The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Python: Best Practices for Development

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Python takes the journeyman Pythonista to true expertise. More than any other language, Python was created with the philosophy of simplicity and parsimony. Now 25 years old, Python has become the primary or secondary language (after SQL) for many business users. With popularity comes diversity—and possibly dilution.

This guide, collaboratively written by over a hundred members of the Python community, describes best practices currently used by package and application developers. Unlike other books for this audience, The Hitchhiker’s Guide is light on reusable code and heavier on design philosophy, directing the reader to excellent sources that already exist.

Table of Contents

Part I. Getting Started
Chapter 1. Picking an Interpreter
Chapter 2. Properly Installing Python
Chapter 3. Your Development Environment

Part II. Getting Down to Business
Chapter 4. Writing Great Code
Chapter 5. Reading Great Code
Chapter 6. Shipping Great Code

Part III. Scenario Guide
Chapter 7. User Interaction
Chapter 8. Code Management and Improvement
Chapter 9. Software Interfaces
Chapter 10. Data Manipulation
Chapter 11. Data Persistence

Appendix A. Additional Notes