Information on Python

How to use Python on itlabs or cs machines

To use phyton from your Itlabs or CS account you need to do a module load soft/python and then type python . This works on all the Solaris and Linux machines. This starts Python in the interactive mode. In interactive mode you can type to the Python interpreter, which will read and execute your commands.
To start Python and a file type python <filename>. Python will read the file and execute it.
python runs under many operating systems. For information on python go to python.org

To set up emacs to recognize python simply copy python-mode.el into your .emacs directory. Load the file by typing M-x load-file and then python-mode.el at the prompt emacs gives you. Finally, open up a file then type M-x python-mode to get syntax highlighting and indentation in a python style.

Python for Lisp Programmers by Peter Norvig provides a high-level introduction to Python by compariing it with Lisp. It includes also data on comparing the speed of Lisp, Python, and other programming languages. Short but with most of the essential material.

The Pyro Module Python Introduction provides a good more detailed overview of Python. It is used in the context of Pyro, an extension to PyThon for robotics, but it covers plain Python.

python.org has numerous turorials on Python covering everything from basic to advanced material. Look at Python Intros.

A full textbook How to Think Like a Computer Scientist. Learning with Python, by Allen B. Downey, Jeffrey Elkner and Chris Meyers on using Python to learn computer science concepts.

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