Learning Python

Contents

February 01, 2012

“In the Python way of thinking, explicit is better than implicit, and simple is better than complex.”
- Mark Lutz, Learning Python

>>> import this

Resource	Progress	Division
Dive Into Python ¹	13/22	Sections
A comfortable introduction to Python with clear explanation that isn’t overly simplistic.
The [Official] Python Tutorial	6/14	Chapters
A thorough introduction to Python with constant examples. Best used as a supplement to another resource.
Learn Python the Hard Way, 2nd Edition ²	50/56	Exercises
An introduction to Python and some more general principles of computer science. The pace can be unnecessarily slow, but certainly appropriate for beginners of all abilities.
Programming Python ³	1/24	Chapters
Learning Python ⁴	2/29	Chapters
WikiBooks: Python Programming	0/55	Articles
A Bite of Python	0/21	Chapters
Google’s Python Class	0/8	Sections
Learning with Python	0/21	Chapters
CodingBat Python Code Practice	4/74	Problems

Module installation

Installing Python Modules in the Python v2.7.2 Documentation: “This document describes the Python Distribution Utilities (Distutils) from the end-user’s point-of-view, describing how to extend the capabilities of a standard Python installation by building and installing third-party Python modules and extensions.”
Building and Distributing Packages with setuptools on Python Enterprise Application Kit (PEAK): “setuptools is a collection of enhancements to the Python distutils that allow you to more easily build and distribute Python packages, especially ones that have dependencies on other packages.”
Distribute is a fork of the Setuptools project and is intended to replace Setuptools as the standard method for working with Python module distributions.”
Pip is a tool for installing and managing Python packages, such as those found in the Python Package Index. pip is a replacement for easy_install.
Better Package Management

Is it worth using Python’s re.compile? on Stack Overflow
New-style and classic classes on Python Documentation
Google Python Style Guide
PEP 8: Style Guide for Python Code has emerged as the style guide that most projects adhere to; it promotes a very readable and eye-pleasing coding style. Every Python developer should read it at some point. ⁵
PEP 257: Docstring Conventions explains what distinguishes a good docstring from a great docstring. ⁶
SWIG is a software development tool that connects programs written in C and C++ with a variety of high-level programming languages, including Python.
PyPy is a fast, compliant alternative implementation of the Python language (2.7.1).
Protocol Buffers is Google’s data interchange format, which encodes structured data in an efficient yet extensible format.
Google I/O 2011: Python @ Google: A brief introduction to Python for developers familiar with other languages, followed by a Q&A section about Google’s use of Python and related tools.
Matplotlib is a Python 2D plotting library that produces publication quality figures in a variety of hardcopy formats and interactive environments across platforms.
Generator Expressions are a more efficient type of list comprehension that does not store a full list in memory.