Python for Everybody Exploring Data in Python 3

14 reviews for Python for Everybody Exploring Data in Python 3

1. Jon Brewer

   Rated 4 out of 5

   June 13, 2023

   Just what it says on the tin

   This book is a textbook case (hah!) of truth in advertising. It’s directed at people who are interested in using Python as a tool primarily for data a...More

   This book is a textbook case (hah!) of truth in advertising. It’s directed at people who are interested in using Python as a tool primarily for data analysis, rather than people who are interested in learning Python for more general programming purposes. Is it effective? Yes and no. The early parts of the book are quite instructive, covering the basics of Python’s built-in types and syntax, and building to greater complexity. At some point, though, the bottom suddenly falls out. The difficulty ramps up tremendously, and the book largely devolves into massive code dumps, or links to massive code dumps, with most of the discussion focused on how to make use of the programs rather than how to develop similar programs for your own purposes. I have a feeling that in a classroom setting, with supplemental materials and a good teacher, this is likely less of an issue.
   
   All in all, it’s a fine book, and well-targeted. I really appreciated the section on regular expressions, which is a topic most introductory programming texts don’t even mention, and the database interactions are another oft-neglected area that had some good, basic information. I think it would benefit from a bit more dissection of the later programs, but for the price I can’t really complain. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

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