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
Alex Martelli spent 8 years with IBM Research, winning three Outstanding Technical Achievement Awards. He then spent 13 as a Senior Software Consultant at think3 inc, developing libraries, network protocols, GUI engines, event frameworks, and web access frontends. He has also taught programming languages, development methods, and numerical computing at Ferrara University and other venues. He's a C++ MVP for Brainbench, and a member of the Python Software Foundation. He currently works for AB Strakt, a Python-centered software house in G teborg, Sweden, mostly by telecommuting from his home in Bologna, Italy. Alex's proudest achievement is the articles that appeared in Bridge World (January/February 2000), which were hailed as giant steps towards solving issues that had haunted contract bridge theoreticians for decades.
