General Tips

Try some or all:

Read Apple Carbon documentation
Use dir() and help()
Look into MacPython IDE code, or in the few Mac Python modules like macostools, findertools or other modules in plat-mac
Look into the C modules that implement the glue between Python and Carbon.
Ask the good people at #macpython in irc.freenode.org

Recipes

You want to know the file type or creator of a file.

>>> from Carbon import File
>>> info = File.FSSpec('Todo').FSpGetFInfo()     
>>> info.Type
'****'
>>> info.Creator
'Hdra'
>>>

Here is another simpler way (from MacPython IDE):

>>>import MacOS
>>> MacOS.GetCreatorAndType('Todo')
('Hdra', '****')

Python 2.3 Carbon Modules: