Dive into Python
by Mark Pilgrim · first published 2004
58% recommend31% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Free, code-first introduction that makes Python click and shows how its pieces fit together; recommended for newcomers and for programmers from other languages who want a quick, practical grounding.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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My suggestion for anyone wanting to make Lisp popular: make a Lisp analogue of Mark Pilgrim's "Dive Into Python". Or at least consider whether it is possible to write such a book for Lisp in its current state.
on “Lisp's reputation is so bad that many people don't even take a look at Lisp” ↗…are pretty well entrenched and established. They are easy to learn and work with (Django has an incredibly low barrier to entry/learning curve) and powerful. Mark Pilgrim wrote a great book called "Dive into Python" which is available for free on his website: http://diveintopython.org/ It gets things moving pretty quickly if you're looking to get a taste of what Python offers.
on “Ask YC: Is Zend Framework worth learning?” ↗…could not have been happier. It's hefty (nearly 1,000 pages for the latest edition), but was well worth the time. Next up was 'PHP in Action', which is similar to the later chapters in Mark Pilgrim's Dive Into Python (one hell of a book, btw) and was coauthored by Chris Shiflett. I've since read two of Ullman's books (PHP for the WWW and PHP 5 Advanced), the Powers books (PHP Solutions and PHP Object-Oriented Solutions),…
on “Ask HN: What programming language are you currently learning?” ↗Whether you pick Python or Ruby, you should try to avoid diving right into Django or Rails. Work through Mark Pilgrim's "Dive Into Python" or _why's "Poignant Guide to Ruby". If you want to write a web app, start with Google AppEngine w/ it's webapp framework, or Heroku w/ Sinatra.
on “Ask HN: What should I learn next: Ruby or Python ?” ↗…possible. Spend a week or two getting the fundamentals of programming (even if you won't be able to program very well at the end of that time), and you'll be in a much better place. Try Mark Pilgrim's Dive Into Python. It's free online, and python is one of the better introductory languages: http://diveintopython.org/toc/index.html Aside from that, search stackoverflow for variations of your question - it's been answered…
on “How can I learn to program? ” ↗…and rewriting parts of open source projects that did things similar to things I wanted to do. There's lots of ways to learn development like that today, online, including great open source books like Dive Into Python and Think Python and Learn Python the Hard Way. There isn't so much of that for design. Not online, anyway. I don't write about "how to design" because, like programming, it's something you have to…
on “Ask HN: What do you wish you knew about UI/UX design?” ↗I recommend critically reading Mark Pilgrim's "Dive Into Python": http://www.diveintopython3.net/ I think that he manages to serve both audiences: new programmers, and experienced programmers who are new to Python. He achieves this, I think, through two main methods:…
on “Rust Guide” ↗…but I've heard that Khan Academy is pretty high quality stuff. So, like, this list is more of a "books that you should check out while/after you've studied CS and/or programming at a university". 1. Dive into Python 3. Mark Pilgrim. 2009. Apress. http://www.diveintopython3.net/. Python 3 is a great language. It's easy to get started for beginners and yet it's so powerful that if you really learn it you will find yourself…
on “MIT lecturer Ana Bell discusses books to learn CS and programming” ↗Dive Into Python 3 (by Mark Pilgrim) - https://diveintopython3.net/
on “Legally Free Python Books List” ↗I like the approach to random data from Mark Pilgrim's Dive Into Python. Use a grammar, walk to random productions. The advantage is that one powerful piece of code can generate lots of decent-seeming fake data of many types.
on “Random_data: generates seed data (names, addresses, dates, phone numbers, e-mail, ...)” ↗You may want more recent resources about Python, because Python has changed significantly since 1997. Mark Pilgrim's book Dive Into Python (Also free online at http://diveintopython.org) is a pretty good intro to the language, and does a good job of exploring its strengths. (And, seriously, people. #1?)
on “Why Python?” ↗…relatively new programmers, is Python, but just diving in to anything is the best way to get started. There are uncountable numbers of tutorials available online; a very popular one is Mark Pilgrim's Dive Into Python – the not-quite-finished version targeting Python 3, the current version, is available at http://diveintopython3.org/.
on “Ask HN: Where to begin programming?” ↗…particularly when code doesn’t immediately make sense. Still, we recommend you read the official Python tutorial, available online at http://docs.python.org/tut/. We also recommend Mark Pilgrim’s free book Dive Into Python, available at http://www.diveintopython.org/.
on “Python web development” ↗…Python vs ruby in depth: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=741257 I use Python, Some resources for learning Python in no particular order: The Official Python Tutorial - docs.python.org/tutorial/ "Dive Into Python", by Mark Pilgrim - http://diveintopython.org/toc/index.html "A Byte of Python" - swaroopch.com/notes/Python Google's Intro to Python Class (online) - http://code.google.com/edu/languages/google-python-class/…
on “Ask HN: Most practical programming language to learn?” ↗…servers and hosting so other people could view my sites. Eventually I picked up PHP which really opened my eyes to what could be done with websites. Somehow or another I found Python. Mark Pilgrim's "Dive into Python" made the language click in a way other tutorials never did. Found Django shortly thereafter (2007-ish) and the rest is history.
on “Ask HN: How did you get started with programming?” ↗