Python Essential Reference (4th Edition, Revised)

Name: Python Essential Reference (4th Edition, Revised)
ISBN: 9787115394392

David M. BeazleyPosts & Telecom Press2016

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Word count: 879K words
Chapters: 30
Series: Asynchronous Books
ISBN: 9787115394392

Summary

This book is a classic reference manual for the Python programming language, written by David M. Beazley, who has long worked in Python training and consulting; the original is Python Essential Reference, 4th Edition. The book is divided into three major parts, systematically covering the most important and practical content of the core Python language and commonly used standard library. Part I, "The Python Language," starts with running Python, variables and expressions, conditional statements, and file reading and writing, then covers lexical conventions and syntax, types and objects, operators and expressions, program structure and control flow, functions and functional programming, classes and object-oriented programming, modules and packaging, input and output, the execution environment, and testing, debugging, profiling, and tuning. Part II, "The Python Library," is organized by topic and covers built-in functions and exceptions, runtime services, mathematics, data structures and algorithms, string and text processing, database access, file and directory handling, operating system services, threads and concurrency, network programming and sockets, network applications, web programming, and internet data handling and encoding. Part III, "Extending and Embedding," discusses extending Python with C and embedding Python in other programs. The book is reference-oriented, with compact entries and concise examples, and includes advanced topics not easily found in official documentation, making it suitable as a long-term desk reference. This is the revised 4th edition, published by Asynchronous Books.

Editor's review

市面上讲 Python 的书很多，但真正能当「字典」用的并不多，这本《Python参考手册》就是其中之一。它不试图把你从头教到尾，而是像一本编排讲究的速查手册：想确认某个内置类型的特殊方法、想弄清 itertools 各函数的差别、想回忆 socket 的地址族取值，翻到对应章节就能找到答案。作者 David M. Beazley 自 1996 年起使用 Python，长期从事 Python 培训与咨询，写书时格外清楚开发者「卡在哪里、会去查什么」，因此条目紧凑、示例精炼，几乎不浪费篇幅。全书三部分结构清晰：语言核心、标准库、扩展与嵌入，既能顺着读一遍建立完整地图，也能长期摆在手边随时检索。修订版由谢俊、杨越、高伟翻译，术语与官方文档基本对齐，阅读时不必在两套叫法之间反复换算。如果你已经能写 Python，缺的只是一本「随时能查、查了可信」的案头书，它很值得占一格书架。

Who it's for

A good fit for

已掌握 Python 基础语法、希望系统补齐语言细节的中级开发者
经常需要查阅标准库模块用法的后端、运维与数据方向工程师
从事 C/C++ 开发、需要扩展 Python 或将 Python 嵌入自有程序的工程师
把 Python 作为第二语言、希望建立完整知识框架的程序员

Not a good fit for

完全没有编程基础的零起点读者，本书不承担入门教学功能
只想要项目实战案例、希望边做项目边学的读者
需要紧跟 Python 3.10 以后新特性（如模式匹配）的读者，本书成书较早

Reading tips

第一遍可只通读第一部分，把语言核心的边角知识补全，第二部分留作查阅。
配合官方文档一起使用：书中讲原理与要点，官方文档提供最新细节，互为补充。
每读到一个模块，就在自己的代码库里找一处可用场景改写或重构，加深记忆。
把书放在工位随手可取之处，遇到报错或拿不准的 API 先查目录再搜索，效率更高。

About the publisher

Posts & Telecom Press China · Founded in 1953

Posts & Telecom Press is known for its strengths in science and technology, computing, and information and communications titles, and has extended its publishing into photography, art, software learning, and inspirational growth, giving it a fairly diverse range. Its catalog includes computing and communications works such as Refactoring and Patterns (Revised Edition) and Huawei Switch Learning Guide (Second Edition), alongside bilingual collector's editions such as The Little Prince (Chinese-English-French illustrated collector's edition), The Great Gatsby, and Three Days to See. Beijing Ten Years: 1980-1990 and Ghost Blade: WLOP Personal Illustration Collection reflect its presence in photography and art. Its authors include Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Helen Keller, Joshua Kerievsky, Wang Da, Zhang Zhaozeng, and WLOP.

Part I The Python Language
Chapter 1 A Tutorial Introduction
Chapter 2 Lexical Conventions and Syntax
Chapter 3 Types and Objects
Chapter 4 Operators and Expressions
Chapter 5 Program Structure and Control Flow
Chapter 6 Functions and Functional Programming
Chapter 7 Classes and Object-Oriented Programming
Chapter 8 Modules, Packages, and Distribution
Chapter 9 Input and Output
Chapter 10 The Execution Environment
Chapter 11 Testing, Debugging, Profiling, and Tuning
Part II The Python Library
Chapter 12 Built-in Functions and Exceptions
Chapter 13 Python Runtime Services
Chapter 14 Mathematics
Chapter 15 Data Structures, Algorithms, and Code Simplification
Chapter 16 String and Text Handling
Chapter 17 Python Database Access
Chapter 18 File and Directory Handling
Chapter 19 Operating System Services
Chapter 20 Threads and Concurrency
Chapter 21 Network Programming and Sockets
Chapter 22 Network Applications
Chapter 23 Web Programming
Chapter 24 Internet Data Handling and Encoding
Chapter 25 Miscellaneous Library Modules
Part III Extending and Embedding
Chapter 26 Extending and Embedding Python
Appendix Python 3

FAQ

这本书适合零基础学 Python 吗？

不太适合。本书定位是参考手册，假定读者已能写基本程序，讲解以条目和要点为主，缺少循序渐进的入门引导。零基础读者建议先用入门教材打底，再把它作为案头工具书。

书中的内容对应哪个 Python 版本？

原书第4版主要覆盖 Python 2.6 与 Python 3 早期的语言特性和标准库，并对 Python 2 向 Python 3 迁移的问题有所讨论。书末附有关于 Python 3 的附录，但更晚版本的新特性并未包含。

这本书和《Python Cookbook》有什么区别？

两者同为 Beazley 的作品，但取向不同：本书是按语言与库组织的查阅型参考手册，重在「是什么、怎么用」；《Python Cookbook》则是问题驱动的实例集，重在「遇到某类问题怎么写」。

修订版和 2011 年的第4版有什么不同？

2011 年版 ISBN 为 9787115242594，2016 年由人民邮电出版社推出的修订版 ISBN 为 9787115394392，属于同一译本体系下的重新校订与再版，正文主体框架一致，读者购买时可按 ISBN 区分。

523 页的篇幅能覆盖多少标准库内容？

覆盖面广但不穷尽。作者有意删减了废弃和冷僻的模块，重点讲最常用的部分，并补充官方文档中较少提及的高级主题，因此更适合快速定位常用功能，而非替代完整文档。

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About the author

David M. Beazley Author

David M. Beazley is an author known for writing on computing and programming design. His representative work, Python Reference Manual (4th Edition, Revised), is often categorized among software-learning and programming reference books for Chinese readers. As far as publicly available information shows, details about his nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, professional career, and honors are very limited, so it is inappropriate to speculate much about his personal life. The library records only this one work by him, but as a reference manual it systematically organizes content related to the Python language and is aimed at developers who want to understand and look up the language in depth, reflecting a practical and clearly structured approach to writing. For programming learners who need to verify syntax and usage details at hand, such a reference book offers fairly direct reference value.