1. Getting Started.
Getting Python. Reading Python Documentation. Opening a
Command-Prompt Window. Setting Your Path. Using Python Environment
Variables. Running Programs in Interactive Mode. Running Programs
in Script Mode. Using IDLE. Specifying Command-Line Options.
Passing Arguments to a Script.
2. Expressions and Statements.
Documenting Programs. Naming Variables. Creating Expressions.
Creating Expression Statements. Creating Variables. Deleting
Variables. Printing Objects. Determining an Object's Identity.
Creating References to the Same Object. Determining an Object's
Type. Using Boolean Operators. Using Comparison Operators. Chaining
Comparisons. Determining the Order of Evaluation. Summarizing
Objects.
3. Working with Numbers.
Understanding the Types of Numbers. Understanding Promotion.
Performing Basic Arithmetic. Raising a Number to a Power. Getting
the Remainder of a Division. Getting the Quotient of a Division.
Controlling Calculation Order. Making Augmented Assignments.
Converting Among Number Types. Comparing Numbers. Using
Mathematical Functions. Using Advanced Mathematical Functions.
Generating Random Numbers.
4. Working with Strings.
Creating a String. Inserting Special Characters into a String.
Creating a Unicode String. Finding the Length of a String. Indexing
a String (Extracting a Character). Slicing a String (Extracting a
Substring). Concatenating Strings. Repeating a String. Using String
Methods and Functions. Changing String Case. Testing a String.
Trimming and Justifying a String. Searching for Substrings.
Replacing Substrings. Translating a String. Splitting and Joining
Strings. Performing List Operations on a String. Converting a
String. Comparing Strings. Printing Formatted Strings.
5. Working with Lists and Tuples.
Creating a List or Tuple. Finding the Length of a List or Tuple.
Indexing a List or Tuple (Extracting an Item). Slicing a List or
Tuple (Extracting a Segment). Copying a List or Tuple.
Concatenating Lists or Tuples. Repeating a List or Tuple.
Converting a List or Tuple. Comparing Lists or Tuples. Testing List
or Tuple Membership. Modifying a List. Replacing List Items.
Counting Matching List Values. Searching a List. Adding List Items.
Removing List Items. Sorting a List. Inserting Items into a Sorted
List. Defining a Custom List Sort Order. Reversing a List.
6. Working with Dictionaries.
Using Dictionary Operators and Methods. Creating a Dictionary.
Printing a Dictionary. Getting a Value by Using a Key. Getting All
of a Dictionary's Values. Getting All of a Dictionary's Keys.
Getting All of a Dictionary's Key-Value Pairs. Determining Whether
a Key Exists. Counting a Dictionary's Key-Value Pairs. Adding or
Replacing a Key-Value Pair. Removing a Key-Value Pair. Removing a
Random Key-Value Pair. Clearing or Deleting a Dictionary. Combining
Dictionaries. Copying a Dictionary. Converting a Dictionary
2. Comparing Dictionaries. Sorting a Dictionary. Storing
Computed Values in a Dictionary.
7. Control Flow Statements.
Splitting Statements Across Lines. Creating Compound Statements.
Using pass to Create a Null Statement. Indenting Blocks of
Statements. Putting Multiple Statements on a Line. Using if
Conditionals. Using if-else Conditionals. Using if-elif-else
Conditionals. Using while Loops. Using while-else Loops. Using for
Loops. Using for-else Loops. Looping over a Range of Integers.
Skipping Part of a Loop Iteration. Exiting a Loop.
8. Functions.
Defining a Function. Documenting a Function. Calling a Function.
Returning a Value from a Function. Returning Multiple Values from a
Function. Specifying Positional Arguments. Specifying Default
Parameter Values. Specifying Keyword Arguments. Specifying an
Arbitrary Number of Positional Arguments. Specifying an Arbitrary
Number of Keyword Arguments. Combining Argument-Passing Techniques.
Creating Recursive Functions. Passing Mutable and Immutable
Arguments to Functions. Declaring Global Variables. Assigning a
Function to a Variable. Using Functional Programming Tools. Using
lambda Expressions to Create Functions. Using apply to Call a
Function. Using map to Apply a Function to Sequence Items. Using
zip to Group Sequence Items. Using filter to Remove Sequence Items
Conditionally. Using reduce to Reduce a Sequence. Using List
Comprehensions to Create Lists.
9. Modules.
Structuring a Module. Creating a Module. Documenting a Module.
Loading a Module with import. Accessing Attributes. Listing an
Object's Attributes. Manipulating Attributes. Loading Specific
Module Names with from. Loading a Module Under a Different Name
with as. Enabling Language Features. Reloading a Module with
reload. Specifying the Module Search Path. Determining Whether a
Module Is Running As a Program. Determining Which Modules Are
Loaded. Understanding Namespaces. Accessing Namespaces.
Understanding Scoping Rules. Nesting Functions. Grouping Modules
into Packages. Terminating a Program Explicitly. Running Code
Programmatically.
10. Files.
Opening a File. Reading from a File. Writing to a File. Closing a
File. Changing Position in a File. Truncating a File. Getting File
Object Information. Printing to a File. Accessing Standard Input
and Output Files. Prompting for User Input. Using the File System.
Accessing Environment Variables. Changing the Working Directory.
Listing Directory Contents. Creating a Directory. Removing a
Directory. Renaming a File or Directory. Removing a File. Getting
Path Information. Getting File Information. Splitting Paths.
Joining Paths. Saving Objects As Files.
11. Exceptions.
Understanding the Exception Hierarchy. Handling an Exception.
Ignoring an Exception. Getting an Exception's Argument. Handling
All Exceptions. Running Code in the Absence of an Exception.
Handling Multiple Exceptions. Running Mandatory Cleanup Code.
Raising an Exception Explicitly. Creating User-Defined Exceptions.
Making an Assertion.
12. Classes.
Understanding OOP Terminology. Defining a Class. Documenting a
Class. Accessing Built-In Class Attributes. Creating an Instance.
Accessing Built-In Instance Attributes. Creating Class Variables.
Using Special Methods to Overload Standard Behavior. Creating
Instance Variables with an Initialization Method. Destroying an
Instance. Creating a String Representation of an Instance. Setting
the Truth Value of an Instance. Comparing Instances. Accessing
Instance Attributes. Treating an Instance Like a List or
Dictionary. Performing Mathematical Operations on Instances.
Calling an Instance. Defining and Invoking a Custom Method.
Deriving New Classes from Existing Classes. Hiding Private Data.
Determining Class Membership.
Appendix.
Learning Python. Getting Support. Editing and Debugging Code.
Programming Resources.
Index.
Named after the Monty Python comedy troupe, Python is an interpreted, open-source, object-oriented programming language. It's also free and runs portably on Windows, Mac OS, Unix, and other operating systems. Python can be used for all manner of programming tasks, from CGI scripts to full-fledged applications. It is gaining popularity among programmers in part because it is easier to read (and hence, debug) than most other programming languages, and it's generally simpler to install, learn, and use. Its line structure forces consistent indentation. Its syntax and semantics make it suitable for simple scripts and large programs. Its flexible data structures and dynamic typing allow you to get a lot done in a few lines. To learn it, you'll need is some basic programming experience and a copy of Python: Visual QuickStart Guide. In patented Visual QuickStart Guide fashion, the book doesn't just tell you how to use Python to develop applications, it shows you, breaking Python into easy-to-digest, step-by-step tasks and providing example code. Python: Visual QuickStart Guide emphasizes the core language and libraries, which are the building blocks for programs. Author Chris Fehily starts with the basics - expressions, statements, numbers, strings - then moves on to lists, dictionaries, functions, and modules before wrapping things up with straightforward discussions of exceptions and classes. Some additional topics covered include:- Object-oriented programming- Working in multiple operating systems- Structuring large programs- Comparing Python to C, Perl, and Java- Handling errors gracefully.
Chris Fehily is a writer and consultant living in San Francisco.
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