What do you think?
Rate this book
The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition
A fast-paced introduction to Python for intermediate developers–now with coverage of generative AI!
For over 25 years, The Quick Python Book has been one of the best Python books money can buy. It concisely covers programming basics, while introducing Python's comprehensive standard library and unique features in depth and detail. In this fourth edition, you’ll find new coverage of AI coding tools like Copilot and Google's Colaboratory (Colab), and develop a mindset that can make the most of AI.
The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition
• Python syntax, data structures, and best practices
• Python as an object oriented language
• Common Python libraries
• Basic data handling with Python
• Using AI code generation tools with Python
Whether you’re new to Python or looking to advance your basic skills, The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition will get you writing effective Python code fast. Python authority and former Chair of the Python Software Foundation Board or Directors Naomi Ceder has returned to author this extensively revised fourth edition. With the personal touch of a skilled teacher, Naomi beautifully balances details of the language with the insights and advice you need to handle any task.
Foreword by Luciano Ramalho.
About the technology
System automation. High-performance web apps. Cloud and back-end services. Cutting edge AI. No matter what you’re building, it pays to know how to read and write Python! The Quick Python Book has helped over 100,000 developers get up to speed with the Python programming language. This revised Fourth Edition, fully updated for Python 3.13, explores the latest features and libraries and shows you how to code smarter with AI tools like ChatGPT.
About the book
The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition teaches you the essential Python features and techniques you need for most common scripting, application programming, and data science tasks. Written for developers comfortable with another programming language, it dives right into the good stuff. New interactive notebooks, quick-check questions, and end-of-chapter labs all help practice and consolidate your new skills. Plus, you’ll find practical advice on writing prompts and using AI assistants to accelerate your day-to-day work.
What's inside
• Python syntax, data structures, and best practices
• Object-oriented Python
• Must-know Python libraries
• Data handling
About the reader
For beginning-intermediate programmers. No prior experience with Python required.
About the author
Naomi Ceder has been learning, teaching, and writing about Python since 2001. An elected fellow of the Python Software Foundation, Naomi is a past chair of its board of directors. In 2022 she became the seventh person to receive the PSF Distinguished Service Award.
Table of Contents
Part 1
1 About Python
2 Getting started
3 The quick Python overview
Part 2
4 The absolute basics
5 Lists, tuples, and sets
6 Strings
7 Dictionaries
8 Control flow
9 Functions
10 Modules and scoping rules
11 Python programs
12 Using the filesystem
13 Reading and writing files
For over 25 years, The Quick Python Book has been one of the best Python books money can buy. It concisely covers programming basics, while introducing Python's comprehensive standard library and unique features in depth and detail. In this fourth edition, you’ll find new coverage of AI coding tools like Copilot and Google's Colaboratory (Colab), and develop a mindset that can make the most of AI.
The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition
• Python syntax, data structures, and best practices
• Python as an object oriented language
• Common Python libraries
• Basic data handling with Python
• Using AI code generation tools with Python
Whether you’re new to Python or looking to advance your basic skills, The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition will get you writing effective Python code fast. Python authority and former Chair of the Python Software Foundation Board or Directors Naomi Ceder has returned to author this extensively revised fourth edition. With the personal touch of a skilled teacher, Naomi beautifully balances details of the language with the insights and advice you need to handle any task.
Foreword by Luciano Ramalho.
About the technology
System automation. High-performance web apps. Cloud and back-end services. Cutting edge AI. No matter what you’re building, it pays to know how to read and write Python! The Quick Python Book has helped over 100,000 developers get up to speed with the Python programming language. This revised Fourth Edition, fully updated for Python 3.13, explores the latest features and libraries and shows you how to code smarter with AI tools like ChatGPT.
About the book
The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition teaches you the essential Python features and techniques you need for most common scripting, application programming, and data science tasks. Written for developers comfortable with another programming language, it dives right into the good stuff. New interactive notebooks, quick-check questions, and end-of-chapter labs all help practice and consolidate your new skills. Plus, you’ll find practical advice on writing prompts and using AI assistants to accelerate your day-to-day work.
What's inside
• Python syntax, data structures, and best practices
• Object-oriented Python
• Must-know Python libraries
• Data handling
About the reader
For beginning-intermediate programmers. No prior experience with Python required.
About the author
Naomi Ceder has been learning, teaching, and writing about Python since 2001. An elected fellow of the Python Software Foundation, Naomi is a past chair of its board of directors. In 2022 she became the seventh person to receive the PSF Distinguished Service Award.
Table of Contents
Part 1
1 About Python
2 Getting started
3 The quick Python overview
Part 2
4 The absolute basics
5 Lists, tuples, and sets
6 Strings
7 Dictionaries
8 Control flow
9 Functions
10 Modules and scoping rules
11 Python programs
12 Using the filesystem
13 Reading and writing files
583 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 18, 2025
6 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 30, 2025
An Extensive Guide to the Python Programming Language
I found this book to be a thorough introduction to the Python language, as well as a comprehensive and well-structured reference. In my opinion, it’s much better organized than the official Python documentation. This makes it useful not only for learning Python, but also as a reliable reference during actual development.
While it’s often easier to search online for solutions, consulting an authoritative source like this can sometimes lead you to a trustworthy answer more quickly—and with greater clarity.
The first part of the book covers the core language features. Then, the author dives into object-oriented programming in Python, explores a few advanced topics like regular expressions and package management, and finally discusses how to work with data. By the end, you’re well-equipped with the foundational knowledge needed for serious Python development.
As a software developer, I read this book with particular attention. Early on, I noticed several references to Jython, a now-defunct Java-based implementation of Python—you can safely skip over those. There’s also a small inaccuracy where the author claims that Java doesn’t include regular expressions in its standard library, which isn’t correct. But since this is a Python book, it’s a minor and forgivable oversight.
One fresh and timely addition I really appreciated was the discussion around code generated by AI and large language models (LLMs)—something I hadn’t seen covered in other Python books.
In conclusion, this is a Python book written with care and passion, ideal both as a reference and as a learning tool. It’s clear the author truly loves Python and is eager to help readers become confident Pythonistas.
I found this book to be a thorough introduction to the Python language, as well as a comprehensive and well-structured reference. In my opinion, it’s much better organized than the official Python documentation. This makes it useful not only for learning Python, but also as a reliable reference during actual development.
While it’s often easier to search online for solutions, consulting an authoritative source like this can sometimes lead you to a trustworthy answer more quickly—and with greater clarity.
The first part of the book covers the core language features. Then, the author dives into object-oriented programming in Python, explores a few advanced topics like regular expressions and package management, and finally discusses how to work with data. By the end, you’re well-equipped with the foundational knowledge needed for serious Python development.
As a software developer, I read this book with particular attention. Early on, I noticed several references to Jython, a now-defunct Java-based implementation of Python—you can safely skip over those. There’s also a small inaccuracy where the author claims that Java doesn’t include regular expressions in its standard library, which isn’t correct. But since this is a Python book, it’s a minor and forgivable oversight.
One fresh and timely addition I really appreciated was the discussion around code generated by AI and large language models (LLMs)—something I hadn’t seen covered in other Python books.
In conclusion, this is a Python book written with care and passion, ideal both as a reference and as a learning tool. It’s clear the author truly loves Python and is eager to help readers become confident Pythonistas.
May 9, 2025
I am an experienced Python developer, and I often look for a book that can refresh my knowledge without being overwhelming—something concise yet rich in new insights. This book fits perfectly for me!
What I Like:
* Detailed and engaging content, especially the coverage of the latest updates. It strikes a great balance between foundational Python knowledge and modern trends, even touching on AI topics.
* Short, focused code examples are incredibly helpful. As someone with prior experience, I can grasp key concepts quickly. The clear diagrams and visuals also make it easier to understand complex ideas.
* This 4th edition is impressively up-to-date. It covers Python 3.12/3.13, and many chapters include GenAI-related exercises at the end—offering practical tips on integrating AI into development.
Little bit weak
* The GenAI part is not ideal for advanced GenAI experts, it still inspires creative ideas.
Anway, If you're a Python developer seeking a reliable, concise reference with a touch of AI innovation, this book is a good choice!
What I Like:
* Detailed and engaging content, especially the coverage of the latest updates. It strikes a great balance between foundational Python knowledge and modern trends, even touching on AI topics.
* Short, focused code examples are incredibly helpful. As someone with prior experience, I can grasp key concepts quickly. The clear diagrams and visuals also make it easier to understand complex ideas.
* This 4th edition is impressively up-to-date. It covers Python 3.12/3.13, and many chapters include GenAI-related exercises at the end—offering practical tips on integrating AI into development.
Little bit weak
* The GenAI part is not ideal for advanced GenAI experts, it still inspires creative ideas.
Anway, If you're a Python developer seeking a reliable, concise reference with a touch of AI innovation, this book is a good choice!
May 11, 2025
I find the following new item in the fourth edition of this book, interesting.
This edition has a good analysis (with examples) for using Artificial Intelligence tools, for generating the Python code. Google Colaboratory and GitHub Copilot AI tools are used for generating the Python code for typical automation-tasks. And those generated code chunks are analyzed by comparing with a manual (human) approach for coding the same task(s). For those of us, that intend to use AI tools for Python code generation, this book helps us dive deeper into the pros and cons of utilizing the AI tools.
This edition has a good analysis (with examples) for using Artificial Intelligence tools, for generating the Python code. Google Colaboratory and GitHub Copilot AI tools are used for generating the Python code for typical automation-tasks. And those generated code chunks are analyzed by comparing with a manual (human) approach for coding the same task(s). For those of us, that intend to use AI tools for Python code generation, this book helps us dive deeper into the pros and cons of utilizing the AI tools.
May 6, 2025
The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition is a great book for folks wanting to get an overview of everything Python has to offer. The pace of the book is good for a beginner and summarized well for someone who is proficient but wants to take a quick glance at the features of the language.
It serves as a good reference to the data types, the conditional loops, file operations , modules, libraries, packages and object oriented programming.
It serves as a good reference to the data types, the conditional loops, file operations , modules, libraries, packages and object oriented programming.
May 7, 2025
As an experienced developer, I appreciated how The Quick Python Book manages to stay concise while covering the essentials of modern Python. It avoids unnecessary hype and focuses instead on clarity and practical examples.
Developers coming from other languages will find the book especially helpful for understanding Python’s particular design choices and idioms without getting lost in the details.
Developers coming from other languages will find the book especially helpful for understanding Python’s particular design choices and idioms without getting lost in the details.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews