Python for Java People (JNNC Technologies)

Table of Contents

• Syntax
• Dynamic typing
• The dynamic typing philosophy
• A hybrid paradigm
• Sequences
• Functions
• Objects and the dynamic runtime
• Objects
• Classes
• Wrapping up
• Comments

Philosophically, Python is almost a polar opposite to Java. It forgoes static types and rigid structure in favor of a loose sandbox, within which you’re free to do basically whatever you want. Perhaps Python is about what you can do, whereas Java is about what you may do.

And yet both languages still share a great deal of inspiration tracing back to C. They’re both imperative languages with blocks, loops, functions, assignment, and infix math. Both make heavy use of classes, objects, inheritance, and polymorphism. Both feature exceptions fairly prominently. Both handle memory management automatically. They even both compile to bytecode that runs on a VM, though Python compiles transparently for you.