This book offers Python programmers one place to look when
they need
help remembering or deciphering the syntax of this open
source language
and its many powerful but scantily documented modules.
This
comprehensive reference guide makes it easy to look up the
most
frequently needed information--not just about the Python
language
itself, but also the most frequently used parts of the
standard library
and the most important third-party extensions.
Ask any Python aficionado and you'll hear that Python
programmers have
it all: an elegant object-oriented language with readable
and
maintainable syntax, that allows for easy integration with
components
in C, C++, Java, or C#, and an enormous collection of
precoded standard
library and third-party extension modules. Moreover, Python
is easy to
learn, yet powerful enough to take on the most ambitious
programming
challenges. But what Python programmers used to lack is a
concise and
clear reference resource, with the appropriate measure of
guidance in
how best to use Python's great power. Python in
a
Nutshell fills this need.
Python in a Nutshell, Second Edition
covers more
than the language itself; it also deals with the most
frequently used parts of the standard library, and the most
popular and
important third party extensions. Revised and expanded
for
Python 2.5, this book now contains the gory details of
Python's new
subprocess module and breaking news about Microsoft's
new
IronPython project. Our "Nutshell" format fits Python
perfectly by
presenting the highlights of the most important modules and
functions
in its standard library, which cover over 90% of your
practical
programming needs. This book includes:
A fast-paced tutorial on the syntax of the
Python language An explanation of object-oriented
programming in Python Coverage of iterators, generators,
exceptions, modules,
packages, strings, and regular
expressions A quick reference for Python's built-in
types and functions
and key modules Reference material on important
third-party extensions,
such as Numeric and Tkinter Information about extending and embedding
Python
Python in a Nutshell provides a
solid,
no-nonsense quick reference to information that programmers
rely on the
most. This book will immediately earn its place in any
Python
programmer's library.
Praise for the First Edition:
"In a nutshell, Python in a Nutshell
serves one
primary goal: to act as an immediately accessible goal for
the Python
language. True, you can get most of the same core
information that is
presented within the covers of this volume online, but this
will
invariably be broken into multiple files, and in all
likelihood lacking
the examples or the exact syntax description necessary to
truly
understand a command."
--Richard Cobbett, Linux Format
"O'Reilly has several good books, of which Python
in a
Nutshell by Alex Martelli is probably the best
for giving you
some idea of what Python is about and how to do useful
things with it."
--Jerry Pournelle, Byte Magazine
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