Learning Python - Softcover

Lutz, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1565924649 ISBN 13: 9781565924642

Publisher: O′Reilly, 1999

Synopsis

Learning Python is an introduction to the increasingly popular Python programming language. Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented scripting language. Python is growing in popularity because:

• It is available on all important platforms: Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98, Linux, all major UNIX platforms, MacOS, and even the BeOS.
• It is open-source software, copyrighted but freely available for use, even in commercial applications.
• Its clean object-oriented interface makes it a valuable prototyping tool for C++ programmers.
• It works well with all popular windowing toolkits, including MFC, Tk, Mac, X11, and Motif.Learning Python is written by Mark Lutz, author ofProgramming Python and Python Pocket Reference; and David Ascher, a vision scientist and Python user.This book starts with a thorough introduction to the elements of Python: types, operators, statements, classes, functions, modules, and exceptions. By reading the first part of the book, the reader will be able to understand and construct programs in the Python language. In the second part of the book, the authors present more advanced information, demonstrating how Python performs common tasks and presenting real applications and the libraries available for those applications.All the examples use the Python interpreter, so the reader can type them in and get instant feedback. Each chapter ends with a series of exercises. Solutions to the exercises are in an appendix.

About this title

Review

The authors of Learning Python show you enough essentials of the Python scripting language to enable you to begin solving problems right away, then reveal more powerful aspects of the language one at a time. This approach is sure to appeal to programmers and system administrators who have urgent problems and a preference for learning by semi-guided experimentation.

First off, Learning Python shows the relationships among Python scripts and their interpreter (in a mostly platform-neutral way). Then, the authors address the mechanics of the language itself, providing illustrations of how Python conceives of numbers, strings and other objects as well as the operators you use to work with them. Dictionaries, lists, tuples and other data structures specific to Python receive plenty of attention including complete examples.

Authors Mark Lutz and David Ascher build on that fundamental information in their discussions of functions and modules, which evolve into coverage of namespaces, classes and the object-oriented aspects of Python programming. There's also information on creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for Python applications with Tkinter.

In addition to its careful expository prose, Learning Python includes exercises that both test your Python skills and help reveal more elusive truths about the language.

Review

...will give you a good feel for the language and get you started if you want to learn it. -- Jerry Pournell, Byte.com March 4, 2002

Edition details

• Publisher: O′Reilly
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1565924649
• ISBN 13: 9781565924642
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384