Python Pocket Reference, 5th Edition

Chapter 1. Python Pocket Reference

Introduction

Python is a general-purpose, multiparadigm, open source computer programming language, with support for object-oriented, functional, and procedural coding structures. It is commonly used both for standalone programs and for scripting applications in a wide variety of domains, and is generally considered to be one of the most widely used programming languages in the world.

Among Python’s features are an emphasis on code readability and library functionality, and a design that optimizes developer productivity, software quality, program portability, and component integration. Python programs run on most platforms in common use, including Unix and Linux, Windows and Macintosh, Java and .NET, Android and iOS, and more.

This pocket reference summarizes Python types and statements, special method names, built-in functions and exceptions, commonly used standard library modules, and other prominent Python tools. It is intended to serve as a concise reference tool for developers and is designed to be a companion to other books that provide tutorials, code examples, and other learning materials.

This fifth edition covers both Python 3.X and 2.X. It focuses primarily on 3.X, but also documents differences in 2.X along the way. Specifically, this edition has been updated to be current with Python versions 3.3 and 2.7 as well as prominent enhancements in the imminent 3.4 release, although most of its content also applies both to earlier and to later ...