1. Chapter 1 Primitives

   1. Simple Values

   2. Expressions

   3. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

2. Chapter 2 Names, Functions, and Modules

   1. Assigning Names

   2. Defining Functions

   3. Using Modules

   4. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

3. Chapter 3 Collections

   1. Sets

   2. Sequences

   3. Mappings

   4. Streams

   5. Collection-Related Expression Features

   6. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

4. Chapter 4 Control Statements

   1. Conditionals

   2. Loops

   3. Iterations

   4. Exception Handlers

   5. Extended Examples

   6. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

5. Chapter 5 Classes

   1. Defining Classes

   2. Class and Method Relationships

   3. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

6. Chapter 6 Utilities

   1. System Environment

   2. The Filesystem

   3. Working with Text

   4. Persistent Storage

   5. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

7. Chapter 7 Pattern Matching

   1. Fundamental Syntax

   2. The Actions of the re Module

   3. Results of re Functions and Methods

   4. Putting It All Together: Examples

   5. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

8. Chapter 8 Structured Text

   1. HTML

   2. XML

   3. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

9. Chapter 9 Web Programming

   1. Manipulating URLs: urllib.parse

   2. Opening Web Pages: webbrowser

   3. Web Clients

   4. Web Servers

   5. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

10. Chapter 10 Relational Databases

    1. Representation in Relational Databases

    2. Using Relational Data

    3. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

11. Chapter 11 Structured Graphics

    1. Introduction to Graphics Programming

    2. Structured Graphics with tkinter

    3. Structured Graphics with SVG

    4. Tips, Traps, and Tracebacks

1. Appendix Python Language Summary

   1. Language Components

   2. Types and Expressions

   3. Statements

   4. Notes

2. Appendix Collection Type Summary

   1. Types and General Operations

   2. Specific Collection Types

   3. Iteration Templates

3. Colophon

The animal on the cover of Bioinformatics Programming Using Python is a brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as a common rat, sewer rat, Norway rat, or wharf rat. One of the largest members of the Muroidea family, the brown rat is 10 to 15 inches long with a 6- to 8-inch long tail. Its fur is coarse and mostly brown or gray. This rat has very sharp hearing and smell, but poor vision. It is omnivorous and nocturnal, and lives almost everywhere humans live, particularly in cities. Like other rodents, brown rats may carry pathogens and spread disease.

Contrary to the brown rat's species name--norvegicus--it did not originate in Norway. It was named by an 18th-century British naturalist who mistakenly believed that the rat had migrated to England on Norwegian ships in the early 1700s. By the end of the 19th century, scientists had established that the brown rat had most likely originated in China. Today the brown rat has spread to all continents and is the dominant rat in Europe and North America--making it the most successful mammal on earth after humans.

The cover image is from the Dover Pictorial Archive. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSansMonoCondensed.