Product Description
Python Essential Reference, 3rd Edition, is a comprehensive reference to the Python programming language. The focus of this latest edition is to add coverage of significant new features and new library modules added to the language over the past five years. Clearly written with concise organization, the new features covered include new style classes, unification of types and classes, xmlrpclip, intertools, bz2 and optparse, making it the most up-to-date Python book on the market.Amazon.com Review
Every so often a book comes along that makes you ask yourself, "Gee, when was the last time I had my eyes checked?" David M. Beazley's Python: Essential Reference is just such a book. Condensing thousands of pages of Python online documentation into a compact 319-page softcover, Beazley and his editors used the old-college trick (often performed in reverse) of dickering with the font size to meet a putative page-limit requirement. The result is a truly condensed product fit for the occularly well-adjusted (nota bene).

Beazley's subject is Python, a full-featured, freely-redistributable, POSIX-compliant (platforms include Linux, Unix, Macintosh, and Windows) scripting language that is based on object-oriented design principles. As advertised, Beazley's source release (1.5.2) is available from an unfortunately slow server at www.python.org. The installation under Linux (Redhat 5.2) proceeded without incident.

Beazley holds true to his catalogic purpose: fully 230 pages are formatted as technical appendices and indices covering the standard litany: built-in function syntax, database features, OS-level interfaces, Internet interfaces, and compiling/profiling/debugging. All references are fully annotated and illustrated with example source code that runs from a couple of lines to a couple of pages. In lock step with competing scripting languages, Python is extensible and embeddable in C and C++, and with blitzkrieg efficiency, Beazley summarizes these crucial practical issues in the final 30 pages. Python users who are tired of chasing questions through hyperlinked online documents will benefit from the expansive random-access index.

Python the book captures the orderliness of Python the language. Beazley begins with an 86-page précis of Python in the fashion of Kernighan and Ritchie: too brief for a newbie tutorial but enough to propel old hands into a scripting language that aspires to the elegance of a compiled language.

Indeed, it is a byte-compiling language. The line bytecode=compile("some_python_script",'','exec')) creates 'bytecode' as a token executed by exec bytecode. But a five-minute investigation through Beazley's book does not describe how 'bytecode' can be written into a separate executable file. If writing the byte-compiled code to a file is not possible, Python suffers from the limitations of other scripting languages: the executable is the source and cannot be hidden from the user, at least not without some difficulty. Despite its extensibility, embeddability, and pleasing architecture, Python is like other scripting languages: appropriate for solving small nonproprietary problems.

Those familiar with more established scriptors like Perl may ask, "Why Python?" Unlike Perl, Python is a product of the fully object-oriented (OO) era, and its constructs reflect design principles that aspire beyond keystroke shortcuts of the succinct-but-often-arcane Perl. Python creator Guido van Rossum cleansed Perl's idiosyncracies and objectified basic data structure, data manipulations, and I/O. With Python, OO is so intrinsic that learning Python is equivalent to learning OO. The same cannot be said of Perl.

Unfortunately, comparisons with other languages are missing from Beazley's book. Van Rossum, in an embarrassingly self-serving foreword, preemptively asserts that we readers need "neither evangelizing nor proselytizing"--after all, we already own the book--but we do need galvanizing and we don't find it. Specifically, we need a response to the oft-repeated wisdom that new computer languages are only worth learning if they teach us to organize our thinking along new lines.

Scripting languages, however, are for quick and dirty projects: quick to write, easy to hack, and ultimately disposable. The essential tension created by van Rossum and friends is between the elegance of object-oriented principles and the utility of a quick-hacked script. Sadly, the tension remains unresolved in Beazley's reference. There is little to convince us that Python has earned its place in the firmament by changing our thinking. But Beazley has given us much to get us going if we have already taken the leap of faith. --Peter Leopold ... Read more

Customer Reviews (70)

THE Book
This is the book that is always by my work computer. The only thing I would like to see differently is more examples. I learn by example, and although there are many in the book they don't cover every case.

Reference = Thorough, Concise, Well-Indexed
This is a excellent REFERENCE book -- thorough, concise, and well-indexed.It is not a tutorial.It is not a textbook.

I have found this to be my "go to" book when looking for details and nuances about aspects of Python.Information about a given topic can almost always be found here, when it might only appear in one of eight other excellent Python books.You will still need other books for examples, tutorial coverage, etc., of Python topics.

far and away my favorite python reference
This is my Python reference book of choice, my only complaint about the book is the quality of the spine, as constant use has led to some of the signatures to peeling away from the binding.

As regards the content though, this book is laid out precisely the way I like it. Every function is described concisely and clearly, every module that was current at the time of publishing is very clearly defined and outlined.I'm very fond of this book and I'm anxiously looking forward to the python 3.0 edition.

I'm generally fond of O'Reilly books, but in this case I would recommend this one over any of the O'Reilly python books that I have.

What I used to think a nutshell book was about!
I love the book.Use it with Python in a Nutshell.Use the Nutshell as a more comprehensive reference and this book to get exactly what I need when I have a general idea of what is needed.I see Python Essentials as more of a 'nutshell book' than the actual nutshell book.It is clear and concise and I find the print size to be very acceptable.The book is a maverick when it comes to being able to compare different approaches/elements.It will not do it for you, but since it is so precisely laid out, it is easy to think in terms of: "If I used this then I could do this; If I used that then I could do that, but not this, etc."If you have a basic background in python or other language, you will likely be able to frame up your ideas/knowledge into specifics and start coding to learn more or if you are already an accomplished programmer you can check and refine code in progress or established code projects.

Outstanding Reference
I say Outstanding Reference, because that's what this book is. While there are examples, they are short and concise - this is not a "how to" book (though the introduction provides an excellent overview). Rather, this is a text to keep alongside a book like Learning Python. It's dimensions are smaller than your typical computer book, so it fits nicely on my desk. Also, the index is the best you'll find (Dave actually generated it from a Python script). It's faster than looking stuff up online. ... Read more

Product Description
Harness the power of Python 3 objects

• Learn how to do Object Oriented Programming in Python using this step-by-step tutorial
• Design public interfaces using abstraction, encapsulation, and information hiding
• Turn your designs into working software by studying the Python syntax
• Raise, handle, define, and manipulate exceptions using special error objects
• Implement Object Oriented Programming in Python using practical examples

In Detail

Object Oriented Programming is a very important aspect of modern programming languages. The basic principles of Object Oriented Programming are relatively easy to learn. Putting them together into working designs can be challenging.

This book makes programming more of a pleasure than a chore using powerful Python 3 object-oriented features of Python 3. It clearly demonstrates the core OOP principles and how to correctly implement OOP in Python.

Object Oriented Programming ranks high in importance among the many models Python supports. Yet, many programmers never bother learning the powerful features that make this language object oriented.

The book teaches when and how OOP should be correctly applied. It emphasizes not only the simple syntax of OOP in Python, but also how to combine these objects into well-designed software.

This book will introduce you to the terminology of the object-oriented paradigm, focusing on object-oriented design with step-by-step examples. It will take you from simple inheritance, one of the most useful tools in the object-oriented programmer's toolbox, all the way through to cooperative inheritance, one of the most complicated. You will be able to raise, handle, define, and manipulate exceptions.

You will be able to integrate the object-oriented and the not-so-object-oriented aspects of Python. You will also be able to create maintainable applications by studying higher level design patterns. You'll learn the complexities of string and file manipulation, and how Python distinguishes between binary and textual data. Not one, but two very powerful automated testing systems will be introduced to you. You'll understand the joy of unit testing and just how easy they are to create. You'll even study higher level libraries such as database connectors and GUI toolkits and how they apply object-oriented principles.

Harness the power of Python 3 objects; it's not just a scripting language

What you will learn from this book

• Implement objects in Python by creating classes and defining methods
• Separate different objects into a taxonomy of classes, and describe the properties and behaviors of those objects via the class interface
• Design public interfaces using abstraction, encapsulation, and information hiding
• Turn your designs into working software by learning the Python syntax
• Share implementation using inheritance
• Add functionality to the existing classes and built-ins using inheritance
• Share similar code between classes by abstracting it into a parent class
• Raise, handle, define, and manipulate exceptions using special error objects
• Understand when to use object-oriented features, and more importantly when not to
• Learn what design patterns are, and why they are different in Python
• Uncover the simplicity of unit testing and why it's so important in Python
• Utilize common Python 3 modules, libraries, and frameworks

Approach

The book begins with the very foundations of OOP and then uses practical examples to show how to correctly implement Object Oriented Programming in Python. Many examples are taken from real-world projects. The book focuses on high-level design as well as the gritty details of the Python syntax. The provided exercises inspire the reader to think about his or her own code, rather than providing solved problems.

Who this book is written for

If you're new to Object Oriented Programming techniques, or if you have basic Python skills and wish to learn in depth how and when to correctly apply Object Oriented Programming in Python, this is the book for you.

If you are an object-oriented programmer for other languages, you too will find this book a useful introduction to Python, as it uses terminology you are already familiar with.

Python 2 programmers seeking a leg up in the new world of Python 3 will also find the book beneficial, and you need not necessarily know Python 2. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Best Python 3 Book I've Read
Disclaimer: I helped edit this book.

Packt tends to make low-quality Python books, so when they approached me to be an unpaid technical editor for this one, I thought it would be worthwhile to help them put out something that was good. I also thought it was time for me to start getting familiar with the new Python version. Fortunately, the author of the book has put together a really good tome. He covers when you'd want to use OOP, various programming patterns, the basics of Python 3 syntax, and gives the reader a taste of a set of 3rd party Python 3 packages. You can read my full review here: [...].

Excellent introduction to OOP in Python 3
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, Packt Publishing.

Prior to reading this book I was already familiar with basic OOP concepts and Python 2 in particular. I expected the book to enforce my thinking and help me to understand new features provided by Python 3 as compared to version 2. I think the book managed to do this in an excellent manner.

I think the approach used by the book is well suited for a wide range of readers. It explains enough theory and provides useful examples that help to understand how to apply OOP in practice. People new to Python and/or OOP have a lot to gain from the book. More experienced users of the language may find the book ideal as reference material.

It's important to note that the book focuses on OOP particularly in the context of Python. Don't expect any history lessons or theory on various OOP approaches (prototypes vs. classes, ie.) beyond the one (class based approach) used in Python. Despite this the book provides excellent value. I do recommend checking out several other languages (Java, Lua, JavaScript, Smalltalk) and paradigms (AOP, traits) for further inspiration.

Great OOP for Python developers
I can't claim to have looked hard for a Python book on object oriented programming (OOP) but I was immediately attracted to the title of this book. Sure, you can find small tutorials here and there about some specific facet of OOP but I don't recall ever reading something that covers designing public interfaces using abstraction, encapsulation, etc, etc with good and practical examples! If you have, please drop me a link in the comments.
Python 3 Object Oriented Programming by Dusty Phillips does a very decent job of not only introducing the reader to the terminology and the object oriented paradigm (something that is not too complicated to understand) but also offers a comprehensive step-by-step guide that will take you from theory to a real world project. I've always felt that anyone can pick up a book about programming and learn its syntax by heart. But putting it all together and designing something that will actually work is something that you usually learn by reading other people's code or, if you're lucky enough, from a mentor.
Overall I felt that the book was well written with a great selection of sample code. Whether you already know how to do object oriented programming for other languages or are new to the whole concept and want to learn everything about it, I definitely recommend this book! ... Read more

Product Description
As two of the leading MVC web frameworks for Python, Django and TurboGears allow you to develop and launch sites in a fraction of the time compared to traditional techniques and they provide greater stability, scalability, and management than alternatives. Packed with examples, this book will help you discover a new methodology for designing, coding, testing, and deploying rich web applications.

A team of expert authors shows you the power of MVC frameworks and the capabilities of the TurboGears and Django packages. The Django chapters show you how to automate production of common web development tasks, portal creation, and content management, so you can focus on higher-level application issues and design. The TurboGears chapters illustrate how to rapidly create modern, highly interactive Web 2.0 applications. For both frameworks, you'll create useful applications that exemplify common Web 2.0 design paradigms and their solutions. Ultimately, you'll leverage your Python skills using Django and TurboGears and go from novice to RIA expert.

What you will learn from this book

* How you can use frameworks to save you time and frustration in the development cycle
*

The elements, differences, and similarities of the TurboGears and Django frameworks
*

Advanced capabilities of both frameworks and how they easily solve issues common to web applications
*

Approaches to simplifying your client side JavaScript(r) with MochiKit, a Pythonic JavaScript library
*

How to pair TurboGears with Flash for even more possibilities

Who this book is for

This book is for Python developers who want to learn rapid Web 2.0 development techniques using frameworks and incorporating a model-view-controller architecture.

Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Eh... where's the beef, Django-wise?
It's kinda hard to understand what this book is supposed to achieve.I mostly bought it because there were no other books about Django available at the time and I wanted something that went beyond the online Django doc.I did not read the TG parts much, because I wasn't really interested, having tried TG before.The little I read didn't look much better than the Django half though.

Short and sweet is that it did not significantly improve my knowledge of Django.All the examples are pretty much surface-level, intro-to-simple-concepts stuff.Or fluffy examples like RSS feeds without exploring the basics in depth first.Not very insightful, but wordy nevertheless.Could I have used this to get started with Django?I could, but the online doc is way more comprehensive and a quicker read.Part of the problem is that Django and Turbogears get only 100 pages each.While 100 more pages cover a more generic discussion of Python-on-the-web coupled with some Django + TG.

Was the bar too high?Did I have a very deep knowledge of web development and Django?No, I did the online tutorial and have spent maybe a month or two coding on Django full time, with little web development background going in.I do know databases and Python very well.This book, which I had no trouble following, just didn't add much to my understanding.Not to say it is entirely without value, hence the 2 stars.

If it's not a good guide to Django, how about allowing someone, perhaps a manager, to decide between Django and TurboGears?Nope, because the authors do not really compare them.Odd, given the format of the book.

I can understand the authors not wanting to pick sides.However I did expect some comparison.What is Django good at?What is TurboGears good at?Possible comparison points:OS support, hosting availability, general maturity & stability, scalability & performance, deployment strategies (Apache, Lightty...), database support, how to extend with custom code + ORMs, Javascript libraries, depth of online docs and online community, etc...No, nothing of the sort.If anything, the "non-trivial" examples are carefully chosen _not_ to do the same things in both frameworks so that you can't compare for yourself.

Surely TG and Django are not equal and both have advantages and disadvantages?This book wasn't even able to answer that question.In the time you spend reading it you could do both the TG and Django tutorials and start answering it for yourself.Past that point, buy a book about only Django or only TG.

Nearly useless for Django
I found this book to be nearly useless... the code is badly written and the depth of the material barely goes beyond the available (free) online documentation and tutorials, which are BTW, very well written.

If you're looking for information on the featured JavaScript library, Mochikit, save your time... you will find much more just by going to the website.

This is obviously a TurboGears book, the Django portion being an obvious afterthought and lacking some of the important chapters that TurboGears has.Save your money and your time by not buying this book.

Django, Mochikit and TurboGears
This book teaches authors' insight about these useful technologies using carefully chosen working examples and sound pedagogy.It is the first book on Django and second book on TurboGears.I recommend the book to the Web Application Development class I am teaching this semester.

Very poor forDjango
I bought this book to learn how to write Django. It is pretty bad. Lots of the examples are incomplete and don't actually work. It shows some stuff but leaves lots unexplained. It is very incomplete - I would not recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description

This book gives you everything you need to know about network programming using Python 3, the latest version of the Python language. It will benefit both scripters and serious application developers who want a feature-rich, yet simple language. Fully updated, this second edition includes all the new developments in network programming such as WSGI, FastCGI, and asynchronous communication.

Foundations of Python 3 Network Programming, Second Edition explains multitasking network servers using several models, including forking, threading, and non-blocking sockets. Extensive examples throughout the book demonstrate important concepts and practices, and provide a cadre of fully-functioning stand alone programs. Readers may even use the examples included as building blocks to create their own software.

What you’ll learn

• Understand low level networking
• Handle sending and receiving email including composing and decoding emails, SMTP, POP and IMAP
• Program the lower levels of web application programming such as FastCGI and WSGI
• Script file transfer and backups
• Access web services using Python
• Master multitasking with threads, forking, and asynchronous communication

Who is this book for?

This book will be of interest to python programmers who need to program networked applications using Python. From web application developers, to systems integrators, to system administrators—this book has everything you need to know.

Product Description
In Detail

Python is a dynamic programming language, used in a wide range of domains by programmers who find it simple, yet powerful. From the earliest version 15 years ago to the current one, it has constantly evolved with productivity and code readability in mind.

Even if you find writing Python code easy, writing code that is efficient and easy to maintain and reuse is not so straightforward. This book will show you how to do just that:it will show you how Python development should be done. Python expert Tarek Ziadé takes you on a practical tour of Python application development, beginning with setting up the best development environment, and along the way looking at agile methodologies in Python, and applying proven object-oriented principles to your design.

What you will learn from this book?

• Set up a productive development environment
• Customize the Python prompt and deploy setuptools
• Write efficient syntax: iterators, generators, and decorators
• Build arguments by design and follow the best practices for working on API
• Build, release, and distribute your applications
• Write an application based on several eggs
• Distribute and deploy your application with zc.buildout
• Build and release your packages and set up a development cycle
• Manage your code with distributed version control and continuous integration
• Use an iterative and incremental approach to write software
• Practice Test-Driven Development
• Profile and optimize your code to speed up your programs
• Apply design patterns to your applications

Approach

This book is an authoritative exploration of Python best practices and applications of agile methodologies to Python, illustrated with practical, real-world examples.

Who this book is written for?

This book is for Python developers who are already building applications, but want to build better ones by applying best practices and new development techniques to their projects.

The reader is expected to have a sound background in Python programming. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Lack of editorial direction makes a muddled mess
There's a healthy market of books describing the basics of programming and programming languages. And there are plenty of books act as reference material once you've learned the basics. But, there's now a growing market for books that purport to be the next step for those who have mastered the basics and are now ready to take their skills to the next level. One of these books is Expert Python Programming. Under the covers, this book promises to help the reader to be more productive with Python, both in setting up an efficient development environment environment, as well as packaging it all together and distributing it. There's also a chapter on test-driven development. The back cover reads like a checklist of good programmer practices that few would argue weren't laudable, even essential programming goals. Unfortunately, the execution in relaying this information is muddled, and the book reads more like a collection of blog posts rather than a contiguous, coherent work.

Expert Python Programming starts by covering installation of Python, iPython, and setuptools. It also covers selecting an editor. Seriously, if you're opening a book called "Expert Python", and the first thing you need to do is figure out how to edit Python code, you might as well just put this book down, because you're not ready for it yet. Granted, there's some nice tips about setting up vim so that it doesn't do bad things with Python code, and I can understand that not everyone that picks up this book may be at a true level of expert (after all, not everyone who reads Seventeen magazine is necessarily seventeen years old yet), but the chapter sets a poor tone for the rest of the book.

The next two chapters for best practices below and above class level were some of the most confusing chapters in the book. I tried very hard to follow along with what was being demonstrated, but try as I might, I felt I needed to refer to other sources to even get close to what was being presented. These two chapters almost made me dismiss the rest of this book, but I persevered. I'm not sure if it was a fault of mine, or if the explanations themselves weren't enough, but suffice to say, they were a low-point of the book for me.

That isn't to say that this book doesn't have it's good points. The book has god advice within it's pages, and the author knows his stuff. Unfortunately, the editing and overall direction of the book makes it not as apparent as it could be. I wanted very much to like this book, and I think that with a different editor at the helm, this could be an extraordinary book. This book would be good for those who have already made it past the intermediate / advanced curve of Python. Unfortunately, as presented, it takes a strong will to get the good bits out. Those who would be best served by the advice of this book (beginners, intermediate programmers) will find themselves wanting another resource.

My short review
I really enjoyed reading this book despite some places with awkward language (at least to me), and I knew from the start that I would like it. Why? Because the first sentence of the preface is: "Python rocks!".

After getting through the mandatory boring part of "Getting started" and explaining how to actually install Python, it starts to get interesting.

The second chapter is about cool stuff like generators, coroutines, generator expressions, decorators and some other nice things. If you already know about this stuff, then you might know about the stuff in the next chapter.

Chapter 3 is about classes, stuff like the MRO, descriptors, slots and meta programming.

Next, the book takes us on a less technical journey, into PEP 8 and naming conventions.

The next few chapters talk about writing a package, writing an application, using setuptools and zc.buildout for packaging and distribution.

Chapter 8 takes a little detour into version control and Mercurial (I like Git by the way), and continuous integration with Buildbot.

Things start to get stranger (not in a bad way) in chapter 9. This chapter is about programming methodologies and issue tracking.

Chapter 10 is about documentation while chapter 11 is about test driven development and writing tests. These things are so important in programming that you should read this chapters twice!

Chapters 12 and 13 are about code optimization - when to do it and how. And the last chapter is about design patterns and how they apply to Python.

I had high hopes for this book from the beginning, and I'm pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed.

The book goes trough quite a few tools that will definitely help you and shows you the basics of using them. And because of the amount of information in the book I feel like I was reading a tutorial about how to write decent code while using decent tools.

If you don't know anything about Python, buy another book, learn the language and come back to this one. If you already know Python but have little real world experience with it, this book is OK and you might learn something new.

Good Book
I have always enjoyed the books I have read from Packt Publishing and Expert Python Programming by Tarek Ziadé is no exception.The goal of this book is to bring existing beginner and intermediate Python developers to the next level by introducing them to the best practices and tools that are used in the Python community.Ziadé kicks off the book with a basic introduction focusing on getting your tools and environment set up.In addition to the basics of installing Python he also introduces you to tools such as iPython and setuptools.He then takes you through a number of topics focusing on syntax, naming, and design best practices.About half way through the book he focuses a chapter on designing and writing your own application "Atomisator" and looks at how you can apply the knowledge you have learned about package development and deployment to an actual project.Finally, the rest of the book focuses on a wide range of topics such as tools like zc.buildout and Mercurial, test-driven development, documentation, and optimization.

All in all I felt like this book definitely helped me take my self-taught knowledge of the Python programming language and tools to the next level by filling in the holes in my knowledge and correcting bad habits that I picked up on my own.I only have two minor "complaints" about the book.The first is that when I read the description of the book I wasn't expecting to see a ton of chapters focusing on things like documentation, testing, optimization, and version control.These chapters were definitely written well and covered the material in a practical fashion, but were not what I was looking for from the book initially.Lastly, there are some topics where it appears that the author is trying to approach them from the perspective of the reading having no knowledge whatsoever, but then ends up using a fairly complex example to demonstrate the concept.This only happens a few times in the book and is not a huge issue, but it definitely reinforces the fact that you need to already be fairly familiar with the Python language before picking up this book.

disappointed
I agree with one of the previous reader's comment that, the author tries to cover too many things in a hurry, and lacks the ability to convey things in a clear and concise manner. End result: I lost my interests on chapter 2.

Like a blog about the past few years' Python trends
This book is tantalyzing --- like pressing your nose against the window of a fine pastry shop.

I found this book useful primarily as a list of suggestions or tricks --- "X is good, here is why, now go find out about it".A good example is the treatment of list comprehensions: we're shown an example of what one looks like, but there's no description of the syntax, and one is left to guess at the (relatively clear) semantics from context.The same is true of generators and iterators.

This is good, because it breezily introduces the topic and gives you a sense of why you want to understand it.It's frustrating, because it means you have to go somewhere else to get that understanding.Bereft of the internet over the weekend, I found myself going through the book, jotting down page numbers and the names of concepts, with the intention of looking up the concept in the index of The Python Reference Manual, or simply googling the terms.

Overall, I'm basically satisfied with the book --- the superficial way in which many things are treated leaves room to mention many things.The Internet is a wonderful resource for in-depth learning, but it's hard to know where to start.Starting with this book isn't a bad first step. ... Read more

Product Description
The authoritative DEITEL(tm) LIVE-CODE(tm) introduction to Python programming

This new book by the world's leading programming language textbook authors carefully explains how to use Python as a general-purpose programming language and how to program multi-tier, client/server, database-intensive, Internet- and Web-based applications.

Dr. Harvey M. Deitel and Paul J. Deitel are the founders of Deitel & Associates, Inc., the internationally-recognized corporate-training and content-creation organization specializing in Python, Visual Basic® .NET, C#, Visual C++® .NET, Java(tm), C++, C, XML, Perl, Internet, Web, wireless and object technologies. The Deitels are the authors of several worldwide #1 programming-language textbooks, including Java How to Program, 4/e, C++ How to Program, 3/e and Internet & World Wide Web How to Program, 2/e.

For information on current and forthcoming Deitel/Prentice Hall publications including How to Program Series books, Multimedia Cyber Classrooms Complete Training Courses (which include DEITEL(tm) books and Cyber Classrooms) and Web-Based Training Courses please see the last few pages of this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Aging but excellent book
This book on Python is very complete and at the time it was published was better than any other book on Python.It is still an excellent book and has more information than any other Python book on the market.I have used the book as my major reference work for several years.For non-GUI programming you will find most of your questions answered in this book.The general tips on structure and theory of programming are particularly useful for people who do not have a formal education and degree in computer science.

I hope the authors will come out with a new edition that heavily covers newer GUI options including wxPython.

If you are new to Python this book is your best option although there have been some changes in Python since this book was published.If you are familiar with Python it can still be a valuable resource for you.If you have a formal education in computer science and also know the peculiarities of Python then perhaps several more specialized books on particular facets of the language and its uses would be more appropriate for you.

GUI programming is not covered sufficiently in this book to eliminate your need for another book focused specifically on the GUI of your choice.I anxiously await the publication of the book on the wxPython GUI which has been delayed several times and is now due by March of 2006.

Better name it The Python Bible
Bibles, in the profane sense of the word, are huge books filled with clutter and not meaningful structure, which attempt to cover way more than they should. This is a clear example. It might be worth a quick look to a particular chapter, just to get a quick grasp of a particular area like XML, pygame, tkinter, etc. But definitely, this is not the book a beginner should use to learn the language, because as many said before, it seems to be a blind translation from their also crippled Java book. This reader, who cherished their C/C++ book couldn't be more dissappointed.

Disappointment
I purchased Deitel & Deitel's C++ How to Program book long ago, and found it to be comprehensive and extrordinarily helpful.

When I picked up Python How to Program, I expected the same incredible experience.Instead, I was sorely disappointed by their complete lack of Pythonic thinking.It seems as if they took one of their other How to Program books and ran a code converter across it to migrate it to Python.As a previous reviewer pointed out, some of the examples are horrificly implemented, a clear case of programming in Python with the "C/C++ mentality."

The examples seemed fun, but no amount of fun can compensate for the fact that this book teaches you nothing about how to truely be a Python programmer.Anyone can read the lexical syntax descriptions on the python.org website and code the examples in this book.It gives me the feeling that Harvey Deitel did not learn Python for any reason other than to write an expensive book about it, and has no idea how to actually use the language.

Very Deep - Excellent intro to OOP and Python
An excellent intro to Object oriented programming in general and Python in particular. A real hefty volume. Wish I could afford it.

An excellent book for learning and mastering Python
I am a practicing mechanical engineer who's programming experience is based mainly in Fortran90. I wanted to learn Python as quickly as possible, but in a well structured manner.I tried learing Python from the book 'Learning Python', but became discouraged after a few days when the discussion became disjointed.'Python How to Program' is an excellent book and reference for Python.It is extremely thorough covering many topics including object-oriented programming (three chapters) and web programming.This book will form the foundation of my Pyhton library.Each Python subject is introduced in a simple manner and then proceeds to a more advanced level.Many examples are presented with thorough discussions in each chapter.Detailed summaries are presented after each chapter.This is an excellent book for self-study.I have recommeded it to many of my engineering colleagues. ... Read more

Product Description
Beginning Python: Using Python 2.6 and Python 3.1 introduces this open source, portable, interpreted, object-oriented programming language that combines remarkable power with clear syntax. This book enables you to quickly create robust, reliable, and reusable Python applications by teaching the basics so you can quickly develop Web and scientific applications, incorporate databases, and master systems tasks on various operating systems, including Linux, MAC OS, and Windows. You'll get a comprehensive tutorial that guides you from writing simple, basic Python scripts all the way through complex concepts, and also features a reference of the standard modules with examples illustrating how to implement features in the various modules. Plus, the book covers using Python in specific program development domains, such as XML, databases, scientific applications, network programming, and Web development.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

not for a beginner
I think this book is for beginners of Python, but are already programmers. If find it difficult to read. I have found a good beginner tutorial [...]. Also, a better book for new programmers is byte of python.

Not for programmers
Even though it's in the Wrox "Programmer to Programmer" series, it's for non-programmers.
If you're a programmer, spend your money somewhere else.
Also, a huge number of typos, which is true of most Wrox books I've bought.

Takes you beyond introductory material
I have not read this book in its entirety, but I read the sections which were of particular interest to me, like intro to Django, Web services programming and DB programming. Although it is a book labeled as introductory, it does take the reader beyond introductory material in a progressive, clear and concise way, leaving all the cruft out and providing great explanations as to the "why" the technology works the way it does. The book is a great find and will help a novice avoid unnecessary confusion.

The only caveats are:

1) Some of the examples in the book seem to work with Python 3.0, so if you want to make them work with either Python 2.6 or Python 3.1 you will need to make minor adjustments. The labor of finding the adjustments is however a learning exercise per se.

2) If you're using Windows as your primary environment, some of the examples, i.e. cgi, require you to have handy a *IX box. This is also not problematic as you can run Ubuntu or other *IX in a VM.

Really enjoying this book
I have read several other books on python, and I really found this one helpful. It gets through the basics and keeps going into basic GUI programming, web CGI programming, multithreading, everything. To top it all off, this book is more modern than other books I read through. It has sections on 2.6 but focuses on 3.1. I'd really recommend this if you want to learn USEFUL python programming.

An excellent book!!
The first book I read on Python was "A Byte of Python". You can find it on the net. It is free. That book was compact, effortless, useful, but, still, a rather basic intro.

I was looking for a something, which would take me further. We had quite a few Python books scattered around the office. Long story short, I liked none of them. Then I chanced upon James Payne's book, and I cannot praise it enough!!Very well structured, very readable, actually, engaging! Full of useful, clear, elegant examples, it covers a lot of subjects, but not at the expense of basics or clarity.Every new subject, whether it is network or database access, continues to teach you the language itself. It is quite good as a reference too.

It is not for absolutely clueless, but if you have even minimal experience with programming, I bet, you will find it remarkably useful. It is a book Python deserves.

... Read more

Product Description

Python Phrasebook

Brad Dayley

Essential Code and Commands

Python Phrasebook gives you the code phrases you need to quickly and effectively complete your programming projects in Python.

Concise and Accessible

Easy to carry and easy to use—lets you ditch all those bulky books for one portable guide

Flexible and Functional

Packed with more than 100 customizable code snippets—so you can readily code functional Python in just about any situation

Brad Dayley is a software engineer at Novell, Inc. He has been a system administrator and software developer on the Unix, Windows, Linux, and NetWare platforms for the past 14 years. Brad co-developed an advanced debugging course used to train engineers and customers and is the co-author of several Novell Press books.

Programming / Python

$16.99 USA / $20.99 CAN / £11.99 Net UK

Customer Reviews (9)

Good compact reference, but showing its age.
I've keep this at my desk for a couple years because it's has valuable snippets of code that are quicker to reference than random sites off a search engine.It's not comprehensive, and I don't think this was ever targeted towards new programmers, it's a reference for programmers new to Python, not new to programming concepts, and given its size, it doesn't have the space to explain the concepts.

In hindsight I've found most of the web section useless, even when using Python for a web backend language, although given the publish date, I'll forgive that.

My biggest problem is that, like all tech books, it's becoming obsolete.This book was written for Python 2.4, and there are a lot of valuable additions to the language, or third party libraries that have been released with 2.6 and 3 that supersede portions of code provided within.

If updated version for Python3 was released, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Useful pocket guide.
I bought this book so I could look up definitions and examples while sitting in tight spaces with a laptop. For that purpose it is great. It's weak on language features lacking much depth or breadth. So once you get the hang of Python this will lose its value. But it is a good starter. Also to its credit it combines discussion of the language with code examples throughout the book.

As a tiny book it should probably be 4 or 5 stars, but I'll rate it as medium, 3 stars, as a pure Python reference. Nevertheless for a long while it resided in my bag as a quick reference while I got familiar with Python syntax.

Good scripts for beginners
I agree with the review that says that the book is good for beginners; It gives you some nice insights on where to start when trying out some scripts for handling files and folders or dealing with strings.

However, I also think it emphasizes the Web a lot. I would like to see more operating system and multimedia-related scripts in a future edition.

Lots of internet stuff, no math stuff
Half the book is about internet.
I was disapointed by the absence of math things. 1 or 2 pages could have given an overview of the main math functions. Also no string-numeric conversion functions such as str(), float()... are given. This book is definitely not for scientists or science engineers/technicians.
Things presented are detailed, but they are quite limited.
A fully operational code example often meaningless follows every function introduced. It would be better to my opinion to introduce the functions individualy and then show an example showing several functions in action in a script that means something.

Code sniplets are confusing
A book like this is only useful as a reference manual into API areas your unfamiliar with.Unfortunately, after randomly using this book as a reference a few times I reverted to google.

Code examples are not complete, explanations are lacking, and overall I found little value reading sections of this book independently.

The authors should revise the book so each section stands on it's own without any information from other sections (sections will probably have to become slightly longer to do this / merging similar sections).The authors should provide a minimal *complete* script in each section that demonstrates the topic at hand and nothing else.

In it's current form, I do not think this book is worth the purchase price. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (14)

Excellent Python Oriented Primer for Novice to Intermediate Data Parsing
This book is full of great ideas and very helpful code.

It's also nice to see the Java equivalent app/code for the python solution.

Note: This book is not for advanced programmers, but is a very nice primer for many subjects, including a brief intro to some shell util's, building parsers for complex, multi-line records/data, a nice SQL tutorial with joins, aggregates and views etc.

Too short, lacks more material
Yeah, its 'Short, Informative, Useful and Clear' (like someone already said) but... it's not enough. It seems like introductory chapters for a excelent book, but the really important chapters do not exist.

Too expensive for 176 pages with tips of XML, regexes, DB and some unix commands.

Short, Informative, Useful and Clear
Some of the best technical books are short, clear, easy to understand, and practical.Greg's book falls into this description.This a great book for exploring algorithms in the python language.The book assumes the reader has at least a basic understanding of the python programming language or some programming experience.I was delighted that topics were presented in a concise and unambigous way and that the book was short.There should be more short books published!

good data-handling cookbook for a beginner
This book is mainly concerned with scripting as a 'glue' between applications: processing various input and output formats. The book is divided into 5 main categories of data handling: plain text, regular expressions, XML, binary data and SQL. There is a final chapter on various miscellaneous topics. Most of the examples are given in Python. Some of the code is demonstrated in Java, although, disappointingly for a book published in 2005, none of the Java 5.0 features are leveraged. However, if nothing else, it demonstrates why Java is not anyone's first choice for such activities.

If you've read any of the O'Reilly cookbook series, you will know what to expect, although the chapters are more cohesive and less episodic. Beginning programmers will get the most out of this book, although intermediate programmers should find at least some material here that's new to them.

The XML chapter is a pretty good introduction the use and advantages/disadvantages of SAX and DOM, and XSLT is also described, although the discussion is not so clear. Those without experience with databases will welcome the chapter on SQL. The discussion on dealing with plain text files in chapter 1 was highlight for me, a subject not often covered in much depth in cookbooks; if, like me, you still regularly need to convert between various plain text formats, this chapter will help formalise approaches that you may already be carrying out in a less than rigorous fashion.

Additionally, the paragraphs on floating point arithmetic were intriguing but all too brief. The chapter on dealing with binary is fairly good, although rather dry. Peter Seibel's discussion of binary data in the context of writing a Shoutcast server in Practical Common Lisp shows that the subject can be dealt with in a more compelling fashion. That said, for the most part, author Greg Wilson is a genial companion; the writing style is chatty, but doesn't overdo it.

Overall, if you own any cookbook-style books, there is little here that you don't already know. Even for a beginner, it's hard to see how anyone who decides they need this book hasn't already been exposed to some of the material here. In particular, does anyone really need yet another introduction to regular expressions? The treatment here isn't bad, it's just that this material is already covered in many introductory programming books (especially those that cover scripting languages like Perl and Python). As this takes up nearly 20% of the book, and there's less than 200 pages, it's a bit of a waste. Personally, I would have preferred more discussion of the less well-treated subjects, some of which are too sparsely described, but this would have detracted from the book's main aim.

This would be suitable for a beginner Pythonista, who for some reason didn't want the bulk of the likes of Python Cookbook. Otherwise, if you feel that some Pragmatic Programmers books can be rather lightweight and somewhat overpriced, this will not change your mind.

An overview of parsing and mining data with python.
The book presents the topics in conjunction with showing some practical data mining examples that any person might encounter. This book is recommended to people who are interested in basic parsing of data (text, XML, binary, etc) using python.

I got the impression that the author was trying to cover too much in too little space. The title, for example, mentions Java, Python, and more. This is deceiving since the book uses python for about 99% of its examples. And while the book does present Java, it only does so to show that it would be easier to use python. Almost no other languages are covered, although there are some examples in Ruby and Bash. ... Read more

Product Description
As an object-oriented language with powerful text processingcapabilities, Python is an ideal language for manipulating XML. Python & XML provides you with a solid foundation forusing these two languages together. Loaded with practical examples,the book highlights common application tasks, so that you canlearn by doing.The book starts with the basics then quickly progresses tocomplex topics, like transforming XML with XSLT, querying XMLwith XPath, and working with XML dialects and validation. It alsocovers the more advanced issues, such as SOAP and distributed webservices, and explores the use of Python to create scalable XMLstreams between distributed applications.If you are a Python programmer who wants to incorporateXML into your skill set, this is the book for you. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Great Overview of XML
I found the entire book easy to read and understand.I've been programming for a while now, but am new to both Python and XML and this book was at the perfect level for me.The book is very readable and the examples used were both concise and pertinent.The Python code used in the book was easy to follow even though I've only been using Python for a few weeks.

This book is mostly a tutorial on what XML is, how to manipulate XML documents using Python, and how to use XML to move data over the internet via HTTP.It was a very good practical overview of XML in the context of Python.While it wasn't all-encompassing, the book gave you just the right amount of information to get started, without burying you with details that might be better left to more of a reference style book.

I almost gave it just 4 stars only because the chapter on SOAP was quite dated.Since the book was last published when SOAP was in it's infancy, I didn't find that the information provided was quite as useful as it could be.The overview of SOAP was OK, but the sample code seemed to not have the same flow as the rest of the book.That said, if you're looking for information on SOAP specifically, this book may not be your best choice.Interestingly though, the last chapter that ties everything together with a more involved example web application, shows how to do a SOAP-like web service without actually using SOAP - which actually seemed to be a lot simpler in my opinion.

I would have also appreciated a little more coverage of XML Schemas, but after reading the book, I now at least know what to look for.All-in-all though, an excellent book to get you started if you're looking to work with XML documents using Python.

Great coverage with some typos
This book really dvelves into the using XML with Python. The
chapter are well laid out and easy to read. There are some typos
but nothing that you can't fix. There are some problems using the current XSLT processer that ships with PyXml0.7 but you can
still apply the concepts (I used MSXML's XSLT). The best chapter (last one (:-|) ties all the concepts explained into a Web Service like app. that really shows the real strength of XML

Good Coverage of Python XML possibilities
I really liked this book because I was able to quickly start using XML with Python.I tried to use the package docs, but they were often hard to read, and didn't fill me in on the background stuff I needed to know.The examples in this book were easy to understand, and easy to see how to make practical applications from them.I didn't encounter any typos like the other reader did.

Terse, and too many typos!
I'm not very far along in the book, but I don't like what I'm seeing.
The preface purports that the book's audience need not "know anything
about XML." There is very little in the way of explaining XML, however.
The chapter on "Fundamentals" is O'Reilly at its most terse. If you already
understand XML very well, you might think this chapter an excellent
itemizing of the specification. Sadly, most people, I imagine, would be able
to retain little from this.

Regarding the code examples, the explanations hardly illuminate the API.
The code stands as is; and the commentary does only a somewhat decent job
of explaining the larger context. You could always check the documentation
given in the back of the book, but that's hardly as helpful as a good overview
and commentary.

Moreover, and in some ways worse, I have found many typos -- and I am only
as far as the first two examples. These mistakes include missing import
statements, errant capitalization, bad indentation, double underscores ('__')
written as one long underscore. This is unacceptable. I can only hope it is just
this one chapter.

I bought this book because of the topics, and because I figured Python would
be the easiest way to learn XML API's. I am only hoping that the book will
get better, and that I will be able to derive benefit from it. As it stands,
I'm skeptical that I will get my money's worth. ... Read more

Product Description
"Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python" teaches you computer programming in the Python programming language. Each chapter gives you the complete source code for a new game and teaches the programming concepts from these examples."Invent with Python" was written to be understandable by kids as young as 10 to 12 years old, although it is great for anyone of any age who has never programmed before.This second edition has revised and expanded content, including using the Pygame library to make games with graphics, animation, and sound. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Wonderful Beginner's Book
I just received this book last week, and I am having so much fun with it...So much fun, that this is the first time I have felt compelled to write a review for a book purchased from Amazon.

I am 59 years old, with no programming experience, and I am the furthest thing from being a computer geek that you could imagine. I have always wanted to learn a little about programming. I have leafed through some other books, but they all seemed either very intimidating or very dry/boring, or both. This book is just perfect to get someone like me started. What a fun way to learn...whether you are a kid or a big kid-at-heart.

The extras and helpful tools on the author's website are a great bonus.

I find that having the book in hand to make notes in, makes for a better learning experience. But if you are only going to download the free version, then please consider making a donation on the author's website...I think the author really deserves it.

Great book for beginers
I highly recommend this book for anyone new to programming. The baby steps approach is very good, since it keeps the reader motivated and infact rushes them to go over the book cover to cover, so that they can start writing their own programs (and games) at the earliest :)

The later part of the chapters get a little more detailed in terms of writing bigger complex programs, but in a fun way. It's also a good refernce book for someone who has been programming for a while and wants to dabble with a new programming language(Python)

Relearning how to program for my children
I come to this book from the perspective from someone who has written python for many years and who has been involved in the technology world for quite some time.My children are growing up and I would like them to have confidence with programming no matter what career path they choose in life.Programming is not so much a means to an income, but a tool that empowers you to get things done no matter what your chosen career is.

My problem, how do I teach this to my kids.This book has given me the foundation of getting back to the basics.Furthermore, it does it in a way that is fun.Most kids like games.Give them the power to write games and you will get the extra attention from them needed to get through the learning curve.

The first several chapters have helped me slow down, figure out how to get basic concepts across to my oldest.These are things I take for granted, but can be daunting for a new user.The examples in the book are provided on-line as well.It does take a little while (chapter 17) to get to the really fun stuff (graphical games).But when you do, these chapters help gain the attention that might otherwise be waning.

Complaints:I really don't have too much to complain about.There were some inconsistencies with the code which you can cut and paste on-line, but the code you actually click to download to your machine was completely aligned with the the book. My major complaint is with python, the language itself.The challenge this book is facing is that python is going through a major change between 2.X and 3.X, but some of the libraries used to write games are still only written in 2.X.The major differences are small, but as an example, you learn to use the print statement print("hello"), only to find out that when you are using the pygame libraries, you must use the old version of print which looks like this: print "hello".

I recommend this book for any beginner trying to learn programming.I also recommend you be realistic and recognize it will take an investment of 10+ hours before you start to really become comfortable getting things done yourself.

Great for younger audience
This is a great introductory book for new or beginning programmers. It has been instrumental
in teaching a 13 year old the basics of programming.
Pros:
1) Clear and detailed explanations of concepts and of the different data structures.
2) Fun to read for younger readers. The examples and games are interesting.
3) There is a clear progression with every chapter.
Cons:
1) The lack of an index is a little inconveneient.
2) It would be great if after every chapter there is some suggested programming assignments.
With solutions on the website. This would've been a tremondous help for parents. I frequently had to resort
to inventing little games/programs as exercises for every chapter.

Overall it's an excellent book and highly recommended.

Great Video Game How-To for Kids (and Kids at Heart!)
Hey, kids, have you ever wanted to make your own VIDEO GAMES!?

Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python reminds me of a book I got from the library once when I was a very young boy. It was about making video games in BASIC, and I had some fun with it. Sweigart has taken the same approach (and probably the book he mentioned as being inspiration for his book was the same book I read as a child), and has given us an updated book for an updated programming language using updated computers.

The language, no longer BASIC, is Python, one of the more simple programming languages for newbies to learn.

While the first few examples are all text-based, the latter few delve into Python's ability to draw 2D images to your screen. I would imagine somebody with a computer and a penchant for learning Python through the medium of video games would have no problem devouring this book, which is freely available from Sweigart's website devoted to it ([...]).

While I, a seasoned programmer who knows enough Python to know he likes Perl better, found the book a little too simplistic for myself. Constantly, I was optimizing his code examples in my head (which I'm sure Sweigart also was tempted to do when he wrote them out). I realized, of course, that Sweigart was going for readability, and not for line of code reduction or fewer iterations. Optimization may be too advanced a topic to teach a kid wanting to make VIDEO GAMES.

The book is written towards a younger audience, but is completely readable, and understandable, by an older audience: you computer illiterate parents whose children fix your computers for you ALL THE TIME. This book could give you a little bit higher of an advantage when it comes to out-tech-ing your kid.

While the book was a wonderful introduction to programming and video games, I find that the amount of helpful make your own games resources are either outdated, or more a "make OUR own games." What I'd like to see, maybe is a Third Edition with optional exercises: "Congratulations: You're able to type in code exactly as it appears in a book. Now, do you understand it? Change the game so it does this instead!" Something like that.

I'd also like a Volume Two, in which Sweigart delves into the world of 3D games and network games. So, Al, if you're reading this, I fully expect such a book before too long. Okay?

Putting my personal feelings of Python aside, I found this book to be a valuable resource when it comes to teaching people (especially young people) how to program, which I feel empowers them to do what they want with their computer devices, have fun, and maybe even become the next big game development studio out there. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (17)

Wow, seriously flawed and outdated
I bought this book because I was having trouble making sense out of the Twisted on-line documentation.I'm really a book guy, anyway, and felt I needed "The Book" for Twisted.When the first page equivalent of "Hello World" blows up on Python 2.6 because of some obscure deprecation issue, you know you are in for real problems.It gets worse from there.I think this book was probably a great title years ago when the Twisted bits and Python bits were more in sync.This book is seriously outdated and in need a huge revision.

Disappointing
On the upside, this book is obviously written by someone who knows Twisted well, and shares the values of its developers.

On the downside, one of those shared values seems to be "documentation doesn't matter."

Twisted is well-known for being very poorly documented, forcing developers to regularly scan through mountains of abstracted source to find out what they need. I was hoping that this book would address that issue, by clearly documenting how and why Twisted works, what the different interfaces are, etc.

Unfortunately, it doesn't; instead, it only leads you through a number of canned examples. As soon as you want to step outside of any of the capabilities that's covered in them, you're on your own.

Superficial book
I'm a bit disappointed about this book. All the information included in the different chapters can be found on the Internet, same goes for the examples. In my opinion there is no added value w.r.t. googling twisted python.

Outdated and Missing Fundamentals
The book is not up to date with the latest Twisted release.Unfortunately, the changes in the new framework are material and the book is a little misleading.

In addition, the Twisted framework is a different paradigm but the book does a poor job of explaining how things work and how to get things working.

It does have some good examples of things that are really powerful in Twisted.

Not for LEARNING Twisted
When I first received this book, I saw that it was short and rejoiced.I usually never get through a 400 or 500 page programming book, because I get the early concepts, and then go off on a tangent, using the concepts in some way or another.

This book disappointed me.It went through some of the concepts of Twisted without really going into the details about some of the best parts of Twisted.The concepts of deferreds and the reactor event loop were skimmed over too quickly, and I never felt like I knew enough to implement any sort of server in Twisted.

There are better resources on the web to learn to develop with Twisted than this book provides. ... Read more

Product Description

Python Algorithms explains the Python approach to algorithm analysis and design. Written by Magnus Lie Hetland, author of Beginning Python, this book is sharply focused on classical algorithms, but it also gives a solid understanding of fundamental algorithmic problem-solving techniques.  

• The book deals with some of the most important and challenging areas of programming and computer science, but in a highly pedagogic and readable manner.
• The book covers both algorithmic theory and programming practice, demonstrating how theory is reflected in real Python programs.
• Well-known algorithms and data structures that are built into the Python language are explained, and the user is shown how to implement and evaluate others himself.

Product Description

Product Description
Using the simple, robust, Python-based Django framework, you can build powerful Web solutions with remarkably few lines of code. In Python Web Development with Django®, three experienced Django and Python developers cover all the techniques, tools, and concepts you need to make the most of Django 1.0, including all the major features of the new release.

The authors teach Django through in-depth explanations, plus provide extensive sample code supported with images and line-by-line explanations. You’ll discover how Django leverages Python’s development speed and flexibility to help you solve a wide spectrum of Web development problems and learn Django best practices covered nowhere else. You’ll build your first Django application in just minutes and deepen your real-world skills through start-to-finish application projects including

• Simple Web log (blog)
• Online photo gallery
• Simple content management system
• Ajax-powered live blogger
• Online source code sharing/syntax highlighting tool
• How to run your Django applications on the Google App Engine

This complete guide starts by introducing Python, Django, and Web development concepts, then dives into the Django framework, providing a deep understanding of its major components (models, views, templates), and how they come together to form complete Web applications. After a discussion of four independent working Django applications, coverage turns to advanced topics, such as caching, extending the template system, syndication, admin customization, and testing. Valuable reference appendices cover using the command-line, installing and configuring Django, development tools, exploring existing Django applications, the Google App Engine, and how to get more involved with the Django community.

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Started

Chapter 1: Practical Python for Django 7

Chapter 2: Django for the Impatient: Building a Blog 57

Chapter 3: Starting Out 77

Part II: Django in Depth

Chapter 4: Defining and Using Models 89

Chapter 5: URLs, HTTP Mechanisms, and Views 117

Chapter 6: Templates and Form Processing 135

Part III: Django Applications by Example

Chapter 7: Photo Gallery 159

Chapter 8: Content Management System 181

Chapter 9: Liveblog 205

Chapter 10: Pastebin 221

Part IV: Advanced Django Techniques and Features

Chapter 11: Advanced Django Programming 235

Chapter 12: Advanced Django Deployment 261

Part V: Appendices

Appendix A: Command Line Basics 285

Appendix B: Installing and Running Django 295

Appendix C: Tools for Practical Django Development 313

Appendix D: Finding, Evaluating, and Using Django Applications 321

Appendix E: Django on the Google App Engine 325

Appendix F: Getting Involved in the Django Project 337

Index 339

Colophon 375

Customer Reviews (16)

Well written, but misses examples
Coverage in the first three chapters is okay. Even though when they start getting into examples, the authors seem to jump from Windows to Mac quite often. Not a big deal, but still not consistent. Once you go past the 3 chapters though, you are on your own. I am sure there are code samples to download, but if you are hands-on and want to just follow along - there just doesn't seem to be a way. Once they started talking about Models and there was no way for me to follow-along, they completely lost me. I downloaded 'south',migrated their updated models but still hard to follow.
Overall, I am not impressed with the quality of the book at all. I'd rather read the dry (not DRY) django documentation at this rate..

Kindle Edition Lacks Monospaced Fonts
I probably would give the content of the book 4 stars.

However, the book claims in the preface that "monospacing [is used] to delineate Python and command line material such as variable names or commands", but the Kindle edition (on both a Kindle DX and Kindle for PC) renders all code in a variable-width font.This makes it difficult to differentiate between multiple underscores (which are viewed as a continuous line) as well as the difference between consecutive single quotes '' and double quotes ", or sections of text where the keywords should be in a different font (e.g., one section reads "and and or or" in the same font, instead of differentiating the python keywords "and"/"or" from the rest of the text).

I also think for an e-book that contains code-examples that you should be able to copy and paste (from Kindle for PC).I can see not being able to copy and paste entire pages / sections of the book for copyright reasons, but minimal copy/paste of at least of lines of code would be convenient.

If the Kindle edition was significantly discounted, I could neglect these flaws, but right now the Kindle edition ($24.22) is nearly identical in price to the printed edition ($26.91 new at Amazon, $18.37(+$3.99 shipping) new from other sellers).

Excellent review of Python and intro to Django
Well written book that explains how Python and Django work together.If you're new to either, this is a good place to start.I would have liked even more on Django, including building more advanced discussions and examples,But I believe this is a better book that some of the straight "Django" books, because of the better Python integration...and it's very well written with good examples.Recommended as a good first book on Django.

Could be better.
I found this book pretty ok, although there are some typos, some of the descriptions could be better .... and some of the code (using generic templates) actually doesn't work without additional preparation with Django 1.1, I find.Plus, I mean, the tone of the book isn't as sophisticated or pragmatic as I'd like ... I'm new to web programming, but found this book a bit ... classroomy ... if you know what I mean.
I ended up fiddling with some of the examples to test for caveats that I'd like to have seen discussed alongside the examples, such as how nested url files are interpreted.

[...].

Concise and well written django book
I've found this book to be a very good source of information both for programmers with some Django experience as well as for those who are Django beginners. In the spirit of Django, this book includes in addition to Django specific stuff some good advice for web development in general.
The examples are very well documented and unlike some other programming books the explanations are thorough and easy to understand.
There is also an introduction to Python which I was happy I didn't skip although I'm not a Python novice since it is so well written.
All in all, if you are a Django novice or you already have some experience with Django you'll find this well written book very useful. ... Read more

Product Description

As time goes on, system administrators are presented with increasingly complicated challenges. In the early days, a team of engineers might have had to look after one or two systems. These days, one engineer can administer hundreds or thousands of systems.

System administrators are gradually replacing their tools with more advanced and flexible ones. One of the choices is Python. Structurally, Python is a modern, high-level language with a very clean syntax. Python comes with many built-in libraries that can make automation tasks easier. It also has extensive set of third-party libraries and a very active development community. This flexibility makes Python a good choice for a wide variety of tasks, from prototyping science applications to system maintenance and administration jobs.

• This book explains and shows how to apply Python scripting in practice. Unlike the majority of the Python books, it will show you how to approach and resolve real-world issues that most system administrators will come across in their careers.
• In this book, you will find several projects in the categories of network administration, web server administration, and monitoring and database management. In each project, we will define the problem, design the solution, and go through the more interesting implementation steps.
• Each project is accompanied with the source code of a fully working prototype, which you’ll be able to use immediately or adapt to your requirements and environment.

What you’ll learn

• Solve real-world system administration problems using Python.
• Manage devices with SNMP and SOAP.
• Build a distributed monitoring system.
• Manage web applications and parse complex log files.
• Automatically monitor and manage MySQL databases.

Who is this book for?

This book is primarily aimed at experienced system administrators whose day-to-day tasks involve looking after and managing small-to-medium-sized server estates. It will also be beneficial for system administrators who want to learn more about automation and want to apply their Python knowledge to solve various system administration problems.

Python developers will also benefit from reading this book, especially if they are involved in developing automation and management tools.

This book assumes that readers already use Python and are comfortable with the language. Most of the Linux distributions come with Python and various libraries (such as Django, PIL and SciPy) packaged and readily available, but basic knowledge of installing packages in a Linux/Unix environment is advised.

Customer Reviews (1)

Very detailed about how to use Python on the job
Helps me keep my boss amazed. Definitely makes me more of an asset to any company. Well worth the read. ... Read more

Product Description
PYTHON 3 Reference Manual (Python Documentation MANUAL Part 2).Python is an easy to learn object-oriented programming language, which combines power with clear syntax. It has modules, classes, exceptions, very high level data types, and dynamic typing. Python is free software. It can be used with GNU (GNU/Linux), Unix, Microsoft Windows and many other systems.This is a printed softcover copy of the official Python documentation from the latest Python 3.0 distribution. For each copy sold $1 will be donated to the Python Software Foundation by the publisher.This book is part of a brand new six-part series of Python documentation books. Searching for "Python Documentation Manual" will show all six available books.ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Guido van Rossum, is the inventor of Python. Fred L. Drake, Jr. is the official editor of the Python documentation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It's a help!
This is the most concise, yet thorough, reference manual of Python 3. It is thorough, yet to the point. It covers aspects of Python not found in any of the other books. This manual is very readable for anyone who is experienced in python or in another language.

Python 3 is the latest version of Guido van Rossum's powerful general-purpose programming language. It breaks backwards compatibility with the 2.x line but has cleaned up some syntax issues. The final release for Python 3 came out in early December 2008. Since then, I've had a chance to check over some of the blogs and how people have been reacting to the backwards-incompatibility issue. Although I can't claim to have an official consensus by any measure, the blogs I've read certainly seem polarized.

Some project developers may not want to migrate their projects, even with the 2to3 converter.
I will argue, at the very least, that before you pass judgement, you should look through the PEPs and the development mailing lists before deciding not to port to the new version. The PEPs explain the rationales for a particular change and the benefits reaped as well as the implementation. These changes were really well thought out and discussed to death.

Personally, I found that migrating from Python version 2 to 3 was primarily a matter of relearning a few things: It certainly wasn't as drastic a change as moving from Python to say the Java or Perl languages. Many of the changes have been long anticipated, such as true division and changes to dict. Performing a print() is a whole lot easier than System.out.println() in Java, so the learning curve is relatively small and there are advantages to be gained.

My only knock on the manual is that it is skimpy. The writer try to cover an awful lot of material and in so doing, they don't go into a huge amount of detail on any one thing. That means that they make assumptions about how much a reader already knows. For anyone experienced in python programming or another language, the book can be quite helpful, for a beginner just starting out on programming, probably less so. For such a person, I would recommend "Dive Into Python" by Pilgrim.

Yes, you can download all of this information for free. But in its paper-book format, its more useful to me. Well worth the money.

Giving all the details an advanced programmer will need
If you code in python... you should own this book.

This is probably the most concise and readable language implementation reference. Doesn't get too far down into the details of the interpreter, while giving all the details an advanced programmer will need.
It will teach you things you weren't aware existed in the python language (well, unless you develop for cpython or something).

This volume is part of the six-part series of python documentation books and it's not an introduction to Python or a how-to book. It assumes a fair degree of fluency in the language already. Once you understand the basic concepts and constructs of the language, however, this provides an indispensable guide to complete feature set and fussy bits of every language detail.
Power users and language contributors should have this book. Beginners will find it a bit much, and not enough, as this part is not meant for beginners.

Be aware that this documentation is a printed edition of the official documentation. The text is available as part of the standard Python documentation 3.0.1., but having the hard copy is friendlier to the eyes and part of the copy price goes back to open source.

Besides the "Python LANGUAGE REFERENCE" this printed version of python 3.0.1. documentation includes some "bonus documentation" as well:

- What's new in Python
- Python Advocacy HOWTO
- Porting Extension Modules to 3.0
- Curses Programming with Python
- Idioms and Anti-Idioms in Python
- Functional Programming HOW TO
- Regular Expression HOWTO
- Socket Programming HOWTO
- Unicode HOWTO
- How To Fetch Internet Resources Using The urlib Package and
- HOWTO Use Python in the web

As probably no one could explain this manual better than the creator of the programming language himself, here's an excerpt from Guido van Rossum's introduction:

"This reference manual describes the Python programming language. It is not intended as a tutorial. While I am trying to be as precise as possible, I chose to use English rather than formal specifications for everything except syntax and lexical analysis. This should make the document more understandable to the average reader, but will leave room for ambiguities. Consequently, if you were coming from Mars and tried to re-implement Python from this document alone, you might have to guess things and in fact you would probably end up implementing quite a different language. On the other hand, if you are using Python and wonder what the precise rules about a particular area of the language are, you should definitely be able to find them here. If you would like to see a more formal definition of the language, maybe you could volunteer your time -- or invent a cloning machine :-).

It is dangerous to add too many implementation details to a language reference document -- the implementation may change, and other implementations of the same language may work differently. On the other hand, CPython is the one Python implementation in widespread use (although alternate implementations continue to gain support), and its particular quirks are sometimes worth being mentioned, especially where the implementation imposes additional limitations. Therefore, you'll find short "implementation notes" sprinkled throughout the text.
Every Python implementation comes with a number of built-in and standard modules. These are documented in The Python Standard Library (in The Python Library Reference). A few built-in modules are mentioned when they interact in a significant way with the language definition."

This volume describes the syntax and "core semantics" of the language. It is terse, but attempts to be exact and complete. The semantics of non-essential built-in object types and of the built-in functions and modules are described in The Python Standard Library (in The Python Library Reference).

For an informal introduction to the language, see The Python Tutorial (in Introduction to PYTHON 3: (Python Documentation MANUAL Part 1).

For C or C++ programmers, additional manuals exist:

Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter (in PYTHON 3 and C or C++: Extending and Embedding Python (Python documentation MANUAL Part 5) describes the highlevel picture of how to write a Python extension module, and the Python/C API Reference Manual (in Python/C API Manual - PYTHON 3: (Python documentation MANUAL Part 4) describes the interfaces available to C/C++ programmers in detail.
... Read more

Product Description
Introduction to PYTHON 3 (Python Documentation MANUAL Part 1). Python is an easy to learn object-oriented programming language, which combines power with clear syntax. It has modules, classes, exceptions, very high level data types, and dynamic typing. Python is free software. It can be used with GNU (GNU/Linux), Unix, Microsoft Windows and many other systems. This is a printed copy of the official Python documentation from the latest Python 3 distribution. For each copy sold $1 will be donated to the PYTHON SOFTWARE FOUNDATION by the publisher. This book is part of a new six-part series of Python documentation books. Searching for "Python Documentation Manual" will show all six available books. THE AUTHOR Guido van Rossum, is the inventor of Python. Fred L. Drake, Jr. is the official editor of the Python documentation. ++++ UPDATE: A printing error has occurred with some of the first copies. At any time customers can return defective books to amazon. * The problem HAS BEEN FIXED. ++ ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

¿How many pages has it really got?
When I see in your page the number of pages those are more than 200 (264), but if I look in the "look inside" I only see about 115 pages, wich information is worng? because I'm interested in this book but I need this information to think in buying it

Thanks,

Great for a Newbie
The author of Python himself, Guido van Rossum, provides a sweet "short chapters" tutorial that made it easy for me to get to know Python. The online version is OK, but while I was taking this tutorial, I got annoyed by having to constantly flash back and forth between the web page and my Terminal window. So finally I am happy to have this one and some of the other new python3 documentations as printed books.

The Python tutorial introduces you to ideas that, if you're anything like me, you immediately want to try out in the interactive shell. I also recommend that you have the Python Library Reference handy; you might want it when you feel that some explanations given here do not meet your needs.

I've had Mark Pilgrim's Dive Into Python recommended to me, but it seems more in-depth than the basic tutorial. Maybe after I "get my feet wet",as programming is never easy for me.

It's a help!
This is the most concise, yet thorough, description of Python 3. It is thorough, yet to the point. It covers aspects of Python not found in any of the other books. This manual is very readable for anyone who is experienced in python or in another language.

Python 3 is the latest version of Guido van Rossum's powerful general-purpose programming language. It breaks backwards compatibility with the 2.x line but has cleaned up some syntax issues. The final release for Python 3 came out in early December 2008. Since then, I've had a chance to check over some of the blogs and how people have been reacting to the backwards-incompatibility issue. Although I can't claim to have an official consensus by any measure, the blogs I've read certainly seem polarized.

Some project developers may not want to migrate their projects, even with the 2to3 converter.
I will argue, at the very least, that before you pass judgement, you should look through the PEPs and the development mailing lists before deciding not to port to the new version. The PEPs explain the rationales for a particular change and the benefits reaped as well as the implementation. These changes were really well thought out and discussed to death.

Personally, I found that migrating from Python version 2 to 3 was primarily a matter of relearning a few things: It certainly wasn't as drastic a change as moving from Python to say the Java or Perl languages. Many of the changes have been long anticipated, such as true division and changes to dict. Performing a print() is a whole lot easier than System.out.println() in Java, so the learning curve is relatively small and there are advantages to be gained.

My only knock on the manual is that it is skimpy. The writer try to cover an awful lot of material and in so doing, they don't go into a huge amount of detail on any one thing. That means that they make assumptions about how much a reader already knows. For anyone experienced in python programming or another language, the book can be quite helpful, for a beginner just starting out on programming, probably less so. For such a person, I would recommend "Dive Into Python" by Pilgrim.

Yes, you can download all of this information for free. But in its paper-book format, its more useful to me. Well worth the money.

Excellent documentation
I found Guido van Rossum's INTRODUCTION to Python to be the most concise, yet thorough, description of Python I have found among a half-dozen of the most highly-rated books about Python. It is thorough, yet to the point. Guido van Rossum is the creator of the Python Language, so he is the definitive source for information about Python; and for me his texts and examples are very good readable.

This book taught me python with python syntax, and finally I understand how to write python code. It leaves nearly no part of the language uncovered and covers a lot of aspects of Python not found in other books.

This manual is great for anyone who is already experienced in a language. If you've seen another language or a bit of Python before, it does a great job.
Although Python itself may be a good first language, this book probavly might be a bit too concise for someone learning a language for the first time.

I found the official manual online by searching for the topic, but finally wanted a "real" physical edition. So be aware that the text is available online for free as part of the python 3 distribution. I myself found having the printed book much friendlier to my eyes, and a part of the copy price goes back to the Python Foundation.

MY copy was printed and formatted fine ...

The formatter must have been written in Cobol
I just got the first 2 volumes of this new Python 3 series. Part 1, Introduction to Python 3, has completely broken formatting - most lines extend well beyond the actual paper, and are thus "hard to read", all words run together with no spaces between them, and so forth.I'm not kidding.It's completely broken.If this was a PDF, I'd consider writing a Python script to reformat it, but not so easy with a printed book. Presumably I am an early adopter and this is being fixed pronto.

Part 2, Reference Manual, doesn't have these problems, though it is missing page numbers for over half the book.

Pretty poor effort I must say.[...]

This is not a promising start for promoting a major upgrade to the language which is intended to break a lot of Python code and require effort to upgrade to. ... Read more

Product Description
Python for Software Design is a concise introduction to software design using the Python programming language. Intended for people with no programming experience, this book starts with the most basic concepts and gradually adds new material. Some of the ideas students find most challenging, like recursion and object-oriented programming, are divided into a sequence of smaller steps and introduced over the course of several chapters. The focus is on the programming process, with special emphasis on debugging. The book includes a wide range of exercises, from short examples to substantial projects, so that students have ample opportunity to practice each new concept. Exercise solutions and code examples are available from thinkpython.com, along with Swampy, a suite of Python programs that is used in some of the exercises. ** Published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Money raised from the sale of this book supports the development of free software and documentation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fabulous book!
This is a great book for learning how to think about Python and basic object-oriented computer science in general. A friend and I have been using it as a self-directed study text, and find the exercises fun and enlightening. The exercises often illustrate python gotchas in a memorable way, which I definitely appreciate. To get the most out of this book, I have found it helpful to have the PDF version of this book open in one window, a python interpreter open in a second window, and a text editor open in a third. As I read, I type examples into the interactive interpreter so I can play with the code and see how to get it to fail. For the exercises, I type my guess in the text editor and check it by running it in the interpreter to see if my guess is correct. This is definitely one of the best books out there for beginners or beginners to Python, and I'm not surprised to learn MIT recently switched around its curriculum to use it. ... Read more