Google and YouTube use Python because it's highly adaptable, easy to maintain, and allows for rapid development. If you want to write high-quality, efficient code that's easily integrated with other languages and tools, this hands-on book will help you be productive with Python quickly -- whether you're new to programming or just new to Python. It's an easy-to-follow self-paced tutorial, based on author and Python expert Mark Lutz's popular training course.

Each chapter contains a stand-alone lesson on a key component of the language, and includes a unique Test Your Knowledge section with practical exercises and quizzes, so you can practice new skills and test your understanding as you go. You'll find lots of annotated examples and illustrations to help you get started with Python 3.0.

• Learn about Python's major built-in object types, such as numbers, lists, and dictionaries
• Create and process objects using Python statements, and learn Python's general syntax model
• Structure and reuse code using functions, Python's basic procedural tool
• Learn about Python modules: packages of statements, functions, and other tools, organized into larger components
• Discover Python's object-oriented programming tool for structuring code
• Learn about the exception-handling model, and development tools for writing larger programs
• Explore advanced Python tools including decorators, descriptors, metaclasses, and Unicode processing

About the Author

Mark Lutz is the world leader in Python training, the author of Python's earliest and best-selling texts, and a pioneering figure in the Python community since 1992. He is also the author of O'Reilly's Programming Python, Python Pocket Reference, and Learning Python (all in 4th Editions). Mark can be reached on the web at www.rmi.net.