12 What Now?

Reading this tutorial has probably reinforced your interest in using Python -- you should be eager to apply Python to solve your real-world problems. Now what should you do?

You should read, or at least page through, the , which gives complete (though terse) reference material about types, functions, and modules that can save you a lot of time when writing Python programs. The standard Python distribution includes a lot of code in both C and Python; there are modules to read UNIX mailboxes, retrieve documents via HTTP, generate random numbers, parse command-line options, write CGI programs, compress data, and a lot more; skimming through the Library Reference will give you an idea of what's available.

The major Python Web site is https://www.python.org/; it contains code, documentation, and pointers to Python-related pages around the Web. This Web site is mirrored in various places around the world, such as Europe, Japan, and Australia; a mirror may be faster than the main site, depending on your geographical location. A more informal site is https://starship.python.net/, which contains a bunch of Python-related personal home pages; many people have downloadable software there.

For Python-related questions and problem reports, you can post to the newsgroup ‘comp.lang.python’, or send them to the mailing list at python-list at python.org. The newsgroup and mailing list are gatewayed, so messages posted to one will automatically be forwarded to the other. There are around 120 postings a day, asking (and answering) questions, suggesting new features, and announcing new modules.

Before posting, be sure to check the list of Frequently Asked Questions (also called the FAQ), at https://www.python.org/doc/FAQ.html, or look for it in the ‘Misc/’ directory of the Python source distribution. Mailing list archives are available at https://www.python.org/pipermail/. The FAQ answers many of the questions that come up again and again, and may already contain the solution for your problem.