.. _tutorial-index:

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  The Python Tutorial 

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:Release: |version|

:Date: |today|

Python is an easy to learn, powerful programming language. It has efficient

high-level data structures and a simple but effective approach to

object-oriented programming. Python's elegant syntax and dynamic typing,

together with its interpreted nature, make it an ideal language for scripting

and rapid application development in many areas on most platforms.

The Python interpreter and the extensive standard library are freely available

in source or binary form for all major platforms from the Python Web site,

http://www.python.org/, and may be freely distributed. The same site also

contains distributions of and pointers to many free third party Python modules,

programs and tools, and additional documentation.

The Python interpreter is easily extended with new functions and data types

implemented in C or C++ (or other languages callable from C). Python is also

suitable as an extension language for customizable applications.

This tutorial introduces the reader informally to the basic concepts and

features of the Python language and system. It helps to have a Python

interpreter handy for hands-on experience, but all examples are self-contained,

so the tutorial can be read off-line as well.

For a description of standard objects and modules, see the Python Library

Reference document. The Python Reference Manual gives a more formal definition

of the language. To write extensions in C or C++, read Extending and Embedding

the Python Interpreter and Python/C API Reference. There are also several books

covering Python in depth.

This tutorial does not attempt to be comprehensive and cover every single

feature, or even every commonly used feature. Instead, it introduces many of

Python's most noteworthy features, and will give you a good idea of the

language's flavor and style. After reading it, you will be able to read and

write Python modules and programs, and you will be ready to learn more about the

various Python library modules described in the Python Library Reference.

The :ref:`glossary` is also worth going through.

.. toctree::

   appetite.rst

   interpreter.rst

   introduction.rst

   controlflow.rst

   datastructures.rst

   modules.rst

   inputoutput.rst

   errors.rst

   classes.rst

   stdlib.rst

   stdlib2.rst

   whatnow.rst

   interactive.rst

   floatingpoint.rst