Mastering Object-oriented Python

by Steven F. Lott

    Publisher: Packt Publishing (April 2014)
    Pages: 634
    ISBN: 9781783280971
    Language: English

Book Description

This practical example-oriented guide will teach you advanced concepts of object-oriented programming in Python. This book will present detailed examples of almost all of the special method names that support creating classes that integrate seamlessly with Python’s built-in features. It will show you how to use JSON, YAML, Pickle, CSV, XML, Shelve, and SQL to create persistent objects and transmit objects between processes. The book also covers logging, warnings, unit testing, configuration files, and how to work with the command line.

This book is broken into three major parts: Pythonic Classes via Special Methods; Persistence and Serialization; Testing, Debugging, Deploying, and Maintaining. The special methods are broken down into several focus areas: initialization, basics, attribute access, callables, contexts, containers, collections, numbers, and more advanced techniques such as decorators and mixin classes.

What you will learn from this book

• Understand the different design patterns for the __init__() method
• Discover the essential features of Python 3′s abstract base classes and how you can use them for your own applications
• Design callable objects and context managers that leverage the with statement
• Perform object serialization in formats such as JSON, YAML, Pickle, CSV, and XML
• Employ the Shelve module as a sophisticated local database
• Map Python objects to a SQL database using the built-in SQLite module
• Transmit Python objects via RESTful web services
• Devise strategies for automated unit testing, including how to use the doctest and the unittest.mock module
• Parse command-line arguments and integrate this with configuration files and environment variables
  

Approach

This book follows a standard tutorial approach with approximately 750 code samples spread through the 19 chapters. This amounts to over 5,900 lines of code that illustrate each concept.

Who this book is for

This book is aimed at programmers who have already learned the basics of object-oriented Python and need to write more sophisticated, flexible code that integrates seamlessly with the rest of Python. This book assumes a computer science background, with experience of common Python design patterns.

Table of Contents

Part 1 - Pythonic Classes via Special Methods
Chapter 1. The __init__() Method
Chapter 2. Integrating Seamlessly with Python – Basic Special Methods
Chapter 3. Attribute Access, Properties, and Descriptors
Chapter 4. The ABCs of Consistent Design
Chapter 5. Using Callables and Contexts
Chapter 6. Creating Containers and Collections
Chapter 7. Creating Numbers
Chapter 8. Decorators and Mixins – Cross-cutting Aspects

Part 2 - Persistence and Serialization
Chapter 9. Serializing and Saving – JSON, YAML, Pickle, CSV, and XML
Chapter 10. Storing and Retrieving Objects via Shelve
Chapter 11. Storing and Retrieving Objects via SQLite
Chapter 12. Transmitting and Sharing Objects
Chapter 13. Configuration Files and Persistence

Part 3 - Testing, Debugging, Deploying, and Maintaining
Chapter 14. The Logging and Warning Modules
Chapter 15. Designing for Testability
Chapter 16. Coping With the Command Line
Chapter 17. The Module and Package Design
Chapter 18. Quality and Documentation