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The following books aim to be definitive references, either by publishing the Python documentation or by writing new reference-style material, and therefore should be useful throughout your Python programming career.

Most of these books will contain short, highly condensed introductions to Python, and if you're an experienced programmer these titles may be all you need. See the list of IntroductoryBooks if you'd prefer a book with more examples and a slower pace.

Python Multimedia

Available in print and eBook form

Ninad Sathaye

ISBN-13: 978-1-849510-16-5 Packt Publishing 292 pages (August 2010)

Learn how to develop Multimedia applications using Python with this practical step-by-step guide.

Overview of Python Multimedia

Who this book is written for

This book is for Python developers who want to dip their toes into working with images, animations, audio and video processing using Python.

A practical guide, this book provides step-by-step instructions for developing multimedia applications, showcasing real world examples throughout.

Publisher's page

Python Phrasebook

Sams Publishing, 275 pages (November 2006)

Essential Code and Commands Python Phrasebook gives you the code phrases you need to quickly and effectively complete your programming projects in Python. Concise and Accessible Easy to carry and easy to use—lets you ditch all those bulky books for one portable guide. Flexible and Functional Packed with more than 100 customizable code snippets—so you can readily code functional Python in just about any situation.

Home Page

Review by James Pyles

The Python Language Reference Manual (version 2.5)

Network Theory Ltd, 120 pages (Revised November 2006)

This is a printed edition of the official Python language reference manual by Guido van Rossum. For each copy sold $1 will be donated to the Python Software Foundation.

Home Page (includes electronic version)

Python Essential Reference

ISBN: 0672329786, Sams, 717 pages (June, 2009)

Just released in a fourth edition... features numerous improvements, additions, and updates. (Amazon)

17 page on Python 3.0

ISBN: 0672328623, Sams, 626 pages (February, 2006)

The third edition that covers Python 2.4 language features and a variety of new modules added to the standard library. The comments below apply to the 1st and 2nd editions.

A concise reference for Python 2.1, about as close as you can get to the K&R for Python. The first hundred pages are a complete but very compressed introduction to the language; the rest of the book is reference material on all of the standard library modules.

Some of the reviews below are for the first edition of this book. The second edition updated it without losing any of the first edition's virtues.

Review by Jonathan Corbet Review by Phil Hughes Review by AMK Review by Danny Yee

Python in a Nutshell

ISBN: 0596001886 O'Reilly, 654 pages (March 2003)

A concise desktop reference for Python 2.2. Covers the language itself, built-in types and functions, the standard library, and crucial third-party extensions such as Numeric, Tkinter, twisted.internet, Cheetah. Also covers Extending and Embedding Python, with C, Java, and other languages and tools.

Includes information on what parts were new in Python 2.2 (doesn't cover 2.3, as it was not yet finalized when the book was published, but does mention a few 2.3 additions that were already known at the time).

The second edition, published in 2006, covers features of the language introduced since the publication of the first edition.

Review by Cameron Laird Review by Danny Yee Reader reviews at amazon.com Publisher's page, with a link to the sample chapter &c Publisher's page for the second edition, with a link to the sample chapter Slashdot discussion

Python 2.1 Bible

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