Intro to Python Tutorial

http://sophieclayton.github.io/2015-01-15-uw/novice/python/index.html

A very nice tutorial. It's Focused on a specific problem. It covers the solution technology in some depth. I think the focus and depth features are important. It's often tempting to cover the technical features without really solving a problem.

In the "real world," we're often pressured to put the first MVP into production and move on to the next problem. I put "real world" in "scare quotes" because this approach is as dumb as a bag of hammers. Managers who insist on installing or shipping the first Minimally Viable Product are essentially purchasing technical debt instead of a solution.

I like the tutorial because it includes additional aspects like quality assurance. It's called "Defensive Programming," but it's really QA. I like to call it "fit and finish." The job's not over until there are automated tests to demonstrate that its over.

The Software Carpentry site as a whole looks quite good. It seems to have numerous high-quality tutorials.