Python in a Nutshell

Ask any Python aficionado and you'll hear that Python programmers have it all: an elegant language that offers object-oriented programming support, a readable, maintainable syntax, integration with C components, and an enormous collection of precoded standard library and extension modules. Moreover, Python is easy to learn but powerful enough to take on the most ambitious programming challenges. But what Python programmers have lacked is one concise and clear reference resource, with the appropriate measure of guidance in how best to use Python's great power. Now Python in a Nutshell fills this need.

In the tradition of O'Reilly's "In a Nutshell" series, 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 modules. This comprehensive reference guide makes it easy to look up all 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.

Python in a Nutshell focuses on Python 2.2 (and all its point releases), currently the most stable and widespread Python release. This book includes:

• A fast-paced tutorial on the syntax of the Python language itself
  
• An explanation of object-oriented programming in Python, covering both the classic and new-style object models
  
• Coverage of other core topics, including exceptions, modules, strings, and regular expressions
  
• A quick reference for Python's built-in types and functions, as well as the key modules in the Python standard library, including sys, os, time, thread, math, and socket, among many others
  
• Reference material on important third-party extensions, such as Numeric and Tkinter
  
• Information about extending Python and embedding it into other applications

Python in a Nutshell provides a solid, no-nonsense quick reference to information that programmers rely on the most. This latest addition to the best-selling "In a Nutshell" series will immediately earn its place in any Python programmer's library.

Table of Contents

Preface 

I. Getting Started with Python

1. Introduction to Python
2. Installation
3. The Python Interpreter
 

 
II. Core Python Language and Built-ins

4. The Python Language

5. Object-Oriented Python

6. Exception
7. Modules

8. Core Built-ins
9. Strings and Regular Expressions



III. Python Library and Extension Modules

10. File and Text Operations
11. Persistence and Databases
12. Time Operations
13. Controlling Execution
14. Threads and Processes
15. Numeric Processing
16. Tkinter GUIs

17. Testing, Debugging, and Optimizing

 
IV. Network and Web Programming

18. Client-Side Network Protocol Modules
19. Sockets and Server-Side Network Protocol Modules
20. CGI Scripting and Alternative
21. MIME and Network Encodings
22. Structured Text: HTML
23. Structured Text: XML


V. Extending and Embedding

24. Extending and Embedding Classic Python
25. Extending and Embedding Jython
26. Distributing Extensions and Programs
Index