Jython Essentials

Jython is an implementation of the Python programming language written in 100% pure Java, so it runs under any compliant Java Virtual Machine. The secret to Jython's popularity lies in the combination of Java's libraries and tools with Python's rapid development capabilities. With Jython, you can write Python programs that integrate seamlessly with any Java code. And like Python, Jython can be used interactively, so you can get immediate results as you are programming. Jython Essentials provides a solid introduction to the Python language, offering a brief but thorough tour of the Python concepts you'll need to understand to use Jython effectively. The book makes frequent comparisons between Python and Java, with special emphasis on the different object-oriented semantics of the two languages, so Java programmers can quickly get up to speed with Jython. Jython Essentials also covers the various ways in which Jython and Java can interact. For example, Jython code can create instances of pre-existing Java classes and call methods in those instances. You can write Jython classes that are direct subclasses of existing Java classes and use introspection to discern the capabilities of JavaBeans components. This book provides examples of using Jython with existing Java libraries, including the Swing GUI toolkit, the JDBC database API, the Servlet API, and various XML tools. And finally, the book shows how Jython can be used as a scripting language within a Java program. With Jython Essentials, you have everything you need to start creating applications that mix the best of Python's interactivity and Java's robust libraries.

Samuele Pedroni is one of the main Jython developers. He holds a CS flavored diploma in mathematics from the ETH Zurich (Swiss institute of technology in Zurich). He is now a teacher and research assistant at the Institute of Theoretical CS. He plans to come to the US for a PhD in the field of dynamic languages and dynamic compilation. He came to Jython with the interest in improving it with respect to Java importing and reloading. He has developed several important patches related to java integration, classloaders, and the reworking of java/python importing rules and design.

Noel Rappin has a Ph.D. in computer science from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where his research included methods for teaching Object-Oriented Programming and Design. He has extensive production experience in both Java and Python. Noel also contributed an introductory chapter to the book Squeak: Open Personal Computing and Multimedia (PH).