Text Processing in Python - Softcover

Mertz, David; Mike Hendrickson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0321112547 ISBN 13: 9780321112545

Publisher: Addison-Wesley, 2003

Synopsis

Text Processing in Python describes techniques for manipulation of text using the

Python programming language. At the broadest level, text processing is simply

taking textual information and doing something with it. This might be

restructuring or reformatting it, extracting smaller bits of information from it,

or performing calculations that depend on the text. Text processing is arguably

what most programmers spend most of their time doing. Because Python is

clear, expressive, and object-oriented it is a perfect language for doing text

processing, even better than Perl. As the amount of data everywhere continues

to increase, this is more and more of a challenge for programmers. This book is

not a tutorial on Python. It has two other goals: helping the programmer get

the job done pragmatically and efficiently; and giving the reader an

understanding - both theoretically and conceptually - of why what works works

and what doesn't work doesn't work. Mertz provides practical pointers and tips

that emphasize efficent, flexible, and maintainable approaches to the textprocessing

tasks that working programmers face daily.

About this title

About the Author

David Mertz came to writing about programming via the unlikely route of first being a humanities professor. Along the way, he was a senior software developer, and now runs his own development company, Gnosis Software ("We know stuff!"). David writes regular columns and articles for IBM developerWorks, Intel Developer Network, O'Reilly ONLamp, and other publications.

0321112547AB05022003

From the Back Cover

Text Processing in Python is an example-driven, hands-on tutorial that carefully teaches programmers how to accomplish numerous text processing tasks using the Python language. Filled with concrete examples, this book provides efficient and effective solutions to specific text processing problems and practical strategies for dealing with all types of text processing challenges.

Text Processing in Python begins with an introduction to text processing and contains a quick Python tutorial to get you up to speed. It then delves into essential text processing subject areas, including string operations, regular expressions, parsers and state machines, and Internet tools and techniques. Appendixes cover such important topics as data compression and Unicode. A comprehensive index and plentiful cross-referencing offer easy access to available information. In addition, exercises throughout the book provide readers with further opportunity to hone their skills either on their own or in the classroom. A companion Web site (http://gnosis.cx/TPiP) contains source code and examples from the book.

Here is some of what you will find in thie book:

• When do I use formal parsers to process structured and semi-structured data? Page 257
• How do I work with full text indexing? Page 199
• What patterns in text can be expressed using regular expressions?Page 204
• How do I find a URL or an email address in text? Page 228
• How do I process a report with a concrete state machine? Page 274
• How do I parse, create, and manipulate internet formats? Page 345
• How do I handle lossless and lossy compression?Page 454
• How do I find codepoints in Unicode?Page 465

0321112547B05022003

Edition details

• Publisher: Addison-Wesley
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0321112547
• ISBN 13: 9780321112545
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 544