This book is outdated and it doesn't account for any of the errors you may encounter, it assumes the instructions it provides will allow you to smoothly streamline into the next step. However I encountered errors and problems nearly each step of the way and this book was useless for helping me over come them.
As a beginner to Python, I expected this book to help aid me with learning a new skill. Yet I can't even proceed past page 17-19 due to multiple errors that aren't even addressed in this outdated book. I spot typos on pages 10 and 11 as I scan the book for the possibly that they may have provided a link that may assist users with changes that may occur after publishing. If it exists within the contents of this book, I could not find it. Which I found odd because that sort of courtesy is offered within the book, Raspberry Pi for dummies.
From an financial standpoint, I would not recommend buying this book. It was a foolish mistake on my part because as a beginner, I was only looking for an opportunity to learn a new skill and I foolishly assumed that a book I found on the subject that I happened to be interested in was competent enough to teach me the new skill. It was foolish on my part to not do my own research on this book and how outdated it may or may not be. As a beginner, it didn't occur to me that Python's official website contains tutorials. I would recommend this instead to beginners because at least you are getting this information directly from the source instead of a book that can get outdated. The internet is also a much more interactive learning environment. If you have questions along the way, you can google, watch tutorials, look at visual aids, create forums asking for help, or contact support. Books are not always the best medium for learning technology because it can be first of all outdated, but second it lacks the interactive environment of the Internet.
This also may be a petty criticism but I don't really care for the "For dummies" series as a whole. I remember getting my first "for dummies" book as a gift when I was a teen. It was an art book because I had a strong interest in art. I really judged the title of the book and I thought it was such a poor branding choice for a series. Something you often encounter as an artist are people who will say things to you like "I wish I could draw..." and you try to remind them that they can! They literally have the ability to draw right now! What they actually want is drawing SKILLS but that is learned and developed with practice and devotion. I think a lot of people have the desire to learn new skills from varying topics: art, languages, gardening, music, technology, etc but many get paralysis in actually developing these skills because they think it's "hard" or that if they struggle in a learning curve it means they are "dumb". Such a petty thing to take issue with on this book but I just wonder what this publisher thinks the target audience is for their books? You feel swindled after buying their product with the intention to learn and then when leading through the contents you discover the series is not really all that good at explaining skills and is often not a substitute for getting your hands dirty yourself or having a mentor or teacher. It feels like a waste of money and I think the publishers just rely on their audience lacking confidence in their abilities so that they don't complain over what a rip off these books are. I meant I paid like $50 Canadian for this book and there's typos in the early pages, it's outdated, there's errors the author didn't anticipate, there's no post-publishing website that accounts for the outdated information or trouble shooting, the information you're seeking is available online for free, you may not be able to even return your book after purchasing it for its ridiculous price. Just a total headache. Just go to Python's website and use the information available to you for free.