Chapter 1. A Python Primer
This chapter provides a quick overview of the Python language. The goal in this chapter is not to teach you the Python language — excellent books have been written on that subject, such as Beginning Python (Wrox, 2005). This chapter describes Python's lexical structure and programming conventions, so if you are familiar with other scripting languages such as Perl or Ruby, or with compiled programming languages such as Java or C#, you should easily be up to speed in no time.
Getting Started
Of course, the first thing you need to do is install Python, if you don't already have it. Installers are available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Unix, and everything from OpenVMS to the Playstation (no, I'm not kidding).
Obtaining Python and Installing It
If you go to www.python.org/download you can find links to download the correct version of Python for your operating system. Follow the install instructions for your particular Python distribution — instructions can vary significantly depending on what operating system you're installing to.
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