Learning Python · 2nd Edition

Portable, powerful, and a breeze to use, Python is the popular open source

object-oriented programming language used for both standalone programs and

scripting applications. Python is considered easy to learn, but there's no

quicker way to mastery of the language than learning from an expert teacher.

This edition of "Learning Python" puts you in the hands of two expert

teachers, Mark Lutz and David Ascher, whose friendly, well-structured prose

has guided many a programmer to proficiency with the language. "Learning

Python," Second Edition, offers programmers a comprehensive learning tool for

Python and object-oriented programming. Thoroughly updated for the numerous

language and class presentation changes that have taken place since the

release of the first edition in 1999, this guide introduces the basic elements

of the latest release of Python 2.3 and covers new features, such as list

comprehensions, nested scopes, and iterators/generators. Beyond language

features, this edition of "Learning Python" also includes new context for

less-experienced programmers, including fresh overviews of object-oriented

programming and dynamic typing, new discussions of program launch and

configuration options, new coverage of documentation sources, and more. There

are also new use cases throughout to make the application of language features

more concrete. The first part of "Learning Python" gives programmers all the

information they'll need to understand and construct programs in the Python

language, including types, operators, statements, classes, functions, modules

and exceptions. The authors then present more advanced material, showing how

Python performs common tasks by offering real applications and the libraries

available for those applications. Each chapter ends with a series of exercises

that will test your Python skills and measure your understanding."Learning

Python," Second Edition is a self-paced book that allows readers to focus on

the core Python language in depth. As you work through the book, you'll gain a

deep and complete understanding of the Python language that will help you to

understand the larger application-level examples that you'll encounter on your

own. If you're interested in learning Python--and want to do so quickly and

efficiently--then "Learning Python," Second Edition is your best choice.