To get the most out of this book
The examples in this book were developed on macOS x86-64 using versions of Python ranging from 3.6 to 3.9. The latest version of OpenTelemetry for Python tested is version 1.10.0, which includes experimental support for both metrics and logging. It's likely that the API will change in subsequent releases, so be aware of the version installed as you go through the examples. Consult the changelog of the OpenTelemetry Python repository (https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-python/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md) for the latest updates.
Many examples in the book rely on Docker and Docker Compose to deploy environments locally. As of January 2022, the license for Docker Desktop still allows users to install it for free for personal use, education, and non-commercial open source projects. If the licensing prevents you from using Docker Desktop, there are alternatives available.
If you are using the digital version of this book, we advise you to type the code yourself or access the code from the book's GitHub repository (a link is available in the next section). Doing so will help you avoid any potential errors related to the copying and pasting of code.
