Welcome to The Python Apprentice! Our goal with this book is to give you a practical and thorough introduction to the Python programming language, providing you with the tools and insight you need to be a productive member of nearly any Python project. Python is a big language, and its not our intention with this book to cover everything there is to know. Rather we want to help you build solid foundations, orient you in the sometimes bewildering universe of Python, and put you in a position to direct your own continued learning.

This book is primarily aimed at people with some experience programming in another language. If you're currently programming in any of the mainstream imperative or object-oriented languages like C++, C#, or Java, then you'll have the background you need to get the most out of this book. If you have experience in other types of languages – for example, functional or actor-based – then you may have a bit steeper learning curve with Python, but you won't encounter any serious difficulties. Most programmers find Python very approachable and intuitive, and with just a little practice they quickly become comfortable with it.

On the other hand, if you don't have any experience with programming this book may be a bit daunting. You'll be learning not just a programming language but many of the topics and issues common to all languages at the same time. And to be fair, we don't spend a lot of time trying to explain these areas of "assumed knowledge". This doesn't mean you can't learn from this book! It just means that you might have to work a bit harder, read sections multiple times, and perhaps get guidance from others. The reward for this effort, though, is that you'll start to develop the knowledge and instincts for approaching other languages, and this is a critical skill for the professional programmer.

In this first chapter we'll take a quick tour of the Python language. We'll cover what Python is (hint: it's more than just a language!), take a look at how it was – and still is – developed, and get a sense of what makes it so appealing to so many programmers. We'll also give a brief preview of how the rest of the book is structured.