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 pre-coded 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.

• 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.

Contents

• Introduction to Python
• Installation
• The Python Interpreter

• The Python Language
• Object-Oriented Python
• Exceptions
• Modules
• Core Built-ins
• Strings and Regular Expressions

• File and Text Operations
• Persistence and Databases
• Time Operations
• Controlling Execution
• Threads and Processes
• Numeric Processing
• Tkinter GUIs
• Testing, Debugging, and Optimizing

• Client-Side Network Protocol Modules
• Sockets and Server-Side Network Protocol Modules
• CGI Scripting and Alternatives
• MIME and Network Encodings
• Structured Text: HTML
• Structured Text: XML

• Extending and Embedding Classic Python
• Extending and Embedding Jython
• Distributing Extensions and Programs