Dive into python must die
oppugn.us
oppugn.us
"Dive Into Python is a Python book for experienced programmers."
Not beginners. Zed's "I could see if Mr. Pilgrim had a giant disclaimer or something warning people that this isn't a beginner's book, but he doesn't." is totally unfounded.
Zed also laments that the first example requires readers to "suddenly comprehend" a bunch of random language features. But right above the example he links to:
"It probably makes absolutely no sense to you. Don't worry about that, because you're going to dissect it line by line. But read through it first and see what, if anything, you can make of it."
(I will totally agree that the example program is at best uninteresting and at worst confusing, but you don't need to know anything about ODBC to understand it. I certainly didn't when I first read Dive Into Python.)
Zed's brand of hyperbolic vitriol has never sat particularly well with me, but this article in particular sounds like he just has an ax to grind with Pilgrim. He certainly spends almost no time actually discussing how the book has poor design decisions, or why it is "weird," or what instructions are hard to follow, or what expert needs it is not fulfilling. There's almost no substance whatsoever here, just sanctimonious character assassination. I will never understand why this guy has an audience.
From that, one might expect that the introduction would be abrupt, not just getting one's toe wet.
Personally, I found this refreshing. Instead of starting out with "This is an assignment, and this is an if statement..." he shows chunks of code - or whole programs - that accomplish some task. As an already experienced programmer, I would then inspect the code, try to figure out what it did, then read his descriptions for things that weren't obvious. For me, this is a much faster way to learn than for the author to assume I've never programmed before.
Didn't Zed declare a while ago that the aggressive, swearing persona was just an act to demonstrate how geeks gravitate to strong personalities? His current form doesn't have naked girls or guys wailing on guitars, but he's still doing the same thing.
http://sheddingbikes.com/posts/1272132621.html
And this post about two alternatives to DiP that are better written and easier for both expert and beginner:
I can see some value in the idea that someone beginning Python should start off by being exposed to some of the more esoteric but long-term useful features of the language (exceptions etc) which would otherwise be shoved into a late chapter in the book which most readers would never actually bother to read.
It is, and always has, been "Hey guy who knows how to code, here is how you code in x".
I really don't understand why he has to call Mark Pilgrim names. Because he's a ranter too? Because he jokingly cast off Zed's suggestion to rewrite large parts of the book?
If you're into SQL Server, you might consider IronPython, and then use .Net's ADODB.