<p>Python is optimized for quality, productivity, portability, and integration. Hundreds of thousands of Python developers around the world rely on Python for general-purpose tasks, Internet scripting, systems programming, user interfaces, and product customization. Available on all major computing platforms, including commercial versions of Unix, Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X, Python is portable, powerful and remarkable easy to use. With its convenient, quick-reference format, <em>Python Pocket Reference</em>, 3rd Edition is the perfect on-the-job reference. More importantly, it's now been refreshed to cover the language's latest release, Python 2.4. For experienced Python developers, this book is a compact toolbox that delivers need-to-know information at the flip of a page. This third edition also includes an easy-lookup index to help developers find answers fast! Python 2.4 is more than just optimization and library enhancements; it's also chock full of bug fixes and upgrades. And these changes are addressed in the <em>Python Pocket Reference</em>, 3rd Edition. New language features, new and upgraded built-ins, and new and upgraded modules and packages—they're all clarified in detail. The <em>Python Pocket Reference</em>, 3rd Edition serves as the perfect companion to <em><a href="/works/OL2784125W/">Learning Python</a></em> and <em>Programming Python</em>.</p> <h2>Revision History</h2> <dl> <dt>October 1998</dt><dd>First Edition</dd> <dt>January 2002</dt><dd>Second Edition</dd> <dt>February 2005</dt><dd>Third Edition</dd> <dt>October 2009</dt><dd>Fourth Edition</dd> <dt></dt><dd>5th Edition</dd> <dt>2014-01-17</dt><dd>First release</dd> <dt>2014-02-14</dt><dd>Second release</dd> <dt>2015-02-06</dt><dd>Third release</dd> <dt>2018-08-10</dt><dd>Fourth release</dd> <dt>2018-11-21</dt><dd>Fifth release</dd> </dl>