David M. Beazley - Python Essential Reference

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Essential Reference

Fourth Edition

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Python Essential Reference

Fourth Edition

Copyright 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

ISBN-13: 978-0-672-32978-4
ISBN-10: 0-672-32978-6

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing June 2009

Acquisitions Editor
Mark Taber
Development Editor
Michael Thurston
Managing Editor
Patrick Kanouse
Project Editor
Seth Kerney
Copy Editor
Lisa Thibault
Indexer
David Beazley
Proofreader
Megan Wade
Technical Editors
Noah Gift
Kurt Grandis
Publishing Coordinator
Vanessa Evans
Book Designer
Gary Adair
Compositor
Bronkella Publishing

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For Paula, Thomas., and his brother on the way.

David M. Beazley is a long-time Python enthusiast, having been involved with the Python community since 1996. He is probably best known for his work on SWIG, a popular software package for integrating C/C++ programs with other programming languages, including Python, Perl, Ruby, Tcl, and Java. He has also written a number of other programming tools, including PLY, a Python implementation of lex and yacc. Dave spent seven years working in the Theoretical Physics Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he helped pioneer the use of Python with massively parallel supercomputers. After that, Dave went off to work as an evil professor, where he enjoyed tormenting college students with a variety of insane programming projects. However, he has since seen the error of his ways and is now working as an independent software developer, consultant, Python trainer, and occasional jazz musician living in Chicago. He can be contacted at http://www.dabeaz.com.

Noah Gift is the co-author of Python For UNIX and Linux System Administration (OReilly) and is also working on Google App Engine In Action (Manning). He is an author, speaker, consultant, and community leader, writing for publications such as IBM developerWorks , Red Hat Magazine , OReilly, and MacTech . His consulting companys website is http://www.giftcs.com, and much of his writing can be found at http://noahgift.com. You can also follow Noah on Twitter.

Noah has a masters degree in CIS from Cal State, Los Angeles, a B.S. in nutritional science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, is an Apple and LPI-certified SysAdmin, and has worked at companies such as Caltech, Disney Feature Animation, Sony Imageworks, and Turner Studios. He is currently working at Weta Digital in New Zealand. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his wife Leah and their son Liam, composing for the piano, running marathons, and exercising religiously.

This book would not be possible without the support of many people. First and foremost, Id like to thank Noah Gift for jumping into the project and providing his amazing feedback on the fourth edition. Kurt Grandis also provided useful comments for many chapters. Id also like to acknowledge past technical reviewers Timothy Boronczyk, Paul DuBois, Mats Wichmann, David Ascher, and Tim Bell for their valuable comments and advice that made earlier editions a success. Guido van Rossum, Jeremy Hylton, Fred Drake, Roger Masse, and Barry Warsaw also provided tremendous assistance with the first edition while hosting me for a few weeks back in the hot summer of 1999. Last, but not least, this book would not be possible without all of the feedback I received from readers. There are far too many people to list individually, but I have done my best to incorporate your suggestions for making the book even better. Id also like to thank all the folks at Addison-Wesley and Pearson Education for their continued commitment to the project and assistance. Mark Taber, Michael Thurston, Seth Kerney, and Lisa Thibault all helped out to get this edition out the door in good shape. A special thanks is in order for Robin Drake, whose tremendous effort in editing previous editions made the third edition possible. Finally, Id like to acknowledge my amazing wife and partner Paula Kamen for all of her encouragement, diabolical humor, and love.