Is Python a

This book is designed to be an introductory-level Python text for programmers. Itmay not be an ideal text for someone who has never touched a computer before (forinstance, we’re not going to spend any time exploring what a computer is), but Ihaven’t made many assumptions about your programming background or education.On the other hand, I won’t insult readers by assuming they are “dummies” either,whatever that means—it’s easy to do useful things in Python, and this book willshow you how. The text occasionally contrasts Python with languages such as C,C++, Java, and Pascal, but you can safely ignore these comparisons if you haven’tused such languages in the past.This Book’s Scope and Other BooksAlthough this book covers all the essentials of the Python language, I’ve kept itsscope narrow in the interests of speed and size. To keep things simple, this bookfocuses on core concepts, uses small and self-contained examples to illustrate points,and sometimes omits the small details that are readily available in reference manuals.Because of that, this book is probably best described as an introduction and astepping-stone to more advanced and complete texts.For example, we won’t talk much about Python/C integration—a complex topic thatis nevertheless central to many Python-based systems. We also won’t talk muchabout Python’s history or development processes. And popular Python applicationssuch as GUIs, system tools, and network scripting get only a short glance, if they arementioned at all. Naturally, this scope misses some of the big picture.By and large, Python is about raising the quality bar a few notches in the scriptingworld. Some of its ideas require more context than can be provided here, and I’d beremiss if I didn’t recommend further study after you finish this book. I hope thatmost readers of this book will eventually go on to gain a more complete understandingof application-level programming from other texts.Because of its beginner’s focus, Learning Python is designed to be naturally complementedby O’Reilly’s other Python books. For instance, Programming Python,another book I authored, provides larger and more complete examples, along withtutorials on application programming techniques, and was explicitly designed to be afollow-up text to the one you are reading now. Roughly, the current editions ofLearning Python and Programming Python reflect the two halves of their author’straining materials—the core language, and application programming. In addition,O’Reilly’s Python Pocket Reference serves as a quick reference supplement for lookingup some of the finer details skipped here.Other follow-up books can also provide references, additional examples, or detailsabout using Python in specific domains such as the Web and GUIs. For instance,O’Reilly’s Python in a Nutshell and Sams’s Python Essential Reference provide references,and O’Reilly’s Python Cookbook offers a library of self-contained examples forPreface | xxxiii