learn python the hard way review

Even Zed himself calls this process a boring, mindless memorization — and many people agree. A few years ago, a fellow named Zed Shaw created a website called “Learn Python the Hard Way” that a lot of people praised. Go read about nosetests more, and also read about alternatives. In all seriousness, CLI knowledge is a great skill that any Python developer can benefit from — working with Git, managing virtual environments via pipenv, managing system performance via console utilities like iperf or htop… Even though it’s not a full-blown course, it provides the reader with a solid understanding of how CLIs work and how they’re different from GUIs; the lessons include: Finally, Zed provides some neat cheat sheets for both Unix Bash and Powershell. Archived “Learn Python the Hard Way”: a Detailed Book Review. Say, “When all of the Python code on your computer is Python 3, then I’ll try to learn it.” That should keep them busy for about 10 years. Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2013. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series) at Amazon.com. Every book has its intended audience, and this book is meant for those kids or dummies or idiots or noobs who have NO CLUE what programmming is all about. Make your room more advanced, and then use it to rebuild your game yet again, but this time unit test as you go. Watch the programs run. This purchase includes a PDF, paid HTML view you can access from anywhere, and videos covering every exercise for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Verified Purchase. Let’s explore Zed’s stance in detail. Zed A. Shaw has perfected the world’s best system for learning Python. Here are some examples: It’s free! The author will teach you Python such that you will be able to write your own Python programs in no time. De titel “Learn python the hard way” is niet overdreven. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. In Learn Python the Hard Way, Third Edition, you'll learn Python by working through 52 brilliantly crafted exercises. In this article, we’ll explore the personality of Zed A. Shaw (the book’s author), as well as outline its structure, see its exercises, and analyze its good and bad aspects. My name is…”; suddenly, you type def… and the font color changes. (No copying and pasting!) After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Still, there’s an abundance of free Python learning materials nowadays, so a free product doesn’t stir as much excitement as it used to. Here’s a typical scenario: you’re inputting neat little commands that make your computer print ”Hello, world! Python is an essential superpower of data scientists and data engineers, so We decided to look for a book to train people on this programming language in a practical and funny way. This is a short review of Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed A Shaw. However, the book is called ”Learn Python the Hard Way” — but it doesn’t provide enough content for learning. I purchased this book and signed up for Zed Shaw's online tutorials from another website. I personally put great value on exercises that provide a precise end goal without holding the student’s hand too much — they unleash our creativity via forcing us to find the solution. Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed A. Shaw is an excellent learning resource for the beginning Python programmer. This book is great (and I would give it 5 stars for the book itself), but it's definitely outdated. (No copying and pasting!) The quote above comes from the year 2014 when the latest edition of Learn Python (2) The Hard Way was published. Python is an interpreted, high-level, cross-platform and easy-to-use programming language. Learn Python the Hard Way is Zed’s product, so he’s free to state his opinion in his own book; however, we as the readers should fact-check the information that the author broadcasts. I have read the html version of the book, and have used other begginers books., This one is the best. All right! My review of Learn Python the Hard Way by Zed Shaw. Realizing that many readers would encounter various bugs, mistype, and make other mistakes, Zed includes a ”Common Student Questions” section in every chapter. Like many others I've tried reading intro to programming books, and even tried to pummel through Udacity's Intro online class. 4.4 out of 5 stars 440. Het is een prima leerboek als je een klein beetje ervaring met Python hebt. This is how a beeginers book should work, at the intermidiate level you want to combine the codes and make larger programs but again this is for intermidiates, and many begginer book fall short in this area bc they get complicated to early rather than saving the code for the final chapters where we put it all together. The way Zed approaches the teaching process is rather unusual: throughout Learn Python the Hard Way, the reader is expected to find a lot of information independently. This doesn’t sit well with me — the author should have also acknowledged why more and more developers were switching to Python 3. The most striking example is his disdain for Python 3: in his blog post (or, rather, an essay) titled The Case Against Python 3 (For Now) written in November, 2016, Zed outlines the problems that Python 3 (allegedly) has been designed with a number of fatal flaws — his quote There is a high probability that Python 3 is such a failure it will kill Python is a good summary of his sentiment. While the path to learning a given programming language is quite clear (Understand the language’s pros, cons, and use cases → Learn its syntax → Delve into the intricacies of how it performs), teaching programming as a problem-solving skill is far trickier: the student needs to learn how to think like a problem-solver. Each one helps you build a key practical skill, combining demos to get you started and challenges to deepen your understanding. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Zed is the man. Here are the study drills found in Chapter 47: Automated Testing: In defense of Learn Python the Hard Way, however, I should also reiterate this point: There is no ideal learning resource. It has great examples, and great pedagogy. Read the docs, check other tutorials out, ask around — and you might manage to finally come up with the solution. However, it’s also criticized by an equal number of people: a quick Google search on “Learn Python the Hard Way” shows that many aspiring Python developers became disappointed with the book, especially after checking other learning resources out. Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2013. the beginning few chapters weren't bad/hard. This was purchased for my college attending son. Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2011. There is no way that you cannot code Python after following this book. There's tons of free stuff available on Python - tutorials etc. 3.0 out of 5 stars Skip this, get Learn Python 3 the Hard Way. It's better to keep the project simple and ... 197183, Russia, Saint-Petersburg, Polevaya Sabirovskaya street, 54А, office 335, By Signing In \ Signing Up, you agree to our privacy policy. Here’s the question: Is Python’s syntax so difficult to remember? The author simply points in the general direction ( Read about the setup.py file and all it has to offer , for instance) and hopes the reader will understand everything they dig up online. Novice Python programmers are no different — lists of popular courses and books (like ours, for instance) can always provide some valuable insights. Now, we can take a closer look at what other developers think: JetBrains (the team behind PyCharm, one of the most popular Python IDEs) holds annual Python Developers Survey to observe and analyze the trends in terms of Python’s popularity and usage. As a book author and a developer, Zed has always heavily criticized Python 3 and prophesied that it wouldn’t take off. Some developers may argue that the knowledge of command-line interfaces isn’t that important, but I would say this: If something can protect you from the old ”Just run rm -rf to solve the problem, buddy!” prank, then it’s definitely useful! 546. We all learn differently, so addressing my criticism of Learn Python the Hard Way if you disagree with it is very important. In Learn Python the Hard Way, however, the so-called ”Study Drills” (which act as exercises for each chapter) sometimes don’t really provide any hands-on experience. Why is this so popular in the Python Community? Known for his tech articles, Ruby applications, and educational projects. This page works best with JavaScript. Here’s one of the exercises after the ”Dictionaries” chapter: If you did Exercise 10-7, you already have a function named has_duplicates that takes a list as a parameter and returns True if there is any object that appears more than once in the list. But, what to make of a book that proclaims that you are to learn Python the hard way? The book starts off with an elaborate Python setup guide (written both for Windows- and macOS-based machines) that helps the reader to install the tools they need and ensure that they’re working properly. A great way to start programming but will be slow for somebody already has a language or two under their belt. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. It’s not always easy going, as I mentioned before, there is a LOT of code to write. Fix your mistakes. Somehow - Zed knows how - you start seeing the logic in the code you typed. Oh yes...I mean it. He kept updating it from time to time and eventually Addison-Wesley turned it into a book by the same name and they have now brought it out in its third edition. The video course is no longer available from Udemy. (a and b) is true. The peculiar thing about this book is - you have to suspend judgement. As the name suggests, it explains how to solve the most typical problems that readers might encounter — this is, essentially, Stack Overflow baked directly into the book! Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Learn Python 3 The Hard Way at Amazon.com. The book … There's a problem loading this menu right now. Type their code precisely. A few years ago, I started my journey into the world of Python with this book — and now I’ll share my personal thoughts on it. In the ”About the author” section above, we’ve established that some of Zed’s dissatisfaction with Python 3 may be justified. Learn Python 3 the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series) Zed Shaw. It is slightly different, but wait this only a good approach if there isn't an easier way - and I think there is. The author (Zed) really gets you to roll up your sleeves and start coding. Then it’s finally time to write some Python code — here are the topics that the author covers: For a number of years, this book has been one of the most common recommendations for Python newbies. Disabling it will result in some disabled or missing features. Realizing that ”programming” doesn’t solely refer to ”writing code”, Zed includes an appendix chapter titled Command Line Crash Course, designed to serve as a brief introduction to the world of consoles and terminals. Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2013. Get the new version: "Learn Python 3 the Hard Way". Follow it and you will succeed--just like the tens of millions of programmers he's already taught. Their latest report holds a lot of valuable insights, but we’re mainly interested in the ”Python 3 Adoption” section. Just type what you see in the book - short exercises of about 20 lines or so (gets bigger later!). However, he owes his popularity not only to his books and projects; Zed is also an outspoken critic of certain technologies and aspects of the programming culture. Watch the programs run. “Learn Python the Hard Way”: a Detailed Book Review, Automating and Scheduling Tasks Using Python, How to send multiple forms with Ajax (FormData) in Django, Upload Multiple Images to a Django Model without plugins, Working with paths, folders, and directories (via. We use cookies to offer you a better browsing experience, analyze site traffic, personalize content. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2013. The exercises are great and approachable. In this article, I am going to show you how to send multiple forms in Django using Ajax and FormData. Use a dictionary to write a faster, simpler version of has_duplicates. Using JetBrain’s data, let’s visualize the ”2 vs. 3” debate: We can also examine the rate at which Python 3 gained popularity: The data shows Python 3 has been on a constant rise throughout the years — and ignoring this trend didn’t make any sense in 2016. but later chapters are harder to understand what I was doing because it doesn't explain why something is done. ex. The strong and weak sides of Learn Python the Hard Way I’ll outline in this article are subjective, so you might find the book’s pros insufficient and its cons blown out of proportion. As years pass by, "Learn Python the Hard Way" is gradually going out of favor among beginner Python programmers. Practically this entire book can be found online for free. LPTHW is praised by many programmers, experienced and novice ones alike — it’s easy to see why after reading the previous section. I've had several beginners to programming ask me what they should use to learn and Shaw's book frequently comes up. Learn Python The Hard Way - Udemy Review Update 2014: The best place to get this video course is from learnpythonthehardway.org. It's important to keep up with industry - subscribe!to stay ahead. Here’s my favorite example: Zed shows you some code and tells you: See if you can figure out what it’s doing. His most remarkable projects include a series … Top subscription boxes – right to your door, See all details for Learn Python the Hard Way, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. And eventually, I will write good programs. This book is great (and I would give it 5 stars for the book itself), but it's definitely outdated. Maar de herhalende inhoud en lange opdrachten kunnen snel gaan vervelen. Learn Python 3 the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to ... Good www.goodreads.com Start your review of Learn Python 3 the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code ( Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series ) Als je echt serieus in Python wilt programmeren, dan heb je aan dit boek niet genoeg. The scope of these problems, of course, isn’t large; nevertheless; these simple operations form the basis of more complex programming operations. In Learn Python 3 the Hard Way, Zed Shaw taught you the basics of Programming with Python 3. The book does serve as a great introduction to Python, but it’s a subpar introduction to programming — in many cases, when Zed presents the reader with a computer science concept, he explains it much later, dumbs it down, or decides not to explain the concept at all. I came across this book, LPTHW. But this is a good printed back up. Eric Matthes. A programmer may try to get you to install Python 3 and learn that. After that, make sure to check our Python interview questions out. Python 3 is not used very much, and if you learn Python 2 you can easily learn Python 3 when you need it. Although it’s tempting to share an opinion, I’ll try to present both good and bad things about this book and avoid oversimplifications like ”Yeah, it’s good, go buy it” or ”It’s trash, run from it!”. In the sections below, we’ll learn whether Zed’s radical approach was justified. It is a complete python tutorial covering all aspects of python programming and coding. Type their code precisely. I was not surprised to find similar template books for Ruby or C, "Learn Ruby/C the Hard Way" by the same author. Just learn Python 2 and ignore people saying Python 3 is the future. Or any help and not even cut and copy codes. I thought he did a good job of presenting the material. In Learn Python 3 the Hard Way, you’ll learn Python by working through 52 brilliantly crafted exercises. Definately a great book for begginbers wanting to learn python. And he never explains it! I am half way through the book and loving it. Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2012. I had to get this for a class at USC,we followed right along with it and breezed right through it.I bought the paper copy and I think it worked out for the best but some bought the e copy (pdf I think) and they were able to cut and paste the code, thus possibly short changing themselves. To showcase an example of a good exercise, we can turn to another book for beginner Python programmers called Think Python, written by Allen B. Downey. This particular book seems to preach the idea that rote learning is the only way to learn to program - or anything for that matter. Seriously, this book changed my life. Fix your mistakes. As you can probably tell, Zed’s criticism of Python 3 was reflected in Learn Python the Hard Way — and this lead to another chain of criticism (now of Zed) from Python 3 supporters. When you type it wrong, you get an error - you just look again at the book - and see what you typed wrong. There are a lot of differences, which I didn't realize before I was learning the language, and ended up having to buy the Python 3 book because the code wouldn't work for me as it's written here. Learn Python 3 The Hard Way is a thoroughly useful book with a ton of excellent examples. Hey guys. A review of Learn Python the Hard Way, 3rd ed As a break from usual, I thought I would review Zed Shaw's Learn Python the Hard Way. This radical opinion is fitting for a post in a personal blog, but priming tens of thousands of new programmers to use an older technology, knowing full well that support for Python 2 would end in 2020? Additionally, we’re starting to judge free stuff more and more harshly. Although the chapters in this book are called ”Exercises”, it’s hardly a fitting name because real exercises are few and far between here. Read them. By now you're probably thinking that this is just another boring, generic … You can still see all customer reviews for the product. Enroll In An Online Course. Zed, however, forces the reader to memorize everything via manual typing. Table Of Contents. The ”2 vs. 3” debate often finds its way in newbie questions like ”I’m a beginner, should I start with Python 2 or Python 3?” — and experienced developers (supporting either version 2 or version 3) are always ready to start a heated discussion. Close. If he asked the reader to familiarize themselves with command-line interface on YouTube, that’d be fine — CLIs aren’t exactly a part of Python. Thankfully, in 2017, Zed finally made the decision to update the book to Python 3. Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2018. I like this on line course. Broadcasted live on Twitch -- Watch live at https://www.twitch.tv/hostmorke “Learn Python the Hard Way”: a Detailed Book Review. In Python community, one book has gained a lot of popularity throughout the years — Learn Python the Hard Way (also called ”LPTHW” for short). If both the operands are true then then condition becomes true. Zed tells you to disregard it, type another 20-30 lines of code, and forget about that weird def keyword (he explains it in the following chapter, though). Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. I really don't understand why this book is so popular in the Python Community as it's not very good. The book is useful and answers the question of how to learn python the hard way, explains in a simple way how to learn Python. This is a free sample of Learn Python 2 The Hard Way with 8 exercises and Appendix A available for you to review. LPTHW involves a lot of typing — Zed warns the reader against copy-and-pasting code snippets. I’m going to be blunt: I likely would not be a programmer today without Learn Python (2) the Hard Way. 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