Python Programming Patterns [Paperback]

Thomas W. Christopher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 2001

Python isn't just a tool for creating short Web scripts and simple prototypes: its advantages are equally compelling in large-scale development. In this book, Thomas Christopher shows developers the best ways to write large programs with Python, introducing powerful design patterns that deliver unprecedented levels of robustness, scalability, and reuse. Python Programming Patterns teaches both the Python programming language and how to "program in the large" in Python, using object-oriented techniques. Thomas Christopher demonstrates how to write Python code that leverages "programming-in-the-large" software structuring techniques, including modularization, toolkits, frameworks, abstract data types, and especially object-orientation. He presents more than 20 powerful object-oriented design patterns for Python, including creational, structural, and behavior patterns. The book includes detailed coverage of key topics such as persistence, concurrent programming, and metaprogramming (Python's term for reflection or introspection). Christopher also presents useful functional programming techniques, showing how to combine them with other techniques to make them even more valuable. For every enterprise developer who wants to use Python.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The real-world guide to enterprise-class Python development!

• Enterprise development with Python!
• 20+ object-oriented patterns for large-scale Python development
• Maximizing scalability, robustness, and reuse
• Leveraging modularization, toolkits, frameworks, metaprogramming, and more

Python isn't just a tool for creating short Web scripts and simple prototypes: its advantages are equally compelling in large-scale development. In Python Programming Patterns, Thomas Christopher shows developers the best ways to write large programs with Python, introducing powerful design patterns that deliver unprecedented levels of robustness, scalability, and reuse. Christopher teaches both the Python programming language and how to "program in the large" with Python, using objects, modularization, toolkits, frameworks, and other powerful tools and techniques.

• 20+ proven object-oriented patterns for large-scale Python development: creational, structural, and behavioral
• Leverage the skills you've mastered in other object-oriented languages
• Design Python systems for maximum reuse
• Create cleaner, more comprehensible software systems
• Make the most of persistence, concurrent programming, functional programming, and metaprogramming
• Includes extensive working code and meaningful examples

If you've ever thought it would be great to use Python in real enterprise development, you're about to learn how—with Python Programming Patterns!

About the Author

THOMAS CHRISTOPHER is a principal in Tools of Computing LLC, a Chicago-area consultancy specializing in high-performance computing and object-oriented languages. With George K. Thiruvathukal, he co-authored High Performance Java Platform Computing (Prentice Hall PTR/Sun Microsystems Press) and Web Programming in Python (Prentice Hall PTR). Christopher is former professor at Illinois Institute of Technology.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (October 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130409561
• ISBN-13: 978-0130409560
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,082,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this book sight unseen, December 19, 2001

By 

Stephen Ferg (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Python Programming Patterns (Paperback)

I'm a Python programmer who bought this book hoping for something that would describe how to implement object-oriented design patterns in Python. I was very disappointed.

First of all, I think the title of the book is misleading. This book is mostly an introduction to the Python language, not an introduction to design patterns in Python. It really doesn't have much discussion about design patterns outside of Chapter 5, which is devoted to the topic. And frankly, as an introduction to Python, it doesn't look that impressive.

Second, I think the writing is just poor. The author simply doesn't explain things very clearly. I tried to read chapter 5 on design patterns and came away with the impression that I was just reading gobbledy-gook.

So take this as one person's opinion, and nothing more. My background may be different from yours, and what looked like gobbledy-gook to me may be crystal-clear to you. But my advice is this: Do NOT buy this book sight unseen. If you're thinking of purchasing it, find a copy somewhere and look at it carefully before you buy it.

If you're looking for books to learn Python from, I recommend "The Quick Python Book" by Harms & McDonald, and "Python Essential Reference" by David Beazley. The best introductory book on design patterns is "Design Patterns Explained" by Shalloway & Trott. The best URL for information about design patterns and Python is:
* http://www.thinkware.se/cgi-bin/thinki.cgi/PythonPatterns
especially the links for:
* Design Patterns in Python
* Design Patterns mit Python (German, but the code is Python)

Gordon Macmillan, one of the technical editors of the book, gives a good description of the book in a thread on comp.lang.python:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&threadm=Xns917F8DF4EC2C3gmcmhypernetcom%40199.171.54.215&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26group%3Dcomp.lang.python

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Python Engineering..., May 28, 2002

By 

Steve Thompson (Longmont, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Python Programming Patterns (Paperback)

Many of the reviewers here seem rightly disappointed that Python Programming Patterns is not a Design Patterns book rewritten with Python source examples. When I bought this I was expecting something similar, and was at first dismayed that PPP wasn't that book. But as I started to read through it, I realized that this was the first book I'd seen which actually focused on *Engineering* solid and comprehensive solutions in Python. If you want to know how to write a 'Hello Python' application, look elsewhere. For all the rest of us needing some insight into how best to apply Python to problems of any complexity, there is no more appropriate book out there.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Python Programming Techniques, March 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Python Programming Patterns (Paperback)

This book definitely could use a different title as it sets an expectation level that is, admittedly, different from what readers familiar with programming patterns would mean by the term "patterns". This is moreso a book on techniques for programming Python effectively and less so a book on patterns per se. That said, there are many good things about this book, and those who actually *look* at the programming examples will see that patterns and the vocabulary of patterns (as defined in the "Gang of Four" book) are clearly evident throughout the book.

Here are a few positive points about the book:

1. It is one of the few books where a good number of the patterns are used in non-trivial examples instead of the abstract examples found in other patterns-related books, including the "Gang of Four" book.

2. It is one of the few books that addresses concurrency patterns, including excellent discussions on threading techniques and transactions.

3. It provides real details on how to address data structuring needs not supported directly by Python's intrinsic support for lists and dictionaries.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that this is not the "Hello, World" book and could benefit from a different title. However, if you are looking for real code examples that actually use patterns, this book might be one of the few places where you'll actually find what you are looking for.