| The home of all things Python is the Python website, at http://www.python.org/. One click from the main page is the Documentation area (http://www.python.org/doc/), which contains comprehensive and well-written documents for the new programmer, the advanced user , and just about everyone in between. Some highlights include these: -
The "Beginner's Guide to Python" isn't simply a tutorial document; it's an annotated collection of documents for how to proceed if you are new to the language. -
The "Python Tutorial" is a tutorial; it contains many sections, covering some of the same core material found in this appendix, but to the n th degree. -
"Python for the Nonprogrammer" is another annotated collection of information, such as links to articles on how to think like a programmer, Python 101, and so forth. -
The "Python Library Reference" is a reference work that documents the core components of the Python library. The Python library contains those built-in functions and modules that you saw to some extent with file system functions, for example, but again to the n th degree. What you saw in this appendix is about 5% of what you can do with Python. -
The "Python Reference Manual" is yet another large reference work that differs from the Library Reference, in that this manual discusses the inner workings of the language itself. As it warns, it is not a tutorial. -
You'll also find a collection of HOWTO guides, book reviews, essays by the creator of Python, and so forth. As with most open -source languages, there's never a lack of documentation available. If the documentation doesn't answer your burning Python questions, there's always the Community section of the website (http://www.python.org/community/), which contains links to the Python- related mailing lists, IRC channels, user groups, and more. |
