Learning Python the hard way, or maybe not

Learn Python the Hard Way is a great introduction to the Python language. Back in the days, it was one of the books that I occasionally used to refer to. However, in retrospect, I’m not a big fan of the premise.

The “hard way” is typing each exercise in the editor by copying it verbatim, so that you pay attention to details, rather than just skimming. The point is valid, but not very useful. This is exactly what people do with written assignments in college, and it doesn’t lead to better understanding.

Looking at an exercise and writing something similar (but not exactly the same), wherein you really need to understand the concept, is a much better approach.

The book is a great introduction, and you surely can use it. But I’m not a big fan of the methodology.