Python Cookbook, Third Edition 3rd Edition

From the Preface

Rather than attempting to seek out Python 3-specific recipes, the topics of this book are merely inspired by existing code and techniques. Using these ideas as a springboard, the writing is an original work that has been deliberately written with the most modern Python programming techniques possible. Thus, it can serve as a reference for anyone who wants to write their code in a modern style.

In choosing which recipes to include, there is a certain realization that it is simply impossible to write a book that covers every possible thing that someone might do with Python. Thus, a priority has been given to topics that focus on the core Python language as well as tasks that are common to a wide variety of application domains. In addition, many of the recipes aim to illustrate features that are new to Python 3 and more likely to be unknown to even experienced programmers using older versions.

There is also a certain preference to recipes that illustrate a generally applicable programming technique (i.e., programming patterns) as opposed to those that narrowly try to address a very specific practical problem. Although certain third-party packages get coverage, a majority of the recipes focus on the core language and standard library.

Who This Book Is For

This book is aimed at more experienced Python programmers who are looking to deepen their understanding of the language and modern programming idioms. Much of the material focuses on some of the more advanced techniques used by libraries, frameworks, and applications.

Throughout the book, the recipes generally assume that the reader already has the necessary background to understand the topic at hand (e.g., general knowledge of computer science, data structures, complexity, systems programming, concurrency, C programming, etc.). Moreover, the recipes are often just skeletons that aim to provide essential information for getting started, but which require the reader to do more research to fill in the details. As such, it is assumed that the reader knows how to use search engines and Python’s excellent online documentation.

Many of the more advanced recipes will reward the reader’s patience with a much greater insight into how Python actually works under the covers. You will learn new tricks and techniques that can be applied to your own code.

Who This Book Is Not For

This is not a book designed for beginners trying to learn Python for the first time. In fact, it already assumes that you know the basics that might be taught in a Python tutorial or more introductory book. This book is also not designed to serve as a quick reference manual (e.g., quickly looking up the functions in a specific module).

Instead, the book aims to focus on specific programming topics, show possible solutions, and serve as a springboard for jumping into more advanced material you might find online or in a reference.