I keep coming back to this book, either to clarify what other books needlessly complicate or simply don't include. As a nutshell book, I would say it is more of a fairly comprehensive reference. Its discussion and explanation of python elements, which tend to make it more of a comprehensive manual and less of a nutshell are very much appreciated. The book's well thought out layout and well self-sustained sections allow you to actually sit down and read this book to learn from and not just use as a passing reference from time to time. I pair this book with Beazley's Python, Essential Reference, which I think actually takes more of a 'nutshell spirit of presentation'. Between the two, they are my most often go-to books while in the coding process.

The book is wonderful: clearly and concisely written. I refer to it constantly.

The first edition had a 66-page index, which was quite good. The second edition has only a 19-page index, and it is woefully inadequate. This is a reference book: a good index is vital.

The documentation that comes with Python leaves a lot to be desired. Try understanding and using internationalisation, for example. Any help that comes along will be welcome, especially in the form of examples.
Alex Martelli really knows his stuff and it's very convenient to have the information by your side in this format, so even if it's a little condensed at times I would recommend this book as well as Python Cookbook, for advanced examples.
I do wish that Python 2.1 Bible would come out in a new edition: it was fantastic for basic sample code.

'Python In A Nutshell' is one of those de facto standard O'Reilly books that is required reading/owning for anyone that develops in said language. In this case it's the long time popular scripting language Python. Originally released in 1991, this language has grown and expanded into the juggernaut it is today. With around 700 pages of material, this book will show you the ins and outs of everything yummy that Python can do. From the basics of talking about to define variables and create conditional statements to object oriented programming, you are going to quickly see why Python is popular and USABLE.

This book goes further than just a teaching book and/or just a language reference. It's meant to bridge both necessities as you learn to progam in Python or want to improve your existing skillset. With this book you will achieve all your Python goalssssssssssssssssssssss (pathetic snake joke attempt here)

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This is simply the best reference book for Python.

As a reference book it not suitable for learning Python from scratch, even if there is a not-so-short introduction to the basic language features. The book is well organized and informations can be found quickly.

The only con is a bad index. It is really complete, but sub-topics are organized as a tree without any graphical feedback of the current indentation level, and often you do not understand wich topic they belong to.

The 2nd edition of the book was published on July 14, 2006 and is obviously highly recommended: Python in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly))

The author Alex Martelli is Uber Technical Lead at Google, Inc. Martelli holds a laurea in Ingegneria Elettronica from Bologna University. He wrote Python in a Nutshell two editions, and also co-edited the Python Cookbook. He's a member of the Python Software Foundation, and won the 2002 Activators' Choice Award. Martelli spent 8 years with IBM Research, earning three Outstanding Technical Achievement Awards, and on.

The book is a great reference and full of insights and good programming techniques. It moves pretty fast to make a good introductory book, but once one has a reasonable understanding of Python fundamentals, anyone wishing to advance their understanding and application of the language can benefit from Python in a Nutshell.

I found that this book has been able to cover every thing from fundamentals of the Python language to a comprehensive description of some of the more esoteric newer language features and at the same time address many of the applications of the language. The presentation style is clear and very readable with concise examples, and not full of extraneous fluff. The subjects are well laid out beginning with a swift comprehensive introduction to the language, and a good description of the basic elements including classes, methods exceptions, modules, decorators and built-ins. There are sections on the Python library and extension modules, Network and web programming including some discussion of some of the existing python web frame works and socket programming. There is material on extending and embedding Python and alternate ways to extend python beyond c-extensions. The book was released just prior to the final release of Python 2.5, but there is considerable material covering most if not all of the latest 2.5 features such as the with statement.

I have found Python in a nutshell 2nd edition a valuable learning tool and reference resource and would recommend it for anyone interested in using Python to its fullest.


Reviewed by Max Slimmer user and proponent of Python since release 1.3.

Nutshell is rather dry reading and provides very little of the usual user-friendly introductions to language features by solving simple problems.

Doesn't sound like that much of an endorsement, does it?

Nevertheless, of my 6 or 7 Python books, (2 or 3 are generalist, rather than specialized), this is the only one I use regularly after 9 yrs of using Python.

What Python in a Nutshell is really good at is showing you exactly what Python is capable of doing, feature by feature, in a thoroughly Pythonic way for the feature. With code and exact implication. For example, I know Python well but I am kinda lacking in metaclass comprehension. If I were to write some non-trivial meta-classes I would surely have its 3 or 4 pages open on my desk as I write code and skim through other internet postings. Those 3-4 pages have kinda made my brain shrivel every time I've looked at them, but they are the clearest overview I've seen of what is probably one of the hardest Python features to understand.

For normal, easy-to-understand Python, Nutshell really dissects the languages with new insight. The information is dense, because each word has its place and there is very little filler. That's why skimming it does not work for me, I just don't have the requisite sustained attention span.

Online docs? Again, this aims to distill Python's deeper implications. You won't find that in the basic online docs. You may find some equivalent, or perhaps better, explanations of specific features, say Python meta-classes, online by looking around in blogs and articles. But you will have to look around for a long while and you will likely encounter a bunch of less informative, or perhaps erroneous, stuff along the way.

Python has a very easy learning curve, but it also has a whole lot of layers if you want to use it in the most efficient/natural manner. This is the book you want to help you dig. The surface, introductory aspects of Python are not well served by this book. Normal reference books are already not ideal for learning languages/systems, but its nature makes Nutshell an even worse choice. In fact, unlike some other reviewers, I would not at all recommend getting it to get acquainted with Python, unless you truly are a gifted programmer.

Minor criticisms:

The index could be improved a bit. For example, built-in functions are not listed directly: even an experienced coder might not know to look for 'getattr' or 'zip' under builtins. 2nd edition: the logging module's coverage is a bit trivial/weak, as was that of decorators. Both are subjects that would have greatly benefited from more of Alex's insights.

Nutshell is rather dry reading and provides very little of the usual user-friendly introductions to language features by solving simple problems.

Doesn't sound like that much of an endorsement, does it?

Nevertheless, of my 6 or 7 Python books, (2 or 3 are generalist, rather than specialized), this is the only one I use regularly after 9 yrs of using Python.

What Python in a Nutshell is really good at is showing you exactly what Python is capable of doing, feature by feature, in a thoroughly Pythonic way for the feature. With code and exact implication. For example, I know Python well but I am kinda lacking in metaclass comprehension. If I were to write some non-trivial meta-classes I would surely have its 3 or 4 pages open on my desk as I write code and skim through other internet postings. Those 3-4 pages have kinda made my brain shrivel every time I've looked at them, but they are the clearest overview I've seen of what is probably one of the hardest Python features to understand.

For normal, easy-to-understand Python, Nutshell really dissects the languages with new insight. The information is dense, because each word has its place and there very little filler. That's why skimming it does not work for me, I just don't have the requisite sustained attention span.

Online docs? Again, this aims to distill Python's deeper implications. You won't find that in the basic online docs. You may find some equivalent, or perhaps better, explanations of specific features, say Python meta-classes, online by looking around in blogs and articles. But you will have to look around for a long while and you will likely encounter a bunch of less informative, or perhaps erroneous, stuff along the way.

Python has a very easy learning curve, but it also has a whole lot of layers if you want to use it in the most efficient/natural manner. This is the book you want to help you dig. The surface, introductory aspects of Python are not well served by this book. Normal reference books are already not ideal for learning languages/systems, but its nature makes Nutshell an even worse choice. In fact, unlike some other reviewers, I would not at all recommend getting it to get acquainted with Python, unless you truly are a gifted programmer.

I like the Nutshell series in general, but this one in particular should set the standard for programming-language references. Alex Martelli seems to have a knack for writing at just the right level of detail, covering a lot of information but remaining accessible.

There's no fluff or filler in here -- every page is filled with useful, practical information. The density of information makes it somewhat unsuited to beginners -- I'd say a beginner to Python would be better served by Dive into Python or Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional -- but for a practicing Python programmer, the information here is invaluable. The section on optimization alone is worth the price of the book, in my opinion.

This is a tour de force in programming references, and I highly recommend it to anyone serious about programming in Python.

This book is a great help in my everyday work. It is well written and full of detailed and clear explanations. I use it as a reference book to check out on the fly some details, but I recommend to read it also in an ordered manner, from the first page to the last. You will find clear and detailed explanations, and many suggestions to improve your code. The book is obviously technical, but not dry.
One could be tempted to think that a book like this one is not much useful, given the wealth of information freely available on the net (and the many useful posts by Alex Martelli himself). I find that this is not so: it is much less distracting searching something on this book than browsing the web, and the information is greatly structured.
In other words, my programs are better, my productivity has increased and I enjoy aspects of the python language which I didn't know enough before.

Python in a Nutshell is a excellent reference book, all python programmer must have one in the desk.

The online documentation for the python language is good, but some times is difficult to search for a feature of the language, in this book is easy to find anything about python.

This book complements perfectly the official library and language references, and covers almost everything you will ever need.



I Learn python with this book, but i only recommend the book for people with knowledge of other programming language, if you are new in programming and wants to learn python this book is not good for you (try Learning python by David Ascher and Mark Lutz), if you already have programming skills this is the perfect book for learn python.



The author explain the language in a very simple way with good examples, and don't wast time explaining the basics of programming, the book starts with a introduction to the python language, in chapter 2 the author explain the installation of various python interpreters, from chapter 4 to 9 the author explain the core of the python language, in the rest of the book the author cover the python library and extensions modules, network and web programming with python and in the last section the author talk about the various ways of embedding and extending the python language, in my opinion the book is well written and very easy to read.



I highly recommend Python in a Nutshell, for all programmers who wants to start coding in python, and for all python programmers as a language reference.

Python in a Nutshell is a excellent reference book, all python programmer must have one in the desk.
The online documentation for the python language is good, but some times is difficult to search for a feature of the language, in this book is easy to find anything about python.
This book complements perfectly the official library and language references, and covers almost everything you will ever need.

I Learn python with this book, but i only recommend the book for people with knowledge of other programming language, if you are new in programming and wants to learn python this book is not good for you (try Learning python by David Ascher and Mark Lutz), if you already have programming skills this is the perfect book for learn python.

The author explain the language in a very simple way with good examples, and don't wast time explaining the basics of programming, the book starts with a introduction to the python language, in chapter 2 the author explain the installation of various python interpreters, from chapter 4 to 9 the author explain the core of the python language, in the rest of the book the author cover the python library and extensions modules, network and web programming with python and in the last section the author talk about the various ways of embedding and extending the python language, in my opinion the book is well written and very easy to read.

I highly recommend Python in a Nutshell, for all programmers who wants to start coding in python, and for all python programmers as a language reference.

Alex Martelli's PYTHON IN A NUTSHELL: A DESKTOP QUICK REFERENCE offers Python programmers one-stop reference shopping for any quick consultation. Project details blend a quick tutorial on syntax and explanations of Python programming basics with coverage of exceptions, modules, strings and more for all Python's built-ins and key functions. A fine quick reference which should be on every Python programmer's desk.

First, one caveat: before reading this book, get a feeling for Python from the official tutorial, and some of the excellent tutorials and book available online (e.g., parts of "Dive into Python"). The greater the experience you have with other languages, the shorter the warm-up period. Then, buy this book. The chapters on the language description and OOP are models of clarity and brevity, in any book/reference and any language. All the other chapters are extremely useful too. This book complements perfectly the official library and language references, and covers almost everything you will ever need. It truly is the ideal reference book, and an incredible value for the money. I just hope that Alex Martelli will keep future editions below 700 pages while adding material on other GUI frameworks and PyPy.

Well organized comprehensive desk reference. Can serve as an introduction to Python for a reader willing to do some heavy lifting.

Well organized comprehensive desk reference. Can serve as an introduction to Python for a reader willing to do some heavy lifting.

Never got the 1st ed. so I got the 2nd ed. as soon as it came out last month (yes, I've been waiting for it :-D). I have to say I am not a Python expert but have been using C and other programming languages for years. I was looking for a book which can help me learn Python and also can be used as a reference. Now I am very happy I found it and it reaches my expectation. It's a solid book with 690+ pages full of everything I need to know about Python. Highly recommended !

This first edition is probably not where you want to invest your dollars. The second edition (ISBN 0596100469 ) is projected to be out this month (July 2006) and will cover not only 2.4 but 2.5.

Martelli has been so comprehensive and comprehensible in the past, that you'll probably want to get his SECOND edition if you're serious about Python.

For someone who knows other programming languages this is a great book to quickly get a feel for the language and to start trying it out. The book only covers up to Python 2.2 while the current standard is up to 2.4.2, so there are a few things that are a little different. However, I have found that the differences are not major and can be supplemented by the python help system (normally installed on your system along with the interpreter).

I also use this book extensively as a reference, especially for all the associated libraries.

All what you would expect from the title : very complete even if not exhaustive coverage of the language and its main libraries, excellent explanations...
Not good as an introduction to the language unless you're already familiar with various programming language, but the ultimate reference to keep under your pillow

Python in a nutshell is an excellent reference for the experienced Python programmer. Alex Martelli does a wonderful job focusing on the book's goal of being a concise reference to important select portions of the Python language. His coverage of complex topics is a well balanced blend of written explanation and code examples. The book will be too advanced for newcomers to Python as well as beginning programmers, but for those looking to polish their Python skills this book is a real gem.

Like the other Nutshell books from O'Reilly, Python in a Nutshell is valuable as a desk reference. It has an excellent index that makes finding topics easy. Experienced programmers will appreciate the lack of "fluff" as each topic is explained efficiently. Martelli goes into detail where it is needed most. For example the coverage of Python's exception mechanisms is quite thorough and includes an insightful section on error-checking strategies. However, the coverage of some topics may be considered too cursory. I will need to search for more on Python's struct module as the roughly 2 pages on module struct, without any examples, left me wondering just how and why I'd need this module. This was the exception, rather than the rule, though. Martelli doesn't try to cover too much in this book and topics deemed too remedial or too tangential are noted by references to further reading. This is why I consider Python in a Nutshell to be an excellent reference while designing and coding.

Alex Martelli's writing style reflects what must be a very deep knowledge of the Python language. I get the feeling he knows Python at the most basic level which is reflected in his concise explanation of topics. Code examples are used sparingly throughout the book, mostly when including them enhances or augments the topic's explanation. I found the book filled with Pythonic gems: knowledgeable reflections on why one idiom is better implemented one way than another way. I found the section on Optimization especially enlightening. It contains Python specific optimization techniques I've not seen in other Python books, like why there are big-O performance gains achieved by avoiding string concatenation in preference to list operations or using operator % for string formatting. In general I was left feeling like I had a glimpse of how Python programming *should* be done.

The preface of the book includes an explanation that the book is meant for those with prior Python experience and/or experience developing in other languages. There is little coverage of the Python basics, except for the first few chapters which will help bring the reader up to speed quickly. I found the lack of review of the basics a refreshing diversion from the remedial-first-section-with-huge-code-listings pattern found in so many other programming books. Alex Martelli is so good at explaining how and why Python works the way it does that profuse code examples would be a distraction anyway. However, I think I've been collecting Python 'how' and 'why' questions for years now and was ready to have those questions answered. A newcomer to the language might not be as primed as I was and therefore might not appreciate Alex Martelli's obvious Python Zen. I expect to keep Python in a nutshell close at hand during all stages of development with Python. Alex Martelli has created an excellent reference that doesn't try to do too much but does achieve the goal of covering the most important parts of Python. Like Python in general, Martelli's writing style is concise, clear and readable. His book includes an insider's explanations of how best to program with Python. This book is a valuable reference for experienced programmers ready to take their Python skills to the next level.

I bought this book after working through Learning Python by Lutz and Ascher, and reading sections of other books. It is now my #1 reference. The examples are few, but well chosen to do more than just demonstrate the language. They can show you why a particular syntax or technique is needed. Often I waste a lot of time learning something I don't really need, like lambda functions. By the time I have figured out that lambda functions are not some elegant new concept, just an awkward piece of syntax to do something simple, I've already spent too much time. Alternatively, I decide that something like metaclasses are a waste, and miss something really elegant and useful. Martelli's four pages on metaclasses capture better than anything I've read on the subject, exactly what metaclasses are good for and how they work.

I think the dynamite combo for someone learning Python is both the Nutshell and the Learning book. I would read the Nutshell chapter first ( assuming you have a little background in programming ) then work problems in Learning Python until you are comfortable. Then re-read Nutshell, highlighting the key points you might need to re-learn in the midst of a rush project. Python in a nutshell is the best distillation of Python wisdom I have seen anywhere.

I've made a complete switch to Python from Perl, and this book has been a very, very helpful resource in doing so. I have owned several other O'Reilly's Nutshell books (C++, Linux, Perl, and Java) but never found them as useful as Python in a Nutshell.

Sure, Python does have a rather decent online documentation, which is free, but I often find it hard to find the exact information I want even using the index. Not the case with this Nutshell book; it covers the ground that you definitely need to know to get started early and do useful work immediately. Writing is very lucid, too.

I only give four stars just because I didn't necessarily like the section on object-oriented coding basics. I found Learning Python to be easier to understand in that regard.

This is not the best book if you are a programming beginner, but if you are trying to add Python to your programming arsenal knowning other languages already, I highly recommend this book as your handy companion.

I expected this to be as comprehensive as the Java in a Nutshell books (i.e., to cover all standard modules/functions). But the first time I crack the cover I can't even find 'signal' in the index. Sure enough, there's no coverage at all of this utterly standard topic. I had to look in Dave Beazley's book to get the info (there's a standard 'signal' module that's been in since at least python 2.0).

It seems like a crime for a reference book to be 600+ pages long and not get around to at least listing all the standard modules in the language.

This is a great book, without question. The question is whether it is worth the price, given the free online HTML reference documentation.

Pros:
+ Very nice typesetting. (Python Essential Reference is a bit small for eyes.)
+ Very good index; somewhat better than the online index.
+ Good explanations.
+ Some examples.
+ Much more advice than the online docs.
+ Most errata were corrected in the [09/03] printing. (I just received a [12/03] printing.)

Cons:
- Does not cover some of the most useful (new) modules: timeit, logging, zipimport, itertools, sets, sum, heapq.
- In particular, I would love to have ADVICE on how to use logging effectively.
- DOES cover the dead (insecure) modules rexec and Bastion.

So take your own decision. Personally, I would say it's not essential, but still worth the price. I go back and forth between the online index and this book.

Let me begin this review with a fair warning: this book is NOT for fresh programmers, hobbyists, system admins and other non-professional programmers out there, looking for a book that will actually help them LEARN Python language (even if the book has 4+ stars, it's still the O'Reilly Nutshell book).
(Btw. I know that, because I fit in all previously mentioned categories :-).
This book is (as title suggest) a QUICK reference of the Python language written by very competent author, I have no second thought about that, for already competent Python programmers that need good reference manual at hand.
I dare to say, that terse writing style, lack of examples and hard to follow explanations on some topics (without clear and simple code examples) will put off most of the new or intermediate programmers.
In my humble opinion this book is short for 200+ pages dedicated exclusively to code samples - I think examples in any reference book are as important as syntax and language explanations.
If you're already experienced programmer then you'll be more than satisfied with this book, just go ahead an click the button. If you're, on the other hand, starting to learn Python and need a good learning guide, I would recommend, that you begin with the book "Learning Python, 2 Edition" from O'Reilly.

I admit I had a hard time getting started with this book but found it to be quite interesting.

A really great book, I'm proud that the author is an Italian :o)