About the Book
Hello, I'm luckrnx09, a frontend engineer who makes a living with React. I'm glad to introduce to you my first open-source e-book, "Python Guide for JavaScript Engineers".
The content of this book is completely free and open-source. You can find the repository here: https://github.com/luckrnx09/python-guide-for-javascript-engineers
Why Write This Book
In 2022, ChatGPT made a huge splash, ushering in a new era of artificial intelligence. Python once again became the most popular programming language in the field of AI. Many AI-related tools have emerged rapidly, with new ones appearing every day. Python's simplicity and its dominance over the years have made it the preferred language for many popular AI projects. Therefore, learning Python has become a ticket to enter these projects. It is an unstoppable trend in the field of AI.
Recently, I finally took the time to systematically learn Python. However, as someone who already mastered C# and JavaScript, the learning process was not easy for me due to the following reasons:
- I was unsure about the differences between Python and the languages I already knew. To avoid missing important knowledge, I had to study every detail instead of just skimming the surface.
- I was unsure about the similarities between Python and the languages I already knew. As a result, I wasted a lot of time relearning programming concepts that I had already fully grasped.
Due to these two uncertainties, I put in a tremendous amount of effort and persevered to complete my systematic learning. After finishing my studies, I explained key concepts in Python to my frontend developer colleagues by combining and comparing the syntax and features of Python and JavaScript. I found that they were able to quickly grasp Python development just like I did.
Therefore, I decided to organize the key points I encountered during the learning process into a more detailed book. I hope it can help more JavaScript engineers avoid common pitfalls and obstacles when learning Python.
Key Features of This Book
To improve the learning efficiency, this book extensively uses examples and a comparative teaching approach. I first demonstrate how to achieve a requirement using JavaScript and then reimplement it using Python code. Through this comparison, you will gain an intuitive understanding of the differences between the two languages.
At the end of each example, I also present a table showing equivalent APIs in JavaScript and Python. These APIs may not appear in the example code but are commonly used in development. While it is not necessary to master all of them immediately, knowing about their existence in advance can be very helpful for writing simple and efficient Python code.
Target Audience
This book is only suitable for JavaScript developers, especially those who are familiar with the latest ES standards and Node.js.
How This Book Was Written
My open-source project abook https://github.com/luckrnx09/abook, is an AI book-writing tool based on ChatGPT. The core idea is the "examples + comparative teaching" approach mentioned above. The initial draft of this book was generated using that tool. I then spent several months proofreading, adjusting, translating, and polishing the draft to present the final version to you.
Errata
Due to my limited knowledge, errors may occur during the writing process. If you discover any mistakes in the book, I welcome you to submit a pull request through the "Edit this page" link at the bottom left of the article to help improve the content of this book.