Learning Python 2.x

This (simple) tutorial aims to help you be informed on Python and to point out to resources that would be helpful in learning the language.

Contents:
I. What is Python?
II. Why Python?
III. Learning Python
IV. Sources

What is Python?
"Python is a programming language that lets you work more quickly and integrate your systems more effectively. You can learn to use Python and see almost immediate gains in productivity and lower maintenance costs."

~From the Python Website: Link

Why Python?
Python is a programming language that is both simple and powerful. It has come to gain love from programmers worldwide because of its clear and concise syntax.

Eric S. Raymond, the author of "The Cathedral and the Bazaar", and a well-known and respected hacker stated that his favorite language has now become Python. If you're interested, you can read the full article here: http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3882

A lot of newbies to programming always get hung up on what programming language to start off. A lot of programmers recommend Python because it's beginner-friendly and a language that they may still use in the future.

You can download Python from their website, but most Linux systems already have Python pre-installed: Download

Learning Python
The following resources helped me a lot in learning Python:

Books
A Byte of Python (Swaroop, C.H.)
Learn Python the Hard Way (Shaw, Zed)
Dive into Python (Pilgrim, Mark)

Videos
Python Tutorials (thenewboston)
Udacity

Sources:

1. A Byte of Python (Swaroop, C.H.)
2. Python Website
3. Personal Experience

Another great ebook to get started with python is Dive into Python it's more detailed than A Byte of Python.
And for those who prefer watch videos rather than reading books just check out Udacity it's a great place to learn things (not only about python).

How could I forget Dive into Python? Thanks for that, I'll edit it in a while. Good to see the thread's helping, since I did it in a rush. xD

Yeah! That's such a great share. Thanks I was finding some collection of books for my collection of python.
And here it is!
Hope get to see more like this.
Keep it up!

Cheers for this, I was going to go with C as Shix pointed me in that direction but I'm sure that the course I'm doing in college is actually going to consist of Python programming.

Great post Reki!
I'm really looking to get into programming, I've been thinking of Python being my first language for a while now. I just need to stop procrastinating :P This post will certainly help!

Another online Python tutorial site which also has sections for Ruby & JavaScript.
Thanks for the tips!

I'm currently learning Python, it's my first language although I've tried learning programming before.

I found this which is great, it's several full length lectures and also a great explaining paper for each, it also include exercises and such.

And of course, Python's official tutorial is also great.

I found the python docs and manual of great resources. I particularly love what the duckduckgo search engine has provided coders; you simply type
in the bar and you'll be redirected to some manuals.