Beginning Python (Programmer to Programmer)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 696 pages
• Published by: Wrox August 5, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0764596543
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764596544
• Book Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 2 inches
• Weighs: 2.2 pounds

Product Description

• This tutorial offers readers a thorough introduction to programming in Python 2.4, the portable, interpreted, object-oriented programming language that combines power with clear syntax
• Beginning programmers will quickly learn to develop robust, reliable, and reusable Python applications for Web development, scientific applications, and system tasks for users or administrators
• Discusses the basics of installing Python as well as the new features of Python release 2.4, which make it easier for users to create scientific and Web applications
• Features examples of various operating systems throughout the book, including Linux, Mac OS X/BSD, and Windows XP

Back Cover Copy
Beginning Python

As a portable, open source, object-oriented programming language, Python combines remarkable power with clear syntax. And, as one of the fastest growing languages, Python manages systems and can be used for data mining and Web development. With this book, you'll learn how to program using the latest release - Python 2.4 - and create robust, reliable, and reusable Python applications.

You'll quickly see why Python is an ideal first programming language to learn, both for its ease of use and the fact that it offers interpreters for most operating system platforms. This in-depth look at Python 2.4 looks at how it has become even easier for you to tell a computer what tasks you want it to do in an environment where you are in control.

What you will learn from this book

• Methods that can be used to quickly develop Web applications and scientific applications and to incorporate databases
• How to master system tasks on Linux,® Windows,®and Mac OS® X platforms
• How to handle - and recover from - any unforeseen problems
• Ways in which Python prides itself on its consistency, control, and ability to cope with change
• How Python incorporates modules, exceptions, dynamic typing, and very high level dynamic types and classes

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone who wants to learn how to program with Python or who wants to quickly learn how to use Python for rapid development of applications for the Web, scientific applications, bioinformatics, and applications for system tasks.

Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.

Reader Reviews
Python is one of those programming languages I hear about a lot, but I've never taken the time to pick up a book and find out more about it. To fix that, I got a copy of Beginning Python (published by Wrox) by Peter Norton, Alex Samuel, David Aitel, Eric Foster-Johnson, Leonard Richardson, Jason Diamond, Aleatha Parker, and Michael Roberts. Not a bad title to use to get started... Contents: Introduction; Programming Basics and Strings; Numbers and Operators; Variables - Names for Values; Making Decisions; Functions; Classes and Objects; Organizing Programs; Files and Directories; Other Features of the Language; Building a Module; Text Processing; Testing; Writing a GUI with Python; Accessing Databases; Using Python for XML; Network Programming; Extension Programming with C; Writing Shareware and Commercial Programs; Numerical Programming; Python in the Enterprise; Web Applications and Web Services; Integrating Java with Python; Answers to Exercises; Online Resources; What's New in Python 2.4; Glossary; Index When I first started reading, I was a little disappointed at the target level. Up through about the Functions chapter, it's information that any programmer should already know (loops, variables, etc.) and would be best used by someone who had never programmed before in their life. While they do say that particular demographic is intended as a reader, I was hoping for more. From Classes on, it's material that squarely hits where intermediate programmers live and breathe, and it's at that point that the book takes off (in my opinion). Using the basic Python skills learned in the first section, you start to see how those concepts are applied in real programs that actually do stuff. And given the wide array of subjects they hit (C integration, GUI development, XML, etc.), you should quickly learn how best to use this language in many of the common situations you'll run into on a day-to-day basis. The writing style and format is consistent, as well as their use of examples throughout the book. You don't find yourself switching gears every few pages for some new contrived example that just came out of left field. This is a book I'll be holding onto in order to free up time to get some hands-on experience with Python. It gives me what I need to know along with numerous ways to apply that knowledge, and from there I can decide how much further to take my learning...