Python Standard Library (Nutshell Handbooks)
by Fredrik Lundh

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Book Reviews of Python Standard Library (Nutshell Handbooks)

Book Review: Has been superceeded
Summary: 3 Stars

Summary of Python Standard Library (Nutshell Handbooks)

The book presents sample script code--written by a frequent contributor to Python newsgroups--for almost 200 of the built-in modules in Python 2.0 and shows how to solve common programming problems in Python. Instead of a function-based reference, you get sample scripts for a wide variety of solutions centering on different Python modules.

Early sections look at core modules for working with the operating system, math, and strings, among other functions. Material on Python's excellent support for files and directories will help you master the file system. Explanations of various encryption schemes will let you add security to your Python scripts.

Getting Python to multitask with multiple threads comes next, along with getting Python programs to communicate using pipes and signals. After the sample scripts for pickling Python objects to and from files, the book delves into modules that are geared toward today's Internet. First, there's coverage of Python's support for XML, HTML, and SGML, followed by a discussion of its extensive networking support for low-level sockets to high-level Internet protocols, including e-mail and FTP. Sample scripts for e-mail will be really useful for any Python programmer.

Later chapters provide coverage of internationalization support in Python and its support for multimedia. The book closes with material on platform-specific modules (which are specific to Unix and/or Windows) as well as modules that are obsolete but necessary to understanding legacy Python code.

There's a lot of expertise on display in Python Standard Library. The code does much of the talking in this example-packed text, which is sure to earn its place on any working Python programmer's bookshelf. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Introduction to the Python 2.0 standard modules
• Core modules (including modules for operating system functions, string, math, time, and garbage collection)
• File and directory modules
• Encryption and security modules
• Threads, processes, pipes, and signals in Python
• Persisting Python objects (marshalling and pickling objects)
• Python modules for XML, HTML, and SGML
• Modules for e-mail and news support
• Internet programming with Python (including sockets, a chat example, FTP, SMTP, IMAP, POP, and Telnet)
• Internationalization support
• Modules for multimedia support (image and sound files)
• Data storage in Python (with shelves)
• Python tools
• Platform-specific modules (including Unix- and Windows-specific modules)
• Miscellaneous and legacy Python modules

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• Languages & Tools > Python
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• O'Reilly > Series > Nutshell
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