[ale] intro to python for the experienced programmer

[Joseph A Knapka]

John Wells wrote:
> 
> I've been playing with the notion of learning python
> for some time now, and my curiosity is slowly getting
> the better of me.
> 
> However, I really don't want to go out and buy another
> 1000+ page, 50lb piece of forest to lug around.  Does
> anyone know of a rapid (but thorough) introduction to
> the language?  I would prefer something online, but if
> I have to antie up and buy a book I'm willing.  I have
> extensive perl, c, java, etc. experience, so I don't
> need another "intro to programming with language x"
> book.

I'll second the "Learning Python" recommendation. It's
a fast intro that will let you write code very quickly.
But with your experience, you can probably get by
with the on-line docs packaged with the distro, which
are very good.

Unlike some other languages, Python's syntax and semantics
are almost completely regular and without exception, so
once you understand the type system and variable bindings
(almost all variables are bound to references, except primitives
like integers - similar to Java), indentation, and the
object model, there's nothing else to worry about except
for "which class in the standard library does what I
want." I'd recommend skimming the "Library Reference"
to get some idea of the services offered by the standard
library; they're extremely comprehensive.

O'Reilly's "Programming Python" (which I don't actually
own) seems to be pretty much just a rehash of the on-line
docs, though I understand its coverage of Python/Tkinter
is very useful. (If you don't already know Tcl/Tk, Tkinter
can be a bit hard to pick up. But I think you probably
already know Tcl/Tk from previous messages, and that
knowledge will apply almost transparently to Tkinter.)

Cheers,

-- Joe
"I should like to close this book by sticking out any part of my neck
 which is not yet exposed, and making a few predictions about how the
 problem of quantum gravity will in the end be solved."
 --- Physicist Lee Smolin, "Three Roads to Quantum Gravity"

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