Beginning Python

Beginning Python presents a practical tutorial for learning a first language that is easy to use, has powerful interactive interpreters which make it easy to test applications, yet supplies robust OO features like inheritance. The beginning programmer will immediately learn to develop applications in Python for web development, scientific applications, and system tasks for users or administrators. As the book demonstrates skills needed to write good re-usable, robust code the range of topics includes the basics of installing Python to new features of Python release 2.4 which make it easier for users to take advantage of scientific and web applications. The operating systems used throughout the book include Linux, Mac OSX/BSD, and Windows XP.

Learning Python’s strength is that it's a book on Python. Its weakness is that it's unfriendly to the beginner because it introduces the language by component instead of how best to use and learn the language. The style is very difficult to follow, there's no documentation on debugging and you are forced to pick up another book or two to gain enough info to actually make use of the Python classes that are presented in the book. It makes assumptions that the reader is fairly knowledgeable about the host operating system.


Table of contents :
Acknowledgments
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
Appendix A: Answers to Exercises.
Appendix B: Online Resources.
Appendix C: What’s New in Python 2.4
Glossary
Index

Market Description :
The primary audience includes anyone who wants to learn how to program with Python as a first language; perfect for students. The secondary audience includes programmers who want to quickly learn how to use Python for rapid application development, and applications for the web, with databases, for scientific applications, bioinformatics, and for system tasks.

About Author :
Peter Norton has been working with Unix and Linux for over a decade at companies large and small solving problems with Linux. An officer of the NY Linux Users Group, he can be found on the nylug-talk mailing list. Peter coauthored Professional RHEL3. He works for a very large financial company in NYC, plying his Python and open source skills.

Alex Samuel has developed software for biology researchers and now studies high energy physics at Caltech. Alex has worked on many GNU/Linux development tools, including GCC, and co-founded CodeSourcery LLC, a consulting firm specializing in GNU/Linux development tools.

David Aitel is the CEO of Immunity, and a coauthor of Shellcoder’s Handbook

Eric Foster-Johnson uses Python extensively with Java, and is a veteran author, most recently completing Beginning Shell Scripting.

Aleathea Parker , Leonard Richardson, Michael Roberts, Jason Diamond.