Test-Driven Development with Python

The book “Test-Driven Development with Python,” by Harry J. W. Percival, is an incredible look at web development with Python and a test-driven approach. If you’re familiar with the red/green/refactor approach to code development, you’ll feel at home working through this book.

I began the book using a paperback copy I’d bought from Barnes & Noble. The reading went well, but I soon found it difficult to work with the book beside my laptop. So I bought the electronic copy from O’Reilly and I haven’t regretted it. Entering code is much easier when the code itself is right there on the screen just beside your editor and command line. When it’s time to get an overview of a new chapter, I’ll read it in the paperback; then when the time comes to actually put the techniques to use on the machine, I’ll head back to the electronic version.

The content of TDDwP is superb. Percival does an amazing job of introducing new tools and techniques at a deliberate pace and in a delightful way. It’s one thing to know technical material; it’s another to be able to teach it effectively. If you want to learn in detail about Python, Django, TDD, automation, git, site hosting/deployment, and modern web practices, this is the book for you. I haven’t found a single typo or error in the book; this is a huge credit to Percival and those who edited it, especially considering the length of the book.

One of my most rewarding experiences while working through it came when I entered a single line on the command-line and saw my web site deployed to a staging space on my remote server. A slight alteration to that command and it’s deployed to the production environment. It’s magical.

Percival has done a wonderful job of teaching TDD in a web environment. I’m truly glad I’ve added TDDwP to my technical bookshelf.