Python Programming On Win32: Help for Windows Programmers
Python Programming On Win32: Help for Windows Programmers by Andy Robinson and Mark Hammond
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Number of Pages:
- 672
- ISBN:
- 1565926218
- Product Group:
- book
- Publisher:
- O'Reilly Media
- Publication Date:
- Jan. 24, 2000
- BooksForGeeks.com ID:
- 2443
Python Programming on Win32 zeroes in on the strengths of the Python programming language for the Windows platform. If you would like to use Python on Windows with Office 2000, this book is a perfect choice forgetting started. While it's not an introduction to Python programming itself, the book does present some basic Python examples. (The authors do present an impressive list of real-world projects that have used Python successfully, including an application at NASA and a major Web search engine).
In lieu of a general language tour, this book centres on practical tips and examples for using Python on Windows, beginning with downloading and installing the free Python package. The most useful examples here present a Python library for general accounting objects. You'll learn how to write COM servers in Python and then how to script them in Visual Basic (used here to build user interfaces) and how to control Word and Excel with OLEAutomation in Python. One standout example looks at building and printing accounting reports in Office 2000 using Python as the script language.
Later sections look at other possibilities, including how to use Python's support for MFC to build user interfaces. A notable section here looks at Windows NT system administration in Python. Because of its built-in support for dictionaries, Python is a natural fit for working with users, groups, permissions and the like.
While Python's initial habitat may be UNIX, Python Programming on Win32 shows that this powerful and increasingly popular object- oriented language may find its next home on Windows. Provided you have some previous exposure to the language, this book is an excellent resource for using Python in a Windows setting. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered: Python programming quick-start, Windows Python basics, Python support for COM/DCOM, the Python win editor, Office 2000scripting, NT administration and system programming, Python MFC programming and Active Scripting.
Reviews for Python Programming On Win32: Help for Windows Programmers
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Deep, wide ranging, engaging and well written
Rated out of 5 stars, July 12nd, 2003
This covers the complete ins-and-outs of Python programming on Win32 platforms with a special emphasis on COM programming (which Python makes trivially easy), although there is also plenty of material on file manipulation, administration, network programming, ODBC integration, NT services and much more. It is extremely wide ranging. The examples are excellent, as well, and generally solve real-world problems in a non-trivial way. There are a couple of caveats, however: it is not a good resource if you want to write cross-platform applications as much of the code is very Windows specific. Also, it is not really intended to teach you Python from scratch, although a brief language overview together with the authors' crystal-clear programming style is enough to get by with. Finally, the writing style is clear and engaging. If you want to get into Python programming but you don't want to do it on Linux, you definitely need this book. -
Excellent, buy it !
Rated out of 5 stars, March 12th, 2000
Newcomers to the Python language would be best starting with Learning Python by Lutz and Ascher. Anyone else with a little Python knowledge will find this book very useful. It is well written, has useful examples and is well paced and structured. The best book on Python so far.