Chapter 3. The Quick Python overview

The purpose of this chapter is to give you a basic feeling for the syntax, semantics, capabilities, and philosophy of the Python language. It has been designed to provide you with an initial perspective or conceptual framework on which you’ll be able to add details as you encounter them in the rest of the book.

On an initial read, you needn’t be concerned about working through and understanding the details of the code segments. You’ll be doing fine if you pick up a bit of an idea about what is being done. The subsequent chapters of this book will walk you through the specifics of these features and won’t assume prior knowledge. You can always return to this chapter and work through the examples in the appropriate sections as a review after you’ve read the later chapters.

3.1. Python synopsis

Python has a number of built-in data types such as integers, floats, complex numbers, strings, lists, tuples, dictionaries, and file objects. These can be manipulated using language operators, built-in functions, library functions, or a data type’s own methods.

3.2. Built-in data types

3.3. Control flow structures

3.4. Module creation

3.5. Object-oriented programming

3.6. Summary