My first book, Python 101 has been published today. You can buy it directly from my blog which will get you a PDF, EPUB and MOBI version of the book. You can also purchase a softcover edition of the book via Lulu. Finally, I have published the eBook to Amazon.

If you happen to run a Python or technology blog and would be interested in reviewing my book, Python 101, please feel free to contact me with your blog’s information. I am looking for a few good bloggers to review the book.

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Here’s some more information about the book:

Part One

The first part is the beginner section. In it you will learn all the basics of Python. From Python types (strings, lists, dictionaries) to conditional statements to loops. You will also learn about comprehensions, functions and classes and everything in between! Note: This section has been completed and is in the editing phase.

Part Two

This section will be a curated tour of the Python Standard Library. The intent isn’t to cover everything in it, but instead it is to show the reader that you can do a lot with Python right out of the box. We’ll be covering the modules I find the most useful in day-to-day programming tasks, such as os, sys, logging, threads, and more.

Part Three

This section covers mostly intermediate level material. Here are the topics covered:

  • lambda
  • decorators
  • properties
  • debugging
  • testing
  • profiling

Part Four

Now things get really interesting! In part three, we will be learning how to install 3rd party libraries (i.e. packages) from the Python Package Index and other locations. We will cover easy_install and pip. This section will also be a series of tutorials where you will learn how to use the packages you download. For example, you will learn how to download a file, parse XML, use an Object Relational Mapper to work with a database, etc.

Part Five

The last section of the book will cover how to share your code with your friends and the world! You will learn how to package it up and share it on the Python Package Index (i.e. how to create an egg or wheel). You will also learn how to create executables using py2exe, bb_freeze, cx_freeze and PyInstaller. Finally you will learn how to create an installer using Inno Setup.

Writing Style

This book will be written using my original blogging style. This means that the chapters will be shorter than your usual programming textbook. Most chapters will most likely be less than 10 pages! The idea here is to get the reader up to speed on the subject, not to beat them over the head with it.
Who should read this book?

This book is for beginners, but I believe people with intermediate skills will also find its contents valuable.