Get a comprehensive, in-depth introduction to the core Python language with this hands-on book. Based on author Mark Lutz’s popular training course, this updated sixth edition will help you quickly write efficient, high-quality code with Python. It’s an ideal way to begin, whether you’re new to programming or a professional developer versed in other languages.

Complete with quizzes, exercises, and helpful illustrations, this easy-to-follow self-paced tutorial gets you started with Python 3.12 and all other releases in use today. With a pragmatic focus on what you need to know, it also introduces some advanced language features that have become increasingly common in Python code.

This book helps you:

• Explore Python’s built-in object types such as strings, lists, dictionaries, and files
• Create and process objects with Python statements, and learn Python’s syntax model
• Use functions and functional programming to avoid redundancy and maximize reuse
• Organize code into larger components with modules and packages
• Code robust programs with Python’s exception handling and development tools
• Apply object-oriented programming and classes to make code customizable
• Survey advanced Python tools including decorators, descriptors, and metaclasses
• Write idiomatic Python code that runs portably across a wide variety of platforms