Education
Here is a biased review on a selection of more than 30 textbooks and tutorials I have gone through. In the order of most recent first.
Regardless of my rating I am aware of the great effort the authors have put into their work for which I am endlessly thankful. Every previous book that a student has read makes the success of the next book more certain.
Python Cookbook: Recipes for Mastering Python 3 3rd Edition
Author: David Beazley, Brian K. Jones
Theory volume
Theory presentation
Practical exercises
Overall: excellent
Python efficiency tricks in clear tone.
The book makes you say “Wow” on every other page. But there is such a thing as coming at the wrong time. I have only started the book. At that time I got enough of Python practice with the Leetcode and longed to learn something that would help me with building projects. The book does not offer that.
neetcode.io
Author: Navdeep Singh
Theory volume
Theory presentation
Practical exercises
Overall: excellent
Make the impossible possible.
Save yourself a day (or more) on understanding the solution (and often the problem formulation) to a leetcode question. And concentrate on mastering what you have learned rather than inventing a technique you have never heard of before.
Elements of Programming Interviews in Python: The Insiders' Guide
Author: Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien Lee, Amit Prakash
Theory volume
Theory presentation
Practical exercises
Overall: ok
Leetcode the old fashioned way: in a textbook.
The resource is far from being ideal. But it is the closest to leetcode. It showed some interesting language syntax I have never encountered before. I did not complete the book as I was overwhelmed by the volume of questions on leetcode alone.
(The book does not have any exercises. Here assuming you would resolve the questions that the book describes.)
leetcode.com
Author: leetcode.com
Theory volume
Theory presentation
Practical exercises
Overall: excellent
A mind twisting trap.
Practice: algorithms, problem solving endurance, write code as if it is your natural language.
I solved about 300 leetcode questions. By solving I mean: for most problems there is no chance of getting your answer accepted if you have never seen that question before. So look at the answer, make yourself understand it, solve again on your own, solve again some days, months later.
Leetcode questions are fascinating, help with getting a grip on a language, even addictive. But the ability to solve leetcode questions has nothing to do with completing a project or learning a framework.
101 UX Principles: A definitive design guide
Author: Will Grant
Theory volume
Theory presentation
Practical exercises
Overall: excellent
Simplicity over complexity. Design before creating.
The book is about simple ideas that are incredibly hard to achieve. It is good to remind yourself of these principles from time to time.
Comments
Do you have a different or the same opinion about a book? Or even better: you can recommend a learning material not listed here. Do not hesitate to share.
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