1.
June 2014
Tempe, AZ
Confidential
PyCon 2015
Liza Daly, CTO
@liza
Python learning in the wild:
lessons from Safari

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2

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4

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5
=> SELECT SUM(pagecount) FROM nest_epubarchive ne
JOIN nest_epubarchive_subjects nes ON nes.epubarchive_id = ne.id
JOIN nest_subject s on s.id = nes.subject_id
WHERE s.name = 'Python';
sum
-------
70254
(1 row)

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6

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20%

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8
=> SELECT SUM(duration_seconds) / 60 / 60 FROM nest_epubarchive ne
JOIN nest_epubarchive_subjects nes ON nes.epubarchive_id = ne.id
JOIN nest_subject s on s.id = nes.subject_id
WHERE s.name = 'Python';
hours
-------
87
(1 row)

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9

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11

11.
What are people writing?
12

12.
Python titles by publication year
13
28
23
16
9
8
7
6 6
5
4 4 4
2 2 2 2 2
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
201420122010200820062004200220001998

13.
…increasingly more advanced
14
Difficulty
by publication_date
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced

14.
…and on more specific subjects
15
Type
by publication_date
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
General
Topical

15.
More targeted titles than general ones…
16

16.
17
Python version
by publication_date
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Version 2
Version 3
Both
Publication date by Python…

17.
18
Python version
by publication_date
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Version 2
Version 3
Both
Publication date by Python version

18.
Programming books are getting shorter
19
2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
400 390
479
380
348
288
224
269
240

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20
https://flic.kr/p/ci4hX
What are we reading?

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21

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22
select Python as a topic of interest
10%

22.
Popular co-occurring topics
23
Test-driven development
Design patterns
Google App Engine
Raspberry Pi
Math & Science
Linux
Security
Analytics/R

23.
More women, pls
24
gender
by New Recode of source table
Python
Java
.NET
C/C++
JavaScript
Social Media
Female
Male

24.
Beginners lose faith early
25

25.
Committed readers stay committed
26

26.
Committed readers stay committed
27

27.
Beginners struggle with classes
28

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29
Beginners struggle with classes

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30
Beginners struggle with classes

30.
Unexpectedly popular :(
31

31.
Unexpectedly popular :(
32
(2010)

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33
Python version
by publication_date
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Version 2
Version 3
Both
Publication date by Python version

33.
Advanced topics
34

34.
Popular advanced topics: Celery
35

35.
Popular advanced topics: NumPy arrays
36

36.
Popular advanced topics: Packet-sniffing
37

37.
Advanced topics may be underserved
38
ln(rank)
by Difficulty
Advanced
Beginner
Intermediate
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
ln(rank)
by Difficulty
Advanced
Beginner

38.
Annotations
39

39.
Most-annotated
40
Learning Python, 5th Edition
Introducing Python
Python for Data Analysis
Learn Python the Hard Way
Python 3 Object Oriented
Programming
Django Unleashed
Flask Web Development
Python for Finance
Introduction to Tornado
Python® Programming for the
Absolute Beginner
Fluent Python
Think Python
High Performance Python
Learning Python
Learning NumPy Array
Python 3 Text Processing with
NLTK 3 Cookbook
Data Structures and Algorithms in
Python
Programming in Python 3: A
Complete Introduction to the
Python Language
Mastering Object-oriented Python
Test-Driven Development with
Python
Core Python Programming,
Second Edition
Introduction to Computing Using
Python: An Application
Development Focus
Lightweight Django
Pro Django
Learning Python Data
Visualization
Beginning Python®: Using Python
2.6 and Python 3.1
Bioinformatics Programming
Using Python
Practical Data Science Cookbook
Getting Started with Django
Mastering Python Design Patterns
Django JavaScript Integration:
AJAX and jQuery

40.
Most-annotated: web apps
41
Learning Python, 5th Edition
Introducing Python
Python for Data Analysis
Learn Python the Hard Way
Python 3 Object Oriented
Programming
Django Unleashed
Flask Web Development
Python for Finance
Introduction to Tornado
Python® Programming for the
Absolute Beginner
Fluent Python
Think Python
High Performance Python
Learning Python
Learning NumPy Array
Python 3 Text Processing with
NLTK 3 Cookbook
Data Structures and Algorithms in
Python
Programming in Python 3: A
Complete Introduction to the
Python Language
Mastering Object-oriented Python
Test-Driven Development with
Python
Core Python Programming,
Second Edition
Introduction to Computing Using
Python: An Application
Development Focus
Lightweight Django
Pro Django
Learning Python Data
Visualization
Beginning Python®: Using Python
2.6 and Python 3.1
Bioinformatics Programming
Using Python
Practical Data Science Cookbook
Getting Started with Django
Mastering Python Design Patterns
Django JavaScript Integration:
AJAX and jQuery

41.
Most-annotated: scientific & mathematical
42
Learning Python, 5th Edition
Introducing Python
Python for Data Analysis
Learn Python the Hard Way
Python 3 Object Oriented
Programming
Django Unleashed
Flask Web Development
Python for Finance
Introduction to Tornado
Python® Programming for the
Absolute Beginner
Fluent Python
Think Python
High Performance Python
Learning Python
Learning NumPy Array
Python 3 Text Processing with
NLTK 3 Cookbook
Data Structures and Algorithms in
Python
Programming in Python 3: A
Complete Introduction to the
Python Language
Mastering Object-oriented Python
Test-Driven Development with
Python
Core Python Programming,
Second Edition
Introduction to Computing Using
Python: An Application
Development Focus
Lightweight Django
Pro Django
Learning Python Data
Visualization
Beginning Python®: Using Python
2.6 and Python 3.1
Bioinformatics Programming
Using Python
Practical Data Science Cookbook
Getting Started with Django
Mastering Python Design Patterns
Django JavaScript Integration:
AJAX and jQuery

42.
Most-annotated
43
Learning Python, 5th Edition
Introducing Python
Python for Data Analysis
Learn Python the Hard Way
Python 3 Object Oriented
Programming
Django Unleashed
Flask Web Development
Python for Finance
Introduction to Tornado
Python® Programming for the
Absolute Beginner
Fluent Python
Think Python
High Performance Python
Learning Python
Learning NumPy Array
Python 3 Text Processing with
NLTK 3 Cookbook
Data Structures and Algorithms in
Python
Programming in Python 3: A
Complete Introduction to the
Python Language
Mastering Object-oriented Python
Test-Driven Development with
Python
Core Python Programming,
Second Edition
Introduction to Computing Using
Python: An Application
Development Focus
Lightweight Django
Pro Django
Learning Python Data
Visualization
Beginning Python®: Using Python
2.6 and Python 3.1
Bioinformatics Programming
Using Python
Practical Data Science Cookbook
Getting Started with Django
Mastering Python Design Patterns
Django JavaScript Integration:
AJAX and jQuery

43.
More Python 3 :(
44
“Two good guides are ‘Porting Python 2 Code to Python 3’ and ‘Porting to Python 3: An
in-depth guide’” — High Performance Python
“Note that for loops force results from range automatically in 3.X, so we don’t need to
use a list wrapper here in 3.X (in 2.X we get a temporary list unless we call xrange
instead).” — Learning Python
“print is changing to a function in Python 3.0” — Core Python Programming
“String templating or formatting is another important topic. The number of ways to do
so has expanded with the advent of Python 3…” — Python for Data Analysis
“Avoid any project that mentions ‘Python 3.’ That’ll only confuse you.”
— Learn Python the Hard Way

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45
“Any time you are faced with the problem of incremental data
processing, you should think of iterators and generators.”
— David Beazley & Brian K. Jones
“…The core of programming is about ideas: specifically,
successfully capturing those ideas in a program so that
other people can use them.” — Anthony Briggs
“Every programmer has to do these annoying, tedious tasks
before they can do something cool.” — Zed A. Shaw

45.
Takeaways
46

46.
Write more Python books!
47
There’s plenty of demand.
There’s lots of engagement.

47.
Make more Python videos!
48
Good videos are very popular.
Video is a great way to reach beginners.

48.
More advanced topics needed.
49
Lots of unmet demand for advanced material in algorithms,
scientific and mathematical computing, and analytics.

49.
Python for ______.
50
Many people learning a programming language who are
already experts in their domain.
Teach programming without teaching down.

50.
Study from the greats
51
Read and watch the experts teach.
We’re happy to help you identify good models.

51.
SAFARIBOOKSONLINE.COM
Liza Daly
@liza
liza@safaribooksonline.com
Thank you!