Python Essential Reference / Edition 4

by David Beazley

Overview

Python Essential Reference is the definitive reference guide to the Python programming language — the one authoritative handbook that reliably untangles and explains both the core Python language and the most essential parts of the Python library.

Designed for the professional programmer, the book is concise, to the point, and highly accessible. It also includes detailed information on the Python library and many advanced subjects that is not available in either the official Python documentation or any other single reference source.

Thoroughly updated to reflect the significant new programming language features and library modules that have been introduced in Python 2.6 and Python 3, the fourth edition of Python Essential Reference is the definitive guide for programmers who need to modernize existing Python code or who are planning an eventual migration to Python 3. Programmers starting a new Python project will find detailed coverage of contemporary Python programming idioms.

This fourth edition of Python Essential Reference features numerous improvements, additions, and updates:

• Coverage of new language features, libraries, and modules
  
• Practical coverage of Python's more advanced features including generators, coroutines, closures, metaclasses, and decorators
• Expanded coverage of library modules related to concurrent programming including threads, subprocesses, and the new multiprocessing module
• Up-to-the-minute coverage of how to use Python 2.6’s forward compatibility mode to evaluate code for Python 3 compatibility
• Improved organization for even faster answers and better usability
• Updates to reflect modern Python programming style and idioms
• Updated and improved example code
• Deep coverage of low-level system and networking library modules — including options not covered in the standard documentation

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780672329784
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	07/09/2009
Series:	Developer's Library
Edition description:	Fourth
Pages:	752
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

David M. Beazley has been programming Python since 1996. While working at Los Alamos National Laboratory, he helped pioneer the use of Python with scientific computing software. Through his company, Dabeaz LLC, he provides software development, training, and consulting related to the practical use of dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby, and Perl, especially in systems programming. He is author of all previous editions of Python Essential Reference, and was contributing author of Steve Holden’s Python Web Programming. He is a member of the Python Software Foundation.

Read an Excerpt

IntroductionIntroduction

THIS BOOK IS INTENDED TO BE A CONCISE REFERENCE to the Python programming language. Although an experienced programmer will probably be able to learn Python from this book, it's not intended to be an extended tutorial or a treatise on how to program. Rather, the goal is to present the core Python language, the contents of the Python library, and the Python extension API in a manner that's accurate and concise. This book assumes that the reader has prior programming experience with Python or another language such as C or Java. In a addition, a general familiarity with systems programming topics (for example, basic operating system concepts and network programming) may be useful in understanding certain parts of the library reference.

Python is freely available for download at http://www.python.org. Versions are available for almost every operating system, including UNIX, Windows, Macintosh, and Java. In addition, the Python website includes links to documentation, how-to guides, and a wide assortment of third-party software.

The contents of this book are based on Python 2.4. However, readers should be aware that Python is a constantly evolving language. Most of the topics described herein are likely to be applicable to future versions of Python 2.x. In addition, much of the material is applicable to earlier releases. To a lesser extent, the topics in this book also apply to alternative Python implementations such as Jython (an implementation of Python in Java) and IronPython (an implementation of Python for .NET). However, those implementations are not the primary focus.

Just as Python is an evolving language, the third edition ofPython Essential Reference has evolved to make use of new language features and new library modules. In fact, since the publication of the second edition, Python has undergone a dramatic transformation involving significant changes to core parts of the language. In addition, a wide variety of new and interesting features have been added. Rather than discussing these changes as a mere afterthought, the entire text has been updated to reflect the modern state of Python programming. Although no distinction is given to new features, detailed descriptions of language changes can be found at http://www.python.org.

Finally, it should be noted that Python already includes thousands of pages of useful documentation. The contents of this book are largely based on that documentation, but with a number of key differences. First, this reference presents most of the same information in a much more compact form, with different examples, and alternative descriptions of many topics. Second, a significant number of topics in the library reference have been expanded to include outside reference material. This is especially true for low-level system and networking modules in which effective use of a module normally relies on a myriad of options listed in manuals and outside references. In addition, in order to produce a more concise reference, a number of deprecated and relatively obscure library modules have been omitted. Finally, this reference doesn't attempt to cover large frameworks such as Tkinter,

In writing this book, it has been my goal to produce a reference containing virtually everything I have needed to use Python and its large collection of modules. Although this is by no means a gentle introduction to the Python language, I hope that you find the contents of this book to be a useful addition to your programming reference library for many years to come. I welcome your comments.

David Beazley
Chicago, Illinois
November 27, 2005

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Python Language

1 A Tutorial Introduction

2 Lexical Conventions and Syntax

3 Types and Objects

4 Operators and Expressions

5 Program Structure and Control Flow

6 Functions and Functional Programming

7 Classes and Object-Oriented Programming

8 Modules, Packages, and Distribution

9 Input and Output

10 Execution Environment

11 Testing, Debugging, Profiling, and Tuning

Part II: The Python Library

12 Built-In Functions

13 Python Runtime Services

14 Mathematics

15 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Utilities

16 String and Text Handling

17 Python Database API

18 File Handling

19 Operating System Services

20 Threads and Concurrency

21 Network Programming and Sockets

22 Internet Application Programming

23 Web Programming

24 Internet Data Handling and Encoding

25 Miscellaneous Library Modules

Part III: Extending and Embedding

26 Extending and Embedding Python

Appendix

A Python 3

Introduction

This book is intended to be a concise reference to the Python programming language. Although an experienced programmer will probably be able to learn Python from this book, it's not intended to be an extended tutorial or a treatise on software design. Rather, the goal is to present the core Python language, the contents of the Python library, and the Python extension API in a manner that's accurate and succinct. This book assumes that the reader has prior programming experience with Python or other languages such as C or Java. In addition, a general familiarity with systems programming topics (for example, basic operating system calls, process management, and network programming) may be useful in understanding certain parts of the library reference.

Python is freely available for download at http:// www. python.org.Versions are available for Unix, Windows, Macintosh, and Java. In addition, this site includes links to documentation, how-to guides, and a wide assortment of extension modules.

The contents of this book are based on Python 1.5.2. However, readers should be aware that Python is a constantly evolving language. Most of the topics described herein are likely to be applicable to future versions of Python 1.x. In addition, most topics are applicable to earlier releases. To a lesser extent, the topics in this book also apply to JPython, an implementation of Python entirely in Java. However, as of this writing, JPython is still in beta release and undergoing active development-making it a difficult target for up-to-date reference material.

Finally, it should be noted that Python is distributed with well over 500 pages of reference documentation. The contents of thisbook are largely based on this documentation, but with a number of enhancements, additions, and omissions. First, this reference presents most of the same material in a more compact form with different examples and alternative descriptions of many topics. Second, a number of topics in the library reference have been expanded to include additional outside reference material. This is especially true for low-level system and networking modules in which effective use of a module normally relies on a myriad of options listed in Unix manual pages and outside reference material. In addition, in order to produce a more concise reference, a number of deprecated and relatively obscure library modules have been omitted. Finally, this reference doesn't attempt to cover large frameworks such as Tkinter or the COM extension, as these topics are beyond the scope of this book and are described in books of their own.

In writing this book, it has been my goal to produce a reference containing virtually everything I have needed to use Python and its large collection of modules. To do this, I have incorporated and condensed a considerable amount of information from manual pages, online documentation, and several thousand pages of systems programming books. Although this is by no means a gentle introduction to the Python language, I hope that you find the contents of this book to be a useful addition to your programming reference library for many years to come. I welcome your comments.