A Student's Guide to Python for Physical Modeling: Updated Edition

(This review is based on the first edition.) If you are a scientist used to coding in other languages, and want to get the flavor of Python, this little book is an easy and pleasant way to begin. It would also be a great textbook for a one-semester introduction to coding aimed at students who have taken calculus. The price point is great (only $25) and the design of the book is lovely, a LaTeX tour de force for which the designer, as well as Princeton University Press, deserve considerable praise.An earlier reviewer compared this book unfavorably to Mark Newman's "Computational Physics," which I think is unfair. Far too many books devote paragraph after paragraph to things that could have been clearly dealt with in a sentence or two. To paraphrase an apothegm attributed to Cyril Connolly: Inside every fat book there is a thin book crying to be let out. This book is the one that escaped!

Chapters 1-4 provide a thorough, readable introduction to Python, including some of the powerful 'Pythonic' particulars to the language. Two realistic, accessible labs constitute chapter 5 with lab extensions for practice. The rest of the chapters alternate between introducing new Python features and labs. The appendices are helpful with administration issues. I particularly like the 'Your Turn' short exercises (with solutions in an appendix.)I will be using this book in my high school physics classes.

I just found this by "accident" while googling a question about python. I am so very happy to have found this book - I purchased the kindle version within minutes of finding it (the paper version is not available for another month) - I just knew this would be a great book. My hunch was right - I love this book! I have been on and off using Python for at least 6 or 7 years as needed for scientific computing. I have perused many of the most popular Python books and purchased a good many. What usually happens is I lose interest quickly and never finish the book. But this book seems different. It is written in a very clear language and gets right to the point of programming with Python and uses the latest packages such as Anaconda or Enthought Canopy with focus on numpy and matplotlib. I really like the style of the book and the content. The level is for beginning programmers (which I am not) but suitable for intermediate and advanced programmers for sure. I highly recommend this for self-study as all the programs are available online and they actually work out of the box. I am sure I will finish this book and refer back to it for years to come.

A nice no nonsense introduction to scientific computing aspects in python. It introduces concepts and techniques around clear and engaging examples that help you get up and running using python for modeling.

Clear, informative, fun. Nicely done.

very didactic, I recommend it

A really nice book

provided good tips and sample code.

I thoroughly enjoyed working through this book. It is full of great examples for the reader to work through, challenges placed throughout the chapters solidifying the concepts and the computer labs are an excellent addition. The only drawback is the lack of solutions available for the computer labs. I found getting stuck on certain parts of these labs draw them to a halt.

I'm still working my way through it but so far I find it adequate for what I want to achieve. Some of the more difficult concepts could do with longer explanations than the short ones that the author seems to think are adequate.

I use Python as an engineer/physicist for my work and research, so I wanted a book that is focused on applications rather than programming itself.After working through the book for only 1 hour each morning for 2 months, I feel that I really reached the next level of understanding that allows me to take on any small project that I come up with without any fear, and with confidence that I can achieve my goals. This book teaches using hands-on approach, which is essential for such a discipline as computer programming. I really liked that after teaching the thinking of Python programming the authors would spend some time discussing internals of how Python works, which really provides insight essential to writing a better code and handling errors.The only thing that I missed was at least some mention of an object oriented programming (classes), but in any case after working through the book you should be confident enough to tackle this subject on your own.Overall, this is a highly recommended book if you want to add/improve Python programming skills into your job skillset as a non-professional programmer.

This book is a very good starting point for beginners. They don't go about intimidating you with a thousand codes for you to try. They give you just enough so that you can practice and learn by yourself, which just FYI is the best way to learn.

Ich finde das Buch super, vor allem für Einsteiger in Python!Gut aufgebaut mit praktischen Beispielen und detaillierten Erklärungen.Top.