Python In A Day: Learn the basics, Learn it quick, Start coding fast (In A Day Books Book 1)

The book is very simple, and does exactly what it set out to: teach you the basics of Ruby in a day. If you are an experienced programmer, the content may be a little underwhelming. This is for absolute beginners to programming, not for senior people coming from other languages. Since all the concepts were familiar to me already, I read the book in less than 3 hours. It might actually take a day for someone doing the examples and rereading parts for understanding.If you're a veteran of another language, the book may be of questionable value for you. It does not contain enough material to be useful as a reference, and does not offer comparisons or relation to any other language. That's wasn't the author's goal though.That said, this is exactly the kind of book that I really needed years ago when I was getting started. The big, in-depth books attempting to cover an entire language and every nuance of it are really hard for beginners. A book like this can get someone writing some basic code very quickly, which in turn makes more complex tutorials and books useful for expanding understanding.So what is my perspective? I come to Ruby as a former C# coder, and seasoned Javascript programmer. My work has spanned both desktop and web apps. Ruby on Rails is used in my current job by some of my team members, and it has been challenging for me to understand even with tutorials because the syntax is so loose and simple. I'm used to the more strict syntax of C#, and to a lesser degree javascript.Learning Rails without understanding Ruby has been frustrating, as it feels like a lot of "context" is missing. So today I thought I'd try this quick little book for a quick jolt of basic Ruby without the Rails. Seeing Ruby in operation by itself helped some things click for me, and I felt a little better armed to understand our Rails code. This definitely does not make me a Ruby programmer, though that would be an option if I chose to spend more time learning about it using additional resources and investing the appropriate time.Anyone who is just starting out should understand that a book like this does not make you a programmer. What it does is give you a basic foundation to actually learn the language through other resources. No one becomes an expert programmer from reading a 75 page "in a day" book like this, nor was that the author's intention. This is like playing a sport in school for one day. It gives you a chance to see it in action and get a feel for whether you'd like to play more.As for price, the Kindle version was only six dollars and change in October of 2013. That's less than the average fast food combo meal or brand new paperback novel. A higher price isn't warranted, and a cheaper price would be appreciated, but you have to ask yourself if you think you'll get more out of this than lunch today. Unlike lunch, this might stick with you more than a day and open some doors in the future.If you already know basic Ruby, or want to follow this one up with a really deep book on Ruby, try David Flanagan and Yukihiro Matsumoto's Ruby book. You will NOT read that one in a day. :)

Once I was Ruby Ignorant and now the Gem comes out. I have read more learn this or that in a day than I can count. This Ruby in a day book beats them all. Other learn Ruby books that I have read were ambitious and vague at best. This learn Ruby in a day book will make you a beginner to a Professional depending on what you put into it. Instructors, lab time and college courses can get the job done in a semester of pushing a lot at you you don't need to know or Ruby in a day, well quite a few days, can get the job done at a level you want without the stuff you don't want. There is all kind of programs and programming. There is high tech math to formulas. Ruby in a day will lead you to the point of possibly needing that math or formula knowledge however here is the fact: learning to drive a nail does not make you a carpenter any more than Ruby in a day will make you a math genius. Logic is a key, be logical, reasonable and be willing to take your talents to the next level. Ruby in a day will get you inspird and off to a great deal of fun programming with out pain of failure. Grow as you read a do it your self book that breaks things down to many levels of understanding to be as good as you decide you want to be. Put some skin in it, your time and patients. Ruby in a day surpasses all the rest.

I've done some C programming in the past and currently do a lot of bash and korn shell scripting. It was recommended that I learn Python and so this book was my intro.The case for:If you've never done any programming or scripting this book is perfect. It goes through some of the basics in a clear and concise manner. It's not over simplified but definitely written for rookies. It's also material that anyone should be able to cover in a few hours. I should also point out that the book is really well written, the topics flow nicely and make perfect sense.The case against:Not much really. I was expecting more topics but quite honestly you get your money's worth.If you're a seasoned programmer it might be too basic but if you're new to coding this has lots of good stuff to get you started; reading input, storing data, output, and functions (among other things).

When I saw this book I was a bit skeptical the book could actually teach something meaningful about Python in a day. After reading the book, I'm really pleased with the job Richard (the author) has done. The book is perfect for someone new to programming and wanting a quick introduction to Python. The tone of the book is friendly and encouraging, I especially like the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The only feedback is that the book doesn't seem to have kept up with the syntax changes of the language. For example, instead of using "raw_input" the python 3.3 command is "input". There are some other examples as well. What I'd like to see is the e-book keep up with the latest changes in Python. This can be difficult but it's also one of the advantages of e-books over traditional programming books. Great Job! I'm looking forward to reading Ruby in a Day!

Learned the basic syntax and concepts covered in this book in a few hours. Does exactly what it says it will, gives you real-world working examples and walks you through them, then challenges you to produce code for a similar task. You'll surprise yourself.In fact, I'm going to do a quick refresher today.I'll be using this to keep my skills up to speed for years to come. I occasionally have to produce production code too complex to comfortably spin up in shell script, but not often enough to be 100% confident without a little run-up first. There are also many many IDE's available for free on many platforms for python, which make the whole process even more palatable.Useful for complete beginners up to occasional power users alike.

Nice and easy to understand

This is absolutely perfect for an complete beginner. I purchased this a long time ago and as I'm not a frequent python user I still occasionally reference it.Can't recommend enough.

Its ok but the ad implies more. Buy it as a first book if you have no previous experience. Then save up for a proper book.

very pleased with book very clear instructions and you jump straight into programming on the first chapter. The book was not too expensive and is good for a reference book.