's a great little "cheat". You start with wanting to accomplish something-or-other and simply look it up in the appendex and there is a real good chance you'll find something similar that will at least get you started. The scope that they cover is really impressive, and the examples are simple and to the point. Just what I need. There is not tons of description for each thing, just enough to get you started. This is truly and invaluable resource.
Rating:  - once read, does't read so many times
I expected this book explain the detail sample of python libraries that python library help does not explains.
This book gathers many examples wide domain of program, network, web programming, language basics, xml, design patterns, and so on.
But not include the detail explannation of python's libraries, I think gathering many samples is very easy in this internet world, so, to know many samples from the book like this is only the time consuming.
TO know short samples of library and extend yourself without detail knowledge of libraries, this book is worth reading, otherwise, choise another book.
Rating:  - Good book for taking your python skills to the next level
This is an excellent book for anyone who knows programming, and knows a little bit of python already. It is formatted exactly as a cookbook, many 2-3 page recipes for solving a specific common problem. As such it has many coded examples, all of which demonstrate good programming style and may introduce the reader to some of the more obscure features of the language. It also covers a very wide array of topics, many of which are pure gold. And possibly the best aspect of the book is that it makes a great compliment to resources available on the internet (which are mostly scattered and unorganized).
The drawbacks are that it doesn't cover any topics to a great depth, which is understandable given the nature of the book. Also, it talks about small atomic solutions, but will not help you develop your skills at developing large software systems with python. Lastly, as of this review, python 2.5 has been out for months, and python 3000 is in the works, so look for a new edition or a more contemporary text.
Rating: - Good stuff
Lots of great ideas in this book. It will help you get your head around Python. A little advanced so I would start with Learning Python or Python for Absolute Beginners.
Rating: - Wish I had bought this earlier!
Used it to improve some of the Python scripts I wrote for work. Unfortunately I bought this volume only *after* submitting my articles to Linux Journal, rather than before (in particular, the ODF article in the May'07 issue would have benefited).
Guido doesn't need this book, but mere Python mortals like me will find it very useful.
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