Head First Python, 2nd Edition

Chapter 5. Building a Webapp: Getting Real

At this stage, you know enough Python to be dangerous.

With this book’s first four chapters behind you, you’re now in a position to productively use Python within any number of application areas (even though there’s still lots of Python to learn). Rather than explore the long list of what these application areas are, in this and subsequent chapters, we’re going to structure our learning around the development of a web-hosted application, which is an area where Python is especially strong. Along the way, you’ll learn a bit more about Python. Before we get going, however, let’s have a quick recap of the Python you already know.

Python: What You Already Know

Now that you’ve got four chapters under your belt, let’s pause for a moment and review the Python material presented so far.

Bullet Points

• IDLE, Python’s built-in IDE, is used to experiment with and execute Python code, either as single-statement snippets or as larger multistatement programs written within IDLE’s text editor. As well as using IDLE, you ran a file of Python code directly from your operating system’s command line, using the py -3 command (on Windows) or python3 (on everything else).

• You’ve learned how Python supports single-value data items, such as integers and strings, as well as ...