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A Great Python Book Explains Hash Tables
- greenyoda 12y agoJudging by the reviews on Amazon, this book is really an introductory computer science text (which happens to use Python), not a "Python book". Just about any decent intro-CS or algorithms book will teach you about hash tables, since they're one of the most ancient (1953) and fundamental data structures of computer science. If you already have a CS background and want to learn Python as an additional language, this book would probably be boringly redundant. You'd want a book that just said "Python dictionaries are implemented as hash tables" and assumed that you knew what that meant (e.g., the Python equivalent of the K&R C book). On the other hand, if you were new to CS (and were willing to put in a lot of work), this book could teach you CS and Python at the same time. Just don't expect to get through it in a couple of weeks.
- ajschumacher 12y agoThanks! I think you're right. A lot of "learn to code" materials take the approach of just being "a Python book" (for example) with the result being that people don't get any CS background. * Where is there an introductory book on CS, separated from some language? * What beginner wants to learn abstract CS, separated from some language? I think I like the book because it combines the CS with the Python - it isn't just a summary of syntax with exercises.