Distributed with every copy of Python, the standard library contains hundreds of modules that provide tools for interacting with the operating system, interpreter, and Internet. All of them are tested and ready to be used to jump start the development of your applications. This book presents selected examples demonstrating how to use the most commonly used features of the modules that give Python its “batteries included” slogan, taken from the popular Python Module of the Week (PyMOTW) blog series.

Master the Powerful Python Standard Library through Real Code Examples

The Python Standard Library contains hundreds of modules for interacting with the operating system, interpreter, and Internet—all extensively tested and ready to jump-start your application development. The Python Standard Library by Example introduces virtually every important area of the Python 2.7 library through concise, stand-alone source code/output examples, designed for easy learning and reuse.

Building on his popular Python Module of the Week blog series, author and Python expert Doug Hellmann focuses on “showing” not “telling.” He explains code behavior through downloadable examples that fully demonstrate each feature.

You’ll find practical code for working with text, data types, algorithms, math, file systems, networking, the Internet, XML, email, cryptography, concurrency, runtime and language services, and much more. Each section fully covers one module, and links to valuable additional resources, making this book an ideal tutorial and reference. Coverage includes

• Manipulating text with string, textwrap, re, and difflib
• Implementing data structures: collections, array, queue, struct, copy, and more
• Reading, writing, and manipulating files and directories
• Regular expression pattern matching
• Exchanging data and providing for persistence Archiving and data compression
• Managing processes and threads
• Using application “building blocks”: parsing command-line options, prompting for passwords, scheduling events, and logging
• Testing, debugging, and compilation
• Controlling runtime configuration
• Using module and package utilities

If you’re new to Python, this book will quickly give you access to a whole new world of functionality. If you’ve worked with Python before, you’ll discover new, powerful solutions and better ways to use the modules you’ve already tried.