Books about Pythons from Amazon.com

The authors of Learning Python show you enough essentials of the Python scripting language to enable you to begin solving problems right away, then reveal more powerful aspects of the language one at a time. This approach is sure to appeal to programmers and system administrators who have urgent problems and a preference for learning by semi-guided experimentation.

First off, Learning Python shows the relationships among Python scripts and their interpreter (in a mostly platform-neutral way). Then, the authors address the mechanics of the language itself, providing illustrations of how Python conceives of numbers, strings, and other objects as well as the operators you use to work with them. Dictionaries, lists, tuples, and other data structures specific to Python receive plenty of attention including complete examples.

Authors Mark Lutz and David Ascher build on that fundamental information in their discussions of functions and modules, which evolve into coverage of namespaces, classes, and the object-oriented aspects of Python programming. There's also information on creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for Python applications with Tkinter.

In addition to its careful expository prose, Learning Python includes exercises that both test your Python skills and help reveal more elusive truths about the language..
Price: $22.45 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Want to tap the power behind search rankings, product recommendations, social bookmarking, and online matchmaking? This fascinating book demonstrates how you can build Web 2.0 applications to mine the enormous amount of data created by people on the Internet. With the sophisticated algorithms in this book, you can write smart programs to access interesting datasets from other web sites, collect data from users of your own applications, and analyze and understand the data once you've found it. Programming Collective Intelligence takes you into the world of machine learning and statistics, and explains how to draw conclusions about user experience, marketing, personal tastes, and human behavior in general -- all from information that you and others collect every day. Each algorithm is described clearly and concisely with code that can immediately be used on your web site, blog, Wiki, or specialized application. This book explains: Collaborative filtering techniques that enable online retailers to recommend products or media Methods of clustering to detect groups of similar items in a large dataset Search engine features -- crawlers, indexers, query engines, and the PageRank algorithm Optimization algorithms that search millions of possible solutions to a problem and choose the best one Bayesian filtering, used in spam filters for classifying documents based on word types and other features Using decision trees not only to make predictions, but to model the way decisions are made Predicting numerical values rather than classifications to build price models Support vector machines to match people in online dating sites Non-negative matrix factorization to find the independent features in adataset Evolving intelligence for problem solving -- how a computer develops its skill by improving its own code the more it plays a game Each chapter includes exercises for extending the algorithms to make them more powerful. Go beyond simple database-backed applications and put the wealth of Internet data to work for you. "Bravo! I cannot think of a better way for a developer to first learn these algorithms and methods, nor can I think of a better way for me (an old AI dog) to reinvigorate my knowledge of the details." -- Dan Russell, Google "Toby's book does a great job of breaking down the complex subject matter of machine-learning algorithms into practical, easy-to-understand examples that can be directly applied to analysis of social interaction across the Web today. If I had this book two years ago, it would have saved precious time going down some fruitless paths." -- Tim Wolters, CTO, Collective Intellect.
Price: $22.85 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book is designed to be used as the primary textbook in a college-level first course in computing It takes a fairly traditional approach, emphasizing problem solving, design, and programming as the core skills of computer science. However, these ideas are illustrated using a non-traditional language, namely Python.

Although I use Python as the language, teaching Python is not the main point of this book. Rather, Python is used to illustrate fundamental principles of design and programming that apply in any language or computing environment. In some places, I have purposely avoided certain Python features and idioms that are not generally found in other languages. There are already many good books about Python on the market; this book is intended as an introduction to computing.

Features include the following:
*Extensive use of computer graphics.
*Interesting examples.
*Readable prose.
*Flexible spiral coverage.
*Just-in-time object coverage.
*Extensive end-of-chapter problems..
Price: $30.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Regular expressions are a central element of UNIX utilities like egrep and programming languages such as Perl. But whether you're a UNIX user or not, you can benefit from a better understanding of regular expressions since they work with applications ranging from validating data-entry fields to manipulating information in multimegabyte text files. Mastering Regular Expressions quickly covers the basics of regular-expression syntax, then delves into the mechanics of expression-processing, common pitfalls, performance issues, and implementation-specific differences. Written in an engaging style and sprinkled with solutions to complex real-world problems, Mastering Regular Expressions offers a wealth information that you can put to immediate use. .
Price: $25.57 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Portable, powerful, and a breeze to use, Python is the popular open source object-oriented programming language used for both standalone programs and scripting applications. It is now being used by an increasing number of major organizations, including NASA and Google.

Updated for Python 2.4, The "Python Cookbook," 2nd Edition offers a wealth of useful code for all Python programmers, not just advanced practitioners. Like its predecessor, the new edition provides solutions to problems that Python programmers face everyday.

It now includes over 200 recipes that range from simple tasks, such as working with dictionaries and list comprehensions, to complex tasks, such as monitoring a network and building a templating system. This revised version also includes new chapters on topics such as time, money, and metaprogramming.

Here's a list of additional topics covered:

Manipulating text

Searching and sorting

Working with files and the filesystem

Object-oriented programming

Dealing with threads and processes

System administration

Interacting with databases

Creating user interfaces

Network and web programming

Processing XML

Distributed programming

Debugging and testing

Another advantage of The "Python Cookbook," 2nd Edition is its trio of authors--three well-known Python programming experts, who are highly visible on email lists and in newsgroups, and speak often at Python conferences.

With scores of practical examples and pertinent background information, The "Python Cookbook," 2nd Edition is the one source you need if you're looking to build efficient, flexible, scalable, and well-integrated systems..
Price: $24.97 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book offers Python programmers one place to look when they need help remembering or deciphering the syntax of this open source language and its many powerful but scantily documented modules. This comprehensive reference guide makes it easy to look up the most frequently needed information--not just about the Python language itself, but also the most frequently used parts of the standard library and the most important third-party extensions.

Ask any Python aficionado and you'll hear that Python programmers have it all: an elegant object-oriented language with readable and maintainable syntax, that allows for easy integration with components in C, C++, Java, or C#, and an enormous collection of precoded standard library and third-party extension modules. Moreover, Python is easy to learn, yet powerful enough to take on the most ambitious programming challenges. But what Python programmers used to lack is a concise and clear reference resource, with the appropriate measure of guidance in how best to use Python's great power. "Python in a Nutshell" fills this need.

"Python in a Nutshell," Second Edition covers more than the language itself; it also deals with the most frequently used parts of the standard library, and the most popular and important third party extensions. Revised and expanded for Python 2.5, this book now contains the gory details of Python's new subprocess module and breaking news about Microsoft's new IronPython project. Our "Nutshell" format fits Python perfectly by presenting the highlights of the most important modules and functions in its standard library, which cover over 90% of your practical programming needs. This book includes: A fast-pacedtutorial on the syntax of the Python language An explanation of object-oriented programming in Python Coverage of iterators, generators, exceptions, modules, packages, strings, and regular expressions A quick reference for Python's built-in types and functions and key modules Reference material on important third-party extensions, such as Numeric and Tkinter Information about extending and embedding Python

"Python in a Nutshell" provides a solid, no-nonsense quick reference to information that programmers rely on the most. This book will immediately earn its place in any Python programmer's library. Praise for the First Edition:

"In a nutshell, "Python in a Nutshell" serves one primary goal: to act as an immediately accessible goal for the Python language. True, you can get most of the same core information that is presented within the covers of this volume online, but this will invariably be broken into multiple files, and in all likelihood lacking the examples or the exact syntax description necessary to truly understand a command."
--Richard Cobbett, "Linux Format"

"O'Reilly has several good books, of which "Python in a Nutshell" by Alex Martelli is probably the best for giving you some idea of what Python is about and how to do useful things with it."
--Jerry Pournelle, "Byte Magazine".
Price: $20.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite that is a real alternative to commercially available 3D design software A cross-platform software package with millions of downloads annually, Blender is now one of the world's most popular 3D design tools.

Although Blender is free, it's intended for design professionals and others motivated to become 3D artists. The Essential Blender will provide you with the knowledge you need to help integrate Blender into your work and begin to master its powerful creation tools.

If you've never tried 3D design before, an introductory chapter will familiarize you with relevant terminology and concepts. If you're already experienced with commercial 3D software, The Essential Blender will get you up to speed with Blender quickly. After a tour of Blender's 3D modeling, animation, and rendering capabilities, you'll learn how best to use Blender for these tasks:

Object manipulation and animation

Mesh and sculpt modeling and shape animation

Materials and texturing (including UV unwrapping)

Lighting and rendering

Particle animation

Character rigging and animation

Node-based composition

The book is modular in its approach, with each topic addressed independently and accompanied by hands-on tutorial sections.

The combined expertise of key members of the Blender community, coupled with the experience of editor Roland Hess, bring you The Essential Blender-the definitive guide to Blender. You'll find a wealth of 3D design information inside that will help you to unlock your artistic potential and get the most out of Blender.

Includes a Complete Version of Blender 2.44 on the CD-ROM. Covers Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (x86 and PowerPC), Solaris, FreeBSD, and IRIX..
Price: $26.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

PowerShell replaces cobbled-together assemblies of third-party management tools with an elegant programming language and a powerful scripting shell for the Windows environment. In the tradition of Manning's ground breaking "In Action" series, this book comes from right from the source. Written by Bruce Payette, one of principal creators of PowerShell, Windows PowerShell in Action shows you how to build scripts and utilities to automate system tasks or create powerful system management tools to handle the day-to-day tasks that drive a Windows administrator's life. Because it's based on the .NET platform, PowerShell is also a powerful tool for developers and power users.

Windows PowerShell in Action was written by Bruce Payette, one of the founding members of the Windows PowerShell team, co-designer of the PowerShell language and the principal author of the PowerShell language implementation. The book enables you to get the most out of the PowerShell environment. Using many examples, both small and large, this book illustrates the features of the language and environment and shows how to compose those features into solutions, quickly and effectively.

This book is designed for anyone who wants to learn PowerShell and use it well. Rather than simply being a book of recipes to read and apply, this book gives you the deep knowledge about how PowerShell works and how to apply it..
Price: $21.57 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Ready to learn Python programming? Are you new to programming with Python? Do you need a solid introduction to the fundamental concepts? You've found it in "Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Second Edition," the updated version of the successful "Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner." As part of the for the absolute beginner series developed by computer science instructors exclusively for Cengage Learning Course Technology PTR, this book will teach you the basics of Python programming through simple game creation. You can then take the skills you learn and use them for more practical Python programming applications and real-world programming scenarios. Better still, by the time you finish this book you will be able to apply the basic principles you've learned to the next programming language you tackle. Create simple, fun games while you learn to program with Python..
Price: $17.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Good programming--which is to say, programming that yields both efficient code and a profitable life for the programmer--depends on not reinventing the wheel. If someone else has solved the problem you're facing (and someone almost always has), you'd be foolish to waste your energy figuring out your own solution. MySQL Cookbook presents solutions to scores of problems related to the MySQL database server. Readers stand a good chance of finding a ready-made solution to problems such as querying databases, validating and formatting data, importing and exporting values, and using advanced features like session tracking and transactions. Paul DuBois has done a great job assembling efficient solutions to common database programming problems, and teaches his readers a lot about MySQL and its attendant APIs in the process.

DuBois organizes his cookbook's recipes into sections on the problem, the solution stated simply, and the solution implemented in code and discussed. The implementation and discussion sections are the most valuable, as they contain the command sequences, code listings, and design explanations that can be transferred to outside projects. The main gripe readers will have about MySQL Cookbook is that the author, in his effort to cover the range of MySQL-friendly programming languages, uses different languages in his solutions to various problems. You'll see a Perl solution to one programming challenge (Perl, in fact, is the most frequently used language, followed by PHP), a Python fix for the next, and a Java sample after that. Readers have to hope that they find a solution in the language they're working with, or that they're able to transliterate the one DuBois has provided. It's usually not a big problem. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to make MySQL databases do your bidding--in terms of queries, table manipulation, data formatting, transactions, and Web interfaces--through the database server's command line interfaces and (more importantly) through the MySQL APIs of Perl, PHP, Java, and Python. Particularly excellent coverage deals with formatting dates and times, management of null values, string manipulation, and import/export techniques..
Price: $29.31 [Notify me when price goes down.]