Preface

Python is one of the most widely used dynamic programming languages. It supports a rich set of libraries and frameworks that enable rapid development. Such fast-paced development often comes with its own baggage that can bring down the overall quality, performance, and extensibility of the application. This book will help you push your Python skill level by teaching you how to build and deploy interesting applications.

Starting with a simple program, the book takes you all the way through designing and developing robust and efficient applications. It touches upon several important topics in an accessible and fun way.

A fantasy theme is used as a vehicle to explain various concepts. During the course of this book, you will meet many fictional game characters. While you learn different topics, these imaginary characters will talk to you, ask questions, and request new features.

Each chapter targets a different aspect of application development. A few initial ones focus on software robustness, packaging, and releasing the application code. The next few chapters are about improving the application's lifetime by making the code extensible, reusable, and readable. You will learn about refactoring, unit testing, design patterns, documentation, and best practices.

Techniques for identifying bottlenecks and improving performance are covered in a series of three chapters devoted to performance. The last chapter introduces you to GUI development.