How do I get fluent in Python?

Question

Once you have learned the basic commands in Python, you are often able to solve most programming problem you face. But the way in which this is done is not really Python-ic<

Answer 1

There are some Python textbooks that not only teach you the language, they teach you the philosophy of the language (why it is the way it is) and teach you common idioms. I learned from the book Learning Python by Mark Lutz and I recommend it.

If you already know the basics of the language, you can Google search for "Python idioms" and you will find some gems. Here are a few:

http://python.net/~goodger/projects/pycon/2007/idiomatic/handout.html

http://docs.python.org/dev/howto/doanddont.html

http://jaynes.colorado.edu/PythonIdioms.html

If you read some good Python code and get a feel for why it was written the way it was, you can learn some cool things. Here is a recent discussion of modules worth reading to improve your Pythonic coding skills.

Good luck!

EDIT: Oh, I should add: +1 for Python Cookbook and Alex Martelli. I didn't mention these because Jon-Eric already did.

Answer 2

More Pythonic? Start with a simple import.

import this

And add practice.