Foreword

I’ve known Naomi Ceder for many years, as a collaborator and a friend. She has a reputation in the Python community as an inspiring teacher, an expert coder, and a formidable community organizer. You would do well to listen to her wise words.

But don’t just take my word for it! Naomi, in her role as a teacher, has helped innumerable people learn Python. Many members of the Python community, myself included, have benefitted from her work. Such extensive experience means she knows what aspects of the language are important for new Pythonistas to learn and which may require extra care and attention from the student. Such wisdom is skillfully distilled into the pages of this book.

Python is, famously, a “batteries included” language: there are many things you could do and areas of endeavor covered by Python’s extensive ecosystem of modules. It’s an exciting time to get involved with this powerful, easy to learn, and flourishing language.

That this is a “Quick” Python book reflects Naomi’s concise teaching style and ensures you have the essentials of Python at your fingertips. Moreover, such essentials provide a firm foundation upon which to build your Python programming. Most important, by reading this book you will gain enough insight and context to act autonomously and effectively: you’ll know what to do, where to look, and what to ask for when you inevitably encounter bumps in the road as you grow as a Python developer.