[callahad]

I suggest reading the nascent PDF that he's posted, it's very good in some ways, less good in others, but if Zed keeps it up and is willing to have others help shape his voice, then this could end up as a very valuable project.

[zedshaw]

I'd like to know what you think is less good.

[callahad]

The items on my "less good" list are admittedly subjective, but might be worth considering as you continue to develop the text. And in this case, I mean "less good" as "not bad, but not yet great."

For instance, should you be using printf style formatting when string.format is is available by default in 2.6, Snow Leopard's default python?

A weaker argument could be made for importing print_function from __future__, but I don't believe the added complexity is worth it, even if it eliminates a special case.

In Exercise 0, you might want to stipulate a python version, since some intrepid readers will search out the "latest and greatest" python, and they will download 3.x unless explicitly told otherwise.

Beyond that, I think some of your prose could be improved. For instance, "Notice I use a text editor called vim. You shouldn’t use it, it’s too hard to use for you right now." may be a bit off-putting to someone completely new.

The statement after your listing, however, is perfect:

"If a programmer tells you to use vim or emacs tell them no. These editors are for when you are a better programmer. All you need right now is an editor that lets you put text into a file."

[zackola]

I think you should bite the bullet and recommend a few text editors on Windows, Mac and Linux. Or one cross platform one. Some poor bastard is going to end up wondering why test.py.doc isn't running - and I don't think it's fair to cast them off as too stupid to program for that.

[julio_the_squid]

I am relatively new to Python and wrote a Django app using string.format through and through. Then, I had to install it on our server... which apparently uses Python 2.4 and we can't upgrade at the moment. It all had to be changed to the printf style to be compatible... so, I think learning that is still relevant since it works in every Python version.