Programming Python puts Ruby to Shame
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Pragmatic Programmers books since getting their renowned tome The Pragmatic Programmer. I have to admit it was a stunning book and so too was their “Agile Web Development with Rails”. I also jumped on the band wagon and bought myself the Programming Ruby (a.k.a. ‘Pickaxe’) book and at first thought it was okay but I had some doubts even then.
I recently got my hands on a copy of Programming Python (the book from the ‘dark side’ 
) and I’m stunned. I now look back at my Pickaxe book and its unbelievable to see the difference. Chapter after chapter is peppered with comments such as: “you can read more about this class by looking at the docs in the back”. What’s not mentioned though is that the docs are actually already part of the Ruby documentation - Its an almost verbatim copy!
Whereas in the Programming Python book (a hefty 1500 pages) you get all chapters dedicated to explaining how to use the language with real world applications. The Pickaxe has 830 pages but with only 419 dedicated to showing you how the use the language. The rest is taken up with the general Ruby documentation. If that isn’t bad enough the first edition of the Pickaxe is available online for free. So not only is half the book just basic open source documentation but 2/3 of the rest is already available online as part of the first edition. It sticks in the throat a little - though a masterstroke of marketing to be sure. I’m immensely happy with some of their other books but I can’t help but feel a bit cheated in this case and I think the ‘cult’ mentality surrounding their books has much to do with their success - not necessarily their quality.
Sorry O’Reilly - all is forgiven. 
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