A Byte of Python

Reviewed by Linda Sundbye, Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 9/18/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text is well written and provides a solid introduction to the basics of Python programming for beginners. It is easy to read. In general, the author provides one clear coding example of each topic.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Overall, the content is accurate, and no errors were found.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content remains and will continue to remain relevant for the foreseeable future. The author maintains and regularly updates the text for newer versions of Python.

Clarity rating: 5

Overall, the text is very clear. The “Lambda forms” subsection and the section on object -oriented programming could use more clarity and/or examples.

Consistency rating: 5

The text follows a clear and consistent layout for each topic.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is divided into a series of short sections on each topic. It is a good design.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is overall well-organized.

However, there is no index. The TOC lists sections 1.1. ,1.2, etc. but does not give page numbers. And the sections are not labeled 1.1, 1.2, etc. For those using a printed copy of the PDF, like myself, the cross referencing must be managed by looking for the section titles. A simple recommended fix is to add the page numbers to the TOC and the section numbers to the body.

Interface rating: 5

The PDF has active links. The TOC has active links to the sections. The links I checked seem to work fine.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were detected.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text has been impressively translated into numerous languages. The text is unbiased.

Comments

I had my Intro to Python students work through most of this text. They appreciated having an OER textbook to use. There is, however, not enough material for a full semester course. I supplemented the course with my own materials.

We use the Anaconda installation and Jupyter notebooks in my course. I recommend adding Anaconda info under the installation section and adding a new section on Jupyter notebooks.

Overall, this text is a clear, concise, and streamlined introduction to Python programming for beginners.

Note: This review is for the version released Jan 4, 2022.

Reviewed by Changhong Liu, Assistant Professor, Trine University on 6/20/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

It covers most of the basics of python and it will be a good book for students who are new to the python language

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Overall, this book is accurate and error-free.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Page 92 "The best way to further explore the standard library is to read Doug Hellmann's excellent Python Module of the Week series (also available as a book)"
The amazon book hyperlink is no longer available

Clarity rating: 5

Page 27 "when using the format method, we can change the message without having to deal with the variables used and vice-versa." As a reader, I am not sure what the word "message" refers to.

Consistency rating: 5

This book is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 4

I think this book could be divisible into smaller sections with better subheadings.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of this book is very clear and easy to follow

Interface rating: 4

Table content could be broken down more with a numerical index. It will be easier for users to navigate.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There is no grammatical errors in this book

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

Comments

Good coverage on basic topics and good depth for beginners. The data structure is a section I am not most familiar with. It would be nice to give the reader an overview comparison first and then goes into depth. Maybe explain different situations that which one can use different data structures as well as the pros/cons of each. More information could be added under the summary. It is a little confusing after the first time reading this section.

Reviewed by Shruti Nagpal, Assistant Professor, Worcester State University on 6/30/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book goes into detail on the aspects of programming with Python. A good beginner's book on Python programming language. This book is good for both the students who do not have any previous programming skills as well as those who have some prior experience in another programming language like C/C++/Java/C#. What I liked in this book is that the preface starts with detailed instructions of installing the requisite software on different operating systems, which is something all instructors spend time on during their first lab class(es). This is very beneficial for the beginners. Also, comparisons given for different syntax encountered in Python vis-a-vis other programming languages at important focal points in the book gives a perspective for students having prior knowledge in one or more programming language(s) of C/C++/Java/C#.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I could not find any content errors and the content appeared accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book is relevant with the Python's software version mentioned and should be easily maintainable through minor updates with later versions of Python and operating systems (for example, installation on Windows 11) through GitHub.

Clarity rating: 5

The examples provided by the author are concise and easy to comprehend by the reader.

Consistency rating: 5

This textbook uses consistent terminology throughout, defining terms that might be new to students. Furthermore, I laud the author on consistently including short clickable hyperlinks to additional web resources where the student could learn more about a given topic if they wished.

Modularity rating: 5

Given the wide range of Python programming language, this book does justice to the intended audience who are beginning their journey in Python with or without any prior knowledge of any previous programming knowledge. The book is broken up into many chapters which cover different topics. The reader should be able to comfortably proceed from chapter to chapter and fall back on different programming exercises for practice.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book is well organized. Starting with the necessary "Installation" instructions with respect to different operating systems, the book's "flow" starts with sequential programming, and then introduces the readers to the data structures and object-oriented concepts. Readers should find the text easy to go through. Also, hyperlinks are provided at relevant places in the text to help readers to quickly jump to a particular topic/module, if they need to have a quick reference to that topic, and back again.

Interface rating: 5

It is available both in pdf format as well as in HTML in the free version. Both are well-formatted. The hyperlinks are available in both formats at appropriate places to fall back and revise/clarify any terminology/concept, which makes it very convenient. Moreover, availability of entire code on GitHub is definitely an added advantage.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are no grammatical errors. I did not find any!

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text was not culturally insensitive or offensive. Moreover, there is a listing of this book being translated and available in other languages in the appendix.

Comments

Overall, I liked the flow of the text and the spectrum of topics that were covered in the book with ease. This book would be a very good book to use in an Introduction to Python course for students having CS as Major/Minor, and for non-CS students learning Python programming for their respective course works.

Reviewed by Shivani Mogullapalli, Graduate Assistant, Colorado State University on 4/30/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is very comprehensive. It covers all the topics from the start like what is Python, why should we use python and also gives a detailed explanation of how to install python. It starts with the basic flows, data types, loops, functions, packages and data structures in a very elaborated way. It is an easy book to read as it has a very detailed example for each and every concept in python. It is a very good book for a beginner who wants to learn python from scratch.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

It is a good book in which the content is accurate and I couldn't find any errors in the book. The book isn't biased and it covers all the possibilities a concept can be explained.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book has up-to-date concepts of python. i.e, all the new concepts are also mentioned in the book along with the previous versions. The Author gives a very good explanation of the terms used in Python and other programming languages.

Clarity rating: 5

The author also explains the previous versions of Python. This book is mainly very useful for beginners as it gives a detailed explanation of every concept. The text is written in very lucid, accessible prose and it provides adequate context. The author uses terminology which is understandable to everyone mainly beginners.

Consistency rating: 5

The flow of the book is consistent throughout all the concepts. The book follows the same approach of explanation for every concept as it would be easy for the reader to clearly understand how the concept is explained with examples. Beginners could easily understand this book.

Modularity rating: 5

The book is broken into many chapters for every concept. The reader will be able to go chapter by chapter as it is clearly organized and so that the reader can start from the start and then complete each chapter and by which he/she can easily complete the book. By having small chapters, it would be easy to keep on track of the concepts that are being learnt.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The flow of the chapters and topics are clearly organized and they are in such a way where the before concepts are used in the later chapters which helps the users go through the previous topics and understand the concept more clearly. The structure and flow of the book is very clear and precise.

Interface rating: 5

This book doesn't have any interface issues. The images and charts are clear to understand and help in understanding the concepts a lot better.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book doesn't have any grammatical errors and the language is easily understandable as it doesn't have any complex words.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There wasn't any culturally sensitive information and any offensive words in the entire book. There are examples which have an inclusive variety of races and ethnicity and background.

Comments

Overall, this is a very good book. The main purpose of this book is to explain to new beginners all the concepts of python. This is the best book for people who have no knowledge of Python. The starting 20-25 pages explain no code and only has an explanation of concepts of python.

Reviewed by Chunmei Liu, Professor, Howard University on 2/9/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is comprehensive. It starts with why python, how to install python in different platforms, and then choose an editor and install. Then it introduces different data types, control flows, functions, function parameters, modules, packages, data structures, object-oriented programming, classes, files, and appendices that contain more about python. It is a good beginning book for people who want to learn python.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate and no errors were found.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book is relevant. It is a very good beginning book for anyone who wants to learn python. For instructors who teach python, it is a very introduction book to use.

Clarity rating: 5

This book is clearly written. The terms of python are well explained. The examples are easy to understand.

Consistency rating: 5

The context is consistent in the book. Each chapter ends with a good summary.

Modularity rating: 5

It is a good fundamental book to follow with different topics from easy to hard.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book is well organized with different topics. Each topic is written and explained clearly with examples.

Interface rating: 4

The interface of the book is fine overall, but it is not very easy to identify between different chapters sometimes.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book is written for python version 3.

Comments

This book is a very good book for people who begin to learn a programming language. It would be a good introductory book for anyone who wants to learn python.

Reviewed by Joseph Jess, Instructor, Linn-Benton Community College on 7/1/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

An excellent beginner level book on Python. "A Byte of Python" covers many of the language features I would expect a programmer to pick up early on. I appreciate the additional references and bits of historical context that come up. I would like to see an expanded talk about how programming intersects with other related topics such as computer science in general, algorithms, and maybe an expanded section on software development processes (or maybe just some additional links to said related topics to keep the book approachable).

Content Accuracy rating: 5

"A Byte of Python" is quite accurate and as unbiased as a book on a specific programming language could expect to be.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

"A Byte of Python" is written in a way that covers the basics using generic enough approaches to be applicable for a long time, but relevant enough to only need minor updates from time to time (noting when new valuable features are added, such as f-strings).

Clarity rating: 5

This book is written using simple terms and initially direct approaches to each problem that it proposes and solves, which should make it approachable and easy to get through for most readers. There are plenty of technical terms, but they are well explained in their given context.

Consistency rating: 5

This book is consistent in its use of terminology and framework, approach to proposing and solving prooblems, and even in giving additional ideas and resources in many sections.

Modularity rating: 4

This book is well divided into sections and has the current section's title in the header of each page. I agree with another reviewer that the book could be improved with an index as well as a glossary of terms, but a majority of readers will likely already be decently capable at looking terms up on the Internet and with a little guidance searching a digital document for keywords.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I appreciate the organization and structure of the book, however there are a few sections that refer to other sections that do not make obvious or complete sense (Basics says that control flow should be next (maybe rearranged or split and merged sections?), Operators and Expressions says that next up is statements (overly simplified?).

Interface rating: 5

This book is easy to interact with, easy to search, and easy to read.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No notable grammatical errors found; simple writing certainly helps keep it this way.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book uses generally neutral to inclusive wording and examples.

Comments

A good book that I will likely use as a core resource to an intro to programming and computer science course.

Reviewed by Marvin Daniels, Adjunct Instructor, Middlesex Community College on 6/1/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book goes into detail on the aspects of programming with Python. A good beginning basic book on this programming language.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I could not find any content errors and the content appeared accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book appears relevant and should be able to easily maintain any updates. The author gives a very good explanation of the terms used in Python and other programming languages.

Clarity rating: 5

The author talks about the different versions of Python and different programming languages, but the book seems to be designed for the beginning programmer. Because of that the reader my not understand the differences but the examples that the author provides throughout the book seem easy to comprehend.

Consistency rating: 5

The writing of the text is consistent throughout the book. At the end of each chapter is a brief recap of what was done.

Modularity rating: 5

The book is broken up into many chapters which cover different topics. The reader should be able to proceed from chapter to chapter and should be able to finish the entire book by the end of the semester.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Readers should find the text easy to go through. Chapter headings listed in a clear fashion.

Interface rating: 4

The text was free from any significant interference problems although the light grey text in some of the chapters made it somewhat difficult to read.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I noticed one error in the Installed section of the book, where the text did not display an apostrophe in a word and it’s replacement was a symbol..

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text was not insensitive or offensive. There was a listing of this book being translated into many different languages.

Comments

This book would be a very good book to use in an intro to Python course. The author backs up his writing with examples throughout the book.

Reviewed by Laurie Seeder, Instructor, LSUE on 5/1/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book gives a very good fundamental plan for the beginner.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

When I first opened the book and clicked on the download links and when I went back to the link two weeks later it had been changed. It made it a bit more challenging; but I was still able to follow along.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

I plan on using this book for the first two, maybe three weeks of my Python class. I think it will give my students a basic understanding of what they will be learning throughout the rest of the semester.

Clarity rating: 4

This was written by a young man, and as most of my students are young adults, they will be able to follow this book easily.

Consistency rating: 5

I was able to closely follow from section to section on the flow of the books' path.

Modularity rating: 5

Good fundamental starting point for students that want to learn Python.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The flow was done in clear language and logically moved from section to section on learning the fundamentals of Python.

Interface rating: 4

The book is a PDF. no major issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I couldn't find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book was written with a straight-forward point of view for Python and Python only.

Comments

This book is rather short and I think it was creating to give the user just a 'taste' of the Python language. As such, I'm seriously considering using this book for the first two to three weeks of class to give my students a basic understanding of what they will be learning and also give them a resource on which they can reference when we use a fuller textbook.

Reviewed by Neb Jaksic, Professor, Colorado State University - Pueblo on 12/19/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The book is written for new first-time programmers on a language that has a huge library, so in its nature it could not be comprehensive. However, the basics are covered well, as was the intention of the author.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This reviewer didn't see any errors in the text nor in the program examples. The content is accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

As with any computer language book, the changes are expected as the language develops. For now, the author was making the necessary changes from one edition to another. The basics will stay the same for at least few more years, since that part of the language will most likely not change.

Clarity rating: 5

The language structure, the principles, and the examples are well written and easily accessible. All the programming terms are well defined. However, the session on object oriented programming, maybe, could use a few more examples.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent from chapter to chapter and within chapters. Definitions are provided and used consistently.

Modularity rating: 5

The chapters are well balanced. The book follows a story - from simple examples to more complicated and involved examples demonstrating various aspects of Python. It is not intended for readers to skip and/or mix chapters. Of course, experienced programmers could probably finish the book in a matter of hours, but then, this book is not written for them.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Definitely! Readers are gently introduced to the language syntax, procedural programming using functions, and then object oriented programming. At the end, a number of other, more involved, books and websites were provided.

Interface rating: 5

The book is well presented. A small suggestion would be to have a couple diagrams showing the relationship between classes, sub-classes, objects, etc. Since I downloaded the whole book and printed it - I could not observe any computer-related interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There were no grammatical errors that I observed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book is not culturally insensitive or offensive. The book examples deal with groceries, universities, etc. which are culture-neutral.

Comments

I liked the book and most likely I will use it as a beginning of Python learning in class. However, since I am looking at IoT and mechatronics uses with Raspberry Pi, I will have to add some more material for that purpose.
Once again, this is a well-written easy-to-read book with examples for Python 3 that I will likely adopt for my first robotics class.

Reviewed by Omer Soysal, Assistant Professor, Southeastern on 12/17/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This book, as stated in the Preface, "It is mainly targeted at newbies". Therefore, only basics of Python programming and its environment is explained.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Although I could not see an error, the statement "Just remember that Python treats everything as an object and this includes functions" on page 66 would be confusing, The objects are instances of a class that includes data fields (properties) and methods (functions).

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is up-to-date. It would be good to add a note about more specific version (3.#) of the Python used. The book has some references that the reader can keep track updates.

Clarity rating: 4

In general, the language is clear. Some sections such as "Raw String", "VarArgs parameters", and "Lambda Forms" needs more clarification with some simple examples to make it easier to comprehend purpose and usage.

Consistency rating: 5

I could not see any inconsistency throughout the book.

Modularity rating: 5

The book follows traditional chapters and subsections for a programming language.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The flow of the book is smooth; the readers can navigate easily to comprehend the content.

Interface rating: 5

The format is appropriately designed for smooth reading.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any textual or grammatical error.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The content is free of offensive language.

Comments

This books is intended for "newbies" who are familiar with an OOP language. Particularly, the reader would appreciate for the sections "How It Works" and "Note for C/C++ Programmers".

Reviewed by Yolanda Anderson, Academic Teaching Specialist, Michigan State University on 11/21/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book assumes the reader has no experience with Python and does a good job writing to that assumed audience. There are a few places where it may benefit the reader if it was more comprehensive. For example, there is a list of operators and the list includes bit-wise AND, yet there is no explanation of what that operator is or does, even though most of the operators have an explanation and example (but not all).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content was accurate and I did not notice any errors. There were a few characters that did not show up correctly, but I attribute that to download errors. There were a few broken links, but each link has detailed information which can be easily searched on the internet.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is very relevant and the examples will not make the text obsolete. The author does a good job of mentioning how the syntax/vocabulary has changed from one version to the next or how it compares to other programming languages.

Clarity rating: 4

The author is very clear, with simple language that is to the point. At times, it is almost too simple. For example, the section on while-loops doesn't mention sentinel values. The author absolutely does a good job of introducing the concept, explaining the control flow, and providing an example, but doesn't mention sentinel values. This level of writing gives the very basic foundation.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is very consistent. The author consistently presents a narrative about a concept, sample code, the output, and then breaks down the code and output. The format is laid out nicely and is consistent throughout the entire book.

Modularity rating: 5

This book is not overly self-referential. There are several places where the author provides a link to a later chapter or mentions that more about a concept will be discussed later, but it does not disrupt the reading.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization is typical of a programming language book. I think the book can benefit from either subheadings in the table of contents, a glossary, or an index. Digital books are so easily searchable, that an index or glossary is almost obsolete, but that assumes you know what to search for. Given how this was written for a beginner, I think the user would benefit from at least one of the above.

Interface rating: 5

There is no problem with the interface in the PDF version. I did not look at the online version. I would have appreciated page numbers in the table of contents for the PDF version, but the headings in the table of contents are links, so it's easy to navigate the interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice a single grammatical error.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book is designed for a beginner from any cultural background. The one and only example that I noticed was using the term "marks" when referring to a student's grade. As an american, we don't use that term, but it is in no way offensive, nor does it detract from the example. The author does a great job of using neutral language to teach a topic that can be overwhelming to a beginner.

Comments

This is a great book for a resource, but I'm not sure it's a good textbook, in the traditional sense. Meaning, if you are accustomed to a textbook that lays out the concepts and then gives several problems to work on, you will not receive those traditional problems. This is not a criticism. It just depends on your need. There are a few "homework" problems, but there are no solutions. On another note, the author gives links to several problems/challenges/projects that are readily available on the internet. Overall, I think this is an excellent book for a beginner.

Reviewed by Connie Lance, PT Instructor, Aims Community College on 7/30/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book has a detailed explanation of how to download and install Python, and how to write and run code in the development environment. This is valuable for people who are new to programming. There is not any actual Python code until twenty pages into the book.
It would be a good reference for those who are just learning to program, or if they need a concept explained in a new way. The comprehensiveness is enough for a beginner.
It delves into many concepts, but does not cover them in a lot of depth. For example, there are four data structures in Python: lists, tuples, dictionaries, and sets. Each of them is covered in about two pages, including code examples. An additional half-page looked at objects and classes and how they relate to lists.
There are three control flow statements in Python - if , for and while. They are the backbone of many programs. Those are initially covered in only five pages total.
There are five pages of good resources and links near the end.
There is not an index or a glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book is accurate for Python 3, the mostly commonly used version today.
I did not find any errors in the code.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text and example code are timeless and will not become obsolete.
The topics could easily be expanded with more examples and explanation.
There are several pages of resources at the end. However, some of these links are no longer active. For example, the link to Python Module of the Week goes to python.org instead of pymotw.com.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is relatively easy to read. The text is written for beginning programmers. It defines new terms as soon they are used.
The author mentions the Python Standard Library, then admits that the reader may need to return to that when they are more experienced.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent. The program examples are formatted the same throughout.
The format is usually like this: a new topic is introduced, example code shows how it works, then the code is explained.
It is not easy to make a programming language easy to understand, but the author does this well.

Modularity rating: 4

The Table of Contents breaks down the material. The sections could easily be incorporated into a course.
There are a few places where the reader is given a link to jump ahead for more info before returning to the current topic.
It would be nice if the Table of Contents had links to the subheadings.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Most programming texts follow a similar path. Data types, variables, and indentation are all in the Basics section. From there, it moves on to Operators and Expressions, then Control Flow, then Functions.
The section on object-oriented programming starts about two-thirds of the way through. This is a more advanced concept for beginners.

Interface rating: 4

The text is clear, and the program examples are readily visible.
At the beginning, there are six pages of reader comments in light gray text. The lack of contrast makes this section more difficult to read.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book does not refer to any race, ethnicity or background. Volunteers have translated the book into more than twenty languages.

Comments

A copy of the book can be purchased for $29.

Reviewed by Iris Champion, Full Professor, Southern University Shreveport on 4/6/19, updated 5/6/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

There are not a lot of 'Python' textbooks that are designed for beginner programmers. "A Byte of Python' is an easy book to follow in learning how to program using Python. This book is very simple to understand and makes it very simple to develop simple programs. It is an excellent book/reference for teaching beginner coding in K-12 or higher-ed.
Minor problem that can be easily fixed: the Table of contents page numbering is off and an index was not present.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content contained in "A Byte of Python" is accurate and sectioned out for ease of accessibility.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Programming instructions or coding instructions (programming language) just does not change frequently like some disciplines such as "American Government". "A Byte of Python" is written such that the content is current and with a usefulness for quite some time. Any future updates to the textbook can be easily grafted/merged in with very little effort and without distorting the topics within each chapter. It is hoped that the next version will consist of an index and a corrected Table of contents.

Clarity rating: 5

The author put in a lot of effort to keep the contents of the textbook simple and very clear to understand. Step-by-step processes along with many examples were used to ensure clarity.

Consistency rating: 5

This textbook is consistent in terms of terminology and framework. In looking at other textbooks written for programming with Python, the basic language terminology is the same. There may be some variations in the particular editors that can be used but the meaning, usage, and design are the same. Students can start learning from this textbook, and in no time will be able to better interpret a more complicated written textbook.

Modularity rating: 4

This textbook is sectioned out using chapters. The text is varied in that titles are large and sub-titles and paragraph headers are sized appropriately making it easy to recognize the division in each chapter. The major points of each topic, of each chapter, is broken out into chunks making it very easy for students to understand. When students have the need to refer back to a particular point, they can readily do so by referring to the headings and sub-headings.
Note: an index added to the textbook would increase to functionality of the book in regards to ease of use and accessibility.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Here is where the correct 'Table of Contents" is helpful. The author of this textbook presented the chapter topics in an organized and logical flow. A small print problem was encountered. The section/chapter on 'Problem Solving' downloaded with a font size of 12 instead of the title size. Maybe just another download bug. Additionally, the summary in the chapter entitled "Basics" implies that the next chapter to be discussed is dealing with 'control flow' but in actuality the next chapter focuses on 'Operators and Expressions'. This should be changed to eliminate any possible confusion regarding expectation.

Interface rating: 5

Regarding the interface there were no significant or observed interface issues. The couple of text translation errors was very minimum. All text, images, and charts were easy to read and identify without distraction or confusion to the reader. There were no accessibility problems.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

In reading through the textbook there were no grammatical errors found. However, please be aware that sometimes in downloading the textbook, symbols can get easily change. So, for example, if you see a "?" where a "," should be in a word like "don't", that is a just download error. That happens.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The textbook is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. From an instructor's perspective I am mainly looking for ease of use and understanding for different learning styles. The way the book is written I see no problem with my students grasping the intended concept of learning 'Python'. However, the name is one that would make some persons distant themselves in the beginning.

Comments

Very good textbook that I will be using.