Python Essential Reference
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3.2 • 5 Ratings
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- $33.99
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- $33.99
Publisher Description
Python Essential Reference is the definitive reference guide to the Python programming language — the one authoritative handbook that reliably untangles and explains both the core Python language and the most essential parts of the Python library.
Designed for the professional programmer, the book is concise, to the point, and highly accessible. It also includes detailed information on the Python library and many advanced subjects that is not available in either the official Python documentation or any other single reference source.
Thoroughly updated to reflect the significant new programming language features and library modules that have been introduced in Python 2.6 and Python 3, the fourth edition of Python Essential Reference is the definitive guide for programmers who need to modernize existing Python code or who are planning an eventual migration to Python 3. Programmers starting a new Python project will find detailed coverage of contemporary Python programming idioms.
This fourth edition of Python Essential Reference features numerous improvements, additions, and updates:
Coverage of new language features, libraries, and modules Practical coverage of Python's more advanced features including generators, coroutines, closures, metaclasses, and decorators Expanded coverage of library modules related to concurrent programming including threads, subprocesses, and the new multiprocessing module Up-to-the-minute coverage of how to use Python 2.6’s forward compatibility mode to evaluate code for Python 3 compatibility Improved organization for even faster answers and better usability Updates to reflect modern Python programming style and idioms Updated and improved example code Deep coverage of low-level system and networking library modules — including options not covered in the standard documentation
Customer Reviews
Serious Issues for the Visually Impaired
I bought this book, sight unseen, at the recommendation of a colleague who is a Python expert. He said it was the best book on Python he'd ever had. The writing seems pretty good, as near as I can tell.
Sadly, however, the book is nearly unusable for me. I am visually impaired. Ebooks are a godsend to me, since I can change the font, and read them in white-on-black mode for better contrast. I need to be able to make the type larger to effectively read a book. But this book uses *images* for code listings, rather than text. Inline, the images are too small for me to read. When I zoom on them, the quality is so low that I can't read the special characters in the code--but those are essential for learning the syntax of a programming language.
On top of that, code that is in the main text, which is in a fixed-width font, does not resize when I change the global font size.
I wish I could get a refund. I should have downloaded the sample first. This book makes me intensely frustrated.
Poor E-Book
While the actual writing of the book seems to be pretty good, this is a very poor e-book. For some unknown reason, all the code samples/snippets seem to have been inserted as images and they render poorly (blurry). Why they didn't just use a fixed space font, like Courier, for code boggles my mind.
Unacceptable quality graphics
I was warned by other reviews that the images of code were blurred so I checked the sample. This will be uncomfortable to read for any length of time. I suspect it was created by a non programmer who had no idea that the code samples are where readers will be spending nearly all their time.