Author/s : Doug Hellmann
Publisher : Addison-Wesley Professional
Category :
Other
Review by : Jeanne Boyarsky
Rating : 9 horseshoes
"The Python Standard library by Example" weighs in at 1200 pages. It is an expanded version of Doug's blog so check if you like the style there (
http://www.doughellmann.com/PyMOTW/contents.html).
The book assumes you already know Python and are comfortable reading it. Unsurprisingly, the book is code heavy. However, it is good code heavy. The examples are only as long as they need tob e to communicate a point rather than including redundant information. Output is included to clearly understand what is happening. Another advantage is you get to read a lot of Python seeing libraries used properly and common idioms.
My favorite things:
1) build up to a more complex example such as wih regular expressions.
2) clearly indicates what version of Python API introduced
3) defines terms without assuming much outside knowledge on domains like threading
Since the book was so thick, I read half of it and skimmed the rest. It is very easy to jump around and go back to the relevant parts when you need them.
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Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in
exchange for writing this review on behalf of CodeRanch.
More info at Amazon.com 
