Python Phrasebook (Developer's Library) (Paperback)

by Brad Dayley (Author)
Key Phrases: shelve module, print listl, threading module, Los Angeles, New York, Wed Jun (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Python Phrasebook

 

Brad Dayley

 

Essential Code and Commands

 

Python Phrasebook gives you the code phrases you need to quickly and effectively complete your programming projects in Python.

 

Concise and Accessible

Easy to carry and easy to use—lets you ditch all those bulky books for one portable guide

 

Flexible and Functional

Packed with more than 100 customizable code snippets—so you can readily code functional Python in just about any situation

 

Brad Dayley is a software engineer at Novell, Inc. He has been a system administrator and software developer on the Unix, Windows, Linux, and NetWare platforms for the past 14 years. Brad co-developed an advanced debugging course used to train engineers and customers and is the co-author of several Novell Press books.

 

Programming / Python

 

$16.99 USA / $20.99 CAN / £11.99 Net UK

 

About the Author

Brad Dayley is a senior software engineer in Novell’s Nterprise Development Group. He has 14 years of experience installing, troubleshooting, and developing Novell’s products for NetWare and Linux. He is the co-author of Novell’s Guide to Resolving Critical Server Issues, as well as seven other Novell Press titles on the ZENworks suite.

When he is not writing books or software, he can be found biking, hiking, and/or Jeeping somewhere in the remote regions of the Pacific Northwest with his wife, DaNae, and four sons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 edition (November 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672329107
• ISBN-13: 978-0672329104
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #561,823 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to follow, December 19, 2006

By	Dennis Gilmore - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Has great little snippets of code. is very clear in what is says and how to achieve your goals. While it seems to be intended at people with prior Python experience. I had previously only done python debugging. and that combined with perl, bash and C experience i was able to pick up the concepts and get functional quickly (I got done what i wanted to quickly). It is a handy little guide that I am sure I will use regularly.

Almost everything I wanted to accomplish I got done just by using this book.

two weak points.
1) could have covered number formatting in output
2) dealing with dates is not really covered

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a gem and a bargain, October 25, 2007

By	Chris Mcnally "NYC Uni'ler" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been learning Python through the documentation and tutorials that I've found online, including "Dive Into Python", which is a great introduction to Python available as a free PDF. I am writing code in Python and I have not been satisfied with the Python books I've seen and I want to take my code further. I want to write code like a Python programmer would. I need to be reminded of syntax at times, such as splitting strings, but I don't want to go back to the beginner book. I need to learn new ways and new things I can do with Python.

This well written, simple little book fills that niche. You can put it in your pocket and read it on the train. It's well written and succinct. It's not for learning Python for the first time, you need more explanation and examples when you are learning new concepts. This book is a good reminder of things you already learned but has not completely stuck yet.

Examples I have already used are the string manipulation sections, threads and socket programming. I will probably use the HTML parsing examples next. In his examples Dayley does offer explanation. For example, he describes the elements of the try statement, including the finally, the else and the except parts. However this is done in only two paragraphs. It's a good memory jogger and reference if you already know the syntax.

In the string manipulation section, searching strings, comparing strings, splitting and joining, replacing, trimming and formatting are all covered. In addition, there is a little gem about executing strings as Python code. All the examples are useful and can be included immediately in your code!

I think I'll go through this guide pretty quickly, since it's small, but it's valuable and it's worth having. Let me repeat, this book is for a beginning Python programmer who is learning the basics with some other material, or has already learned the basics.

You can always find example code online, in various blogs, articles and tutorials, however it's easier to have one book by a single author that's well written and has a consistent voice. I highly recommend this book, and I wish the publisher would put out more small books like this. They are so easy to carry and have around.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of internet stuff, no math stuff, February 10, 2008

By	Joe - See all my reviews

Half the book is about internet.
I was disapointed by the absence of math things. 1 or 2 pages could have given an overview of the main math functions. Also no string-numeric conversion functions such as str(), float()... are given. This book is definitely not for scientists or science engineers/technicians.
Things presented are detailed, but they are quite limited.
A fully operational code example often meaningless follows every function introduced. It would be better to my opinion to introduce the functions individualy and then show an example showing several functions in action in a script that means something.