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Learn Python the Hard Way: A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code (Zed Shaw's Hard Way Series) 3rd Edition

by Zed Shaw (Author)

4.2 529 ratings

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You Will Learn Python!

Zed Shaw has perfected the world's best system for learning Python. Follow it and you will succeed-just like the hundreds of thousands of beginners Zed has taught to date! You bring the discipline, commitment, and persistence; the author supplies everything else.

In Learn Python the Hard Way, Third Edition, you'll learn Python by working through 52 brilliantly crafted exercises. Read them. Type their code precisely. (No copying and pasting!) Fix your mistakes. Watch the programs run. As you do, you'll learn how software works; what good programs look like; how to read, write, and think about code; and how to find and fix your mistakes using tricks professional programmers use. Most importantly, you'll learn the following, which you need to start writing excellent Python software of your own:

Installing a complete Python environment
Organizing and writing code
Basic mathematics
Variables
Strings and text
Interacting with users
Working with files
Looping and logic
Data structures using lists and dictionaries
Program design
Object-oriented programming
Inheritance and composition
Modules, classes, and objects
Python packaging
Debugging
Automated testing
Basic game development
Basic web development

It'll be hard at first. But soon, you'll just get it-and that will feel great!

This tutorial will reward you for every minute you put into it. Soon, you'll know one of the world's most powerful, popular programming languages. You'll be a Python programmer.

Watch Zed, too! The accompanying DVD contains 5+ hours of passionate, powerful teaching: a complete Python video course!

From the Publisher

	A Very Simple Introduction to the Terrifyingly Beautiful World of Computers and Code	The Next Step for New Python Programmers	Quickly Get Productive with Python	Become a Python Programmer and Have Fun Doing It	The Hands-On, Example-Rich Introduction to Pandas Data Analysis in Python

Customer Reviews	1,029	123	46	76	306
Price	$21.08	$25.15	$39.59	$41.61	$26.49
User Experience Level	New to programming and/or Python	Perfect for everyone who’s already started working with Python, including junior developers and seasoned Python programmers upgrading to Python 3.6+	Although this book is for people who may be new to programming altogether, it also caters to people who want to know how Python works and how it’s fundamentally different 'under the hood.'	For absolute beginners who’ve never written a line of code.	Any level of Python experience (none to fluent) New to data analysis.
Learning Approach	You’ll learn Python by working through brilliantly crafted exercises. Read them. Type their code precisely. (No copying and pasting!) Fix your mistakes. Watch the programs run.	Hands-on - you’ll go far beyond the basics and learn how to analyze a concept, idea, or problem and then how to deisgn solutions by working through 52 crafted projects. Also includes access to 12 hours of video files.	Takes you by the hand and teaching by examples that are explained line by line. There is heavy emphasis on examples that are fun and useful, including games, graphics, database applications, file storage, puzzles, and more. You will learn how to think 'Pythonically' and avoid common 'gotchas'.	Friendly, easy, full-color. Each chapter will tell you a bit more about programming. It will show you how to do something, and then invite you to make something of your own by using what you’ve learned.	Introduces key concepts through simple but practical examples, incrementally building on them to solve more difficult, real-world problems. Brings together practical knowledge and insight for solving real problems with Pandas, even if you’re new to Python data analysis.
Key Topics	Organizing and writing code; Object-orinted programming; Basic game development; Basic web development	Quick hacks; Data structures; Parsing text; SQL and object relational mapping	In addition to Python fundamentals, this book pays a lot of attention to intermediate and even advanced features, including list comprehension, generators, multidimensional lists (matrixes), and decorators.	Programming fundamentals Advanced programming Useful Python	"Tidy" data; Cleaning and munging data; How to fit your data to models ; Fitting models in other languages
Python Versions Covered	Python 3	Python 3.6	Python 3.0 with notes about adapting examples to Python 2.0.	Python 2.7 Python 3	Python 3 (Anaconda)

WARNING: California’s Proposition 65

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Zed A. Shaw is the author of the popular online books Learn Python the Hard Way, Learn Ruby the Hard Way, and Learn C the Hard Way. He is also the creator of several open source software projects like Mongrel, Lamson, Mongrel2, and has been programming and writing for nearly 20 years.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Addison-Wesley Professional; 3rd edition (October 1, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0321884914
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0321884916
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 9.25 x 0.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #586,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #408 in Computer Programming Languages
- #603 in Python Programming

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4.2 529 ratings

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Zed Shaw

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Zed Shaw is an avid guitar player, programmer, and writer whose books teach people all over the world how to write software. His book Learn Python the Hard Way has been read by millions of people around the world. His software has been used by many large and small companies. His essays are often quoted and read by members of many geek communities. He is an entertaining and lively writer, who is sure to keep you laughing and make you think.

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529 global ratings

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Customers find the book an effective learning tool for programming. They appreciate the introduction to Windows PowerShell and Mac Terminal. However, some readers feel the content is lacking or missing important details. Opinions vary on the language learning approach - some find it simple and readable, while others mention issues with syntax and lack of explanation. There are also mixed reviews on the information quality - some find it straightforward and easy to follow, while others feel it lacks explanation when dealing with complex topics.

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Learning material Access Language learning Information quality Ease of follow Content quality

68 customers mention "Learning material"59 positive9 negative

Customers find the book an effective learning tool for programming. They appreciate the guidance and unique way of teaching. The book is great for those who want to learn Python and skilled programmers looking to brush up. The approach guides readers and doesn't let them just do it on their own.

"I see where the Mr Shaw is trying to go in his approach and agree with the method...." Read more

"If you are brand new to programming, this is a great place to start...." Read more

"...lack of detailed tables for key features is horrid, the information provided is superb and there are very few typos...." Read more

"...Further, early on the author gives some interesting tips for examining the code you just wrote (and probably don't understand) that I had never..." Read more

3 customers mention "Access"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's access to a text editor, Windows PowerShell, and Mac Terminal. They also like the introduction to Windows PowerShell and bonus guide.

"...I especially appreciated the introduction to Windows PowerShell (and Mac Terminal) which, unlike the rest of the book, does include the definitions..." Read more

"...He gives you sites to get a "text editor', how to access Windows Power Shell (it really IS on your PC) and even the means to download Python..." Read more

"With a bonus guide to powershell...." Read more

24 customers mention "Language learning"15 positive9 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's language learning. Some find it readable and easy to understand, with examples that make them feel confident writing their own code. However, others mention that the author is not good at explaining details of code examples and that the book doesn't really teach Python or programming.

"...I want to reiterate that I am giving this 5 stars because the author does a good job of accomplishing his stated purpose in writing the book...." Read more

"...Second, he doesn't teach programming at all. He teaches syntax...." Read more

"...is horrid, the information provided is superb and there are very few typos...." Read more

"...I really enjoyed learning the powerful language from this book and applying it to get started in scientific research...." Read more

12 customers mention "Information quality"7 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's information quality. Some find the exercises straightforward and engaging, with great layout. They appreciate the add-on tasks at the end of each module and the learn-by-doing approach. Others feel there are a lack of explanations when dealing with complex topics, a lack of glossary or tables with details, and no answers provided after about half way through the text.

"...It is a learn by doing book but also contains smaller sub-exercises after the main ones that make you think outside the box or do a little outside..." Read more

"...While the lack of detailed tables for key features is horrid, the information provided is superb and there are very few typos...." Read more

"...it has everything: readings, concepts, definitions, examples, homework/exercises." Read more

"...Zed Shaw's tone is condescending. His examples are uninformative. This book is a waste of money...." Read more

7 customers mention "Ease of follow"4 positive3 negative

Customers have different views on the book's ease of follow. Some find it easy to follow and say it pairs well with Python in easy steps. Others mention difficulty following through, poor writing, and an outdated approach.

"...It would pair well with python in easy steps which is a more traditional approach." Read more

"...and still you don't get it and have difficulty following through. This book misses out on a lot of stuff...." Read more

"...byte-sized (pun intended) practical lessons, rigorously presented, easy to follow, personable, and complete. Tried alternatives online and books...." Read more

"The approach just is not a good one...." Read more

4 customers mention "Content quality"0 positive4 negative

Customers find the content lacking. They say important entries are missing, limiting the book's value.

"...The problem with this book is that the author leaves out too much stuff for the readers to find out themselves...." Read more

"...The index is sparse; several interesting and important entries simply aren't present, limiting the value of the book as a reference or refresher...." Read more

"...This book misses out on a lot of stuff...." Read more

"...Well, less than a month after purchasing - the content is gone. They have taken it down. Not cool, Zed." Read more

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John
"What is the easy way? " One cannot hope to learn something ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2015
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I see where the Mr Shaw is trying to go in his approach and agree with the method. When he calls it the hard way (and it is not hard), it is less about his way being hard and more about thinking, "What is the easy way?"

One cannot hope to learn something by simply being given the answer, and it may seem that he giving all the answers and that the programming is being spoon fed, but it's not if you actually type out the code and do the research earnestly. I learned things even in the first couple examples and I thought I already had a good grasp of basic python. I would recommend his book and method to others who want to learn basic programming. Mr Shaw may seem preachy or that he has an axe to grind, and that may very well be true, but I see truth to what he says and I'm still an undergrad.

I would not recommend this book to a professional programmer to actually learn code, but it's not a bad browse. A free version is online to check out before you buy.

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Kirk Tompkinson
Very good for beginners, more experienced programmer exercise discretion
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2016
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If you are brand new to programming, this is a great place to start. The author makes it very clear that his intended audience includes those who have little to no programming experience. If you find yourself in that boat, this is a five-star book.

If you are like me, and know a language or two already, you may be disappointed. You can still learn some useful things from this book, especially if python is a new language for you, but this book wasn't really written for you. Keep that fact in mind. Go through the first ~15 exercises quickly, then skip to about 40-45. I found the sections between these points to be the least relevant for someone with a fair amount of previous experience.

I want to reiterate that I am giving this 5 stars because the author does a good job of accomplishing his stated purpose in writing the book. That does not mean this book is for everyone.

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I Teach Typing
I love and hate this book
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2014
Verified Purchase
I have been teaching programming for more than a dozen years and I can't decide if I love or hate this book. The fundamental approach, "type this code and see what happens" is right on the money but all too often the code is followed by the advice to "look up the details on the web." The author does not direct the reader to specific sites (like this book's website -- which contains all the content). Rather, you are sent adrift and told to find your way. As everyone knows the quality of advice across the web is hit or miss and some programming symbols are hard to find. For example in the section called "symbol review" the author suggest looking up operators like ==, {, @, ] or escape sequences like \\ or \a or string formats like %%. I agree that the exercise of trying to find these things is useful but I paid for the book and I want to have the answer key. Similarly, in the section titled "learning to speak object oriented", he introduces randint() but does not say how it works. It is easy to do a web search for it but one of the top five results on Google is just wrong and others require you to know the difference between [0, 10] and (0, 10). The repeated calls to make flashcards makes sense but not if he fails to provide the information that belongs on the cards. While the lack of detailed tables for key features is horrid, the information provided is superb and there are very few typos. Sadly the typos are fixed on the book's website but there is no errata to allow you to correct the hard copy (which will make you nuts when you get to page 133 and there are [ ] where { } belong). I especially appreciated the introduction to Windows PowerShell (and Mac Terminal) which, unlike the rest of the book, does include the definitions for essentially everything covered.

So, while the positives (well thought through progressively more difficult code examples) do outweigh the negatives (lack of a glossary and lack of tables with details) ... barely ... you will likely want to get another reference book to cover the holes in the instruction.

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293 people found this helpful

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W. J. Cornelius
Finally, a book that matches my learning style.
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2014
Verified Purchase
Compared to most (if not all) programming books, the approach this book takes is unconventional and rewarding. The book starts off with the basics one would expect: strings, text, etc. The difference is, the author does not explain what any on the syntax really means. In fact he says more than once (to paraphrase): Don't worry if you don't understand any of this, just do the exercise (directly copy code from the book) and keep moving. After each exercise, there is a short study drill where you are typically told to make specific changes to the code. Shadows of explanations are sometimes contained in these drills. The end of each exercise is also followed by a QA of "Common Student Questions". Further, early on the author gives some interesting tips for examining the code you just wrote (and probably don't understand) that I had never thought of before and are quite enlightening. In exercise 5, the author explicitly states, "The problem with teaching you programming is that to understand many of my descriptions, you need to know how to do programming already. The way I solve this is I make you do something, and then I explain it later." I cannot agree with this method of teaching a programming language more. At least for my own learning style, it is ideal. As the book progresses, the logical order the exercises are layed out causing things to come together even before he get's into the detailed explanation. Once those detailed explanations are finally introduced, covered, and your are done with this book, you will be better off than with any other beginning book at which point you can comfortably move into more advanced material. A quick note on the authors writing style: he can be very sarcastic and sometimes sounds almost a bit pessimistic, but it is all with humorous undertones that make the book fun to read. I cannot recommend this book enough. After I submit this review, I am on my way to see if he has more books in "Hard Way" series.

EDIT: Regarding complaints of the Kindle version. This happens to be the version of I am reviewing. I you want to use this side by side with an editor and a shell, you may have to shrink the font size as you web browser will (naturally) attempt to squeeze the text into whatever size you narrow your browsers width to. Personally, I am using a tiling window manager under Linux so I can shift things around as needed on a single monitor without decreasing the font size. Another solution is to use two monitors. I don't know what it looks like on my Kindle Paperwhite and don't have it with me at the moment.

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Adrián
¡Excelente!
Reviewed in Mexico on June 17, 2019
Verified Purchase

Muy buen libro

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DarthVader 👀
Excellent 👌🏾
Reviewed in India on September 19, 2020
Verified Purchase
The book is a great introductory text to python. Unlike the title, the book provides an easy approach to python learning.

The author puts you in the driving seat, contrary to the popular approach of rote learning. You can only learn a new task if you’re motivated; hence the author places the onus on you. Hence he leaves quite a few things for the reader to do and find out, which I’m sure helps learning.

I don’t have a background in computer science at my graduate level. Still I am able to follow the book very easily.

That’s the beauty of Zed Shaw method 👌🏾

#Cons:

None for the book
However the seller is showing inflated MRP in order to make you believe you’re getting a good bargain. I was shown a high price and a discount when placing order; However I got the book at the MRP (photo enclosed).
Amazon needs to discredit such sellers and practices on its portal

Read more

DarthVader 👀

Excellent 👌🏾

Reviewed in India on September 19, 2020
The book is a great introductory text to python. Unlike the title, the book provides an easy approach to python learning.

The author puts you in the driving seat, contrary to the popular approach of rote learning. You can only learn a new task if you’re motivated; hence the author places the onus on you. Hence he leaves quite a few things for the reader to do and find out, which I’m sure helps learning.

I don’t have a background in computer science at my graduate level. Still I am able to follow the book very easily.

That’s the beauty of Zed Shaw method 👌🏾

#Cons:

None for the book
However the seller is showing inflated MRP in order to make you believe you’re getting a good bargain. I was shown a high price and a discount when placing order; However I got the book at the MRP (photo enclosed).
Amazon needs to discredit such sellers and practices on its portal

Images in this review

Report
Emanuele
A must have for Python learning
Reviewed in Italy on February 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
A high-value book that immediately projects the neophyte into the python dimension, a milestone for all those who want to learn from the scratch.

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Amazon Customer
The Alan Watts of Code. Zed Shaw has character and a solid foundation in effective teaching methods" under-the-hood"!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 7, 2016
Verified Purchase
I'm giving this book five stars for one of the reasons some people seem to have not enjoyed it: Zed Shaw has character! I see some merit in the accusations leveled at him that he can be mildly patronising but this is a book aimed at the total beginner. TOTAL BEGINNER. His "learn by rote" oriented method won't be to everybody's tastes having had their teachers at school bore them to tears with it, but I think this is actually a very effective method for breaking people's habits and opening the mind to learn more effectively. If you don't normally learn well this way, then have a go anyway, as there is more to the learning methods than initially meets the eye here. As a juggling teacher myself I found that many of the techniques I use for complete beginners have parallels in Zed's method. He is particularly encouraging.

Zed often chats about why he's teaching you the way he is but there is a mature technique "under-the-hood" and his conversational, rebellious and amusing style belie the effective nature of the training method. His critics hate him because he takes a stand, often very vocally, on divisive issues. Whilst I found the sections on Object Oriented Programming mildly unhelpful initially (I don't usually like being told what to think about something before I try it) I have since found that it is indeed somewhat over-used, and as he puts it "just plain weird".

Remember, he's just got one opinion amongst many, many opinions out there. You don't have to throw the baby out with the bath water, to do so would be to be to miss a superbly enjoyable program for learning.

He's a good teacher, and entertaining too, and his more opinionated moments leave much space for your own research, What's not to like?

Oh, and I can now program in Python after just a couple of short months!

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Cliente Amazon
Se aprende de verdad
Reviewed in Spain on February 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
Bueno y muy didáctico. Se aprende de verdad. Quizá se ha quedado un poco antiguo en cuanto a la versión de Python utilizada.

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5.0 out of 5 stars "What is the easy way? " One cannot hope to learn something ...

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good for beginners, more experienced programmer exercise discretion

4.0 out of 5 stars I love and hate this book

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a book that matches my learning style.

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars ¡Excelente!

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 👌🏾

Excellent 👌🏾

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5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for Python learning

5.0 out of 5 stars The Alan Watts of Code. Zed Shaw has character and a solid foundation in effective teaching methods" under-the-hood"!

4.0 out of 5 stars Se aprende de verdad

"What is the easy way? " One cannot hope to learn something ...

Very good for beginners, more experienced programmer exercise discretion

I love and hate this book

Finally, a book that matches my learning style.

¡Excelente!

Excellent 👌🏾

A must have for Python learning

The Alan Watts of Code. Zed Shaw has character and a solid foundation in effective teaching methods" under-the-hood"!

Se aprende de verdad