New Arrival to Python

[cipherpunk at gmail.com]

1.  Whichever one works best for you, of course.  :)  There are lots of
editors and IDEs out there.  I find myself coming back to Emacs and
jEdit the most, but there are a sizable number of vi partisans
(benighted heathens tho they be) and an increasing number of Eclipse,
Wing and Komodo partisans.  Having tried all the free ones I could get
my mitts on... well, Emacs and jEdit serve my needs just fine.  Your
mileage may vary significantly.

2-5 are all either IDE opinion questions, which I'll duck, or specific
technologies I don't use, which I'll duck.  Resuming with 6...

_Core Python Programming_ is a reasonable read for a beginner.  I
prefer Mark Lutz's _Programming Python_ 2nd Ed, though.  _Learning
Python_ is also a good choice, but only for real beginners to
programming--if you already know a programming language, _Programming
Python_ is the better choice.

I use Beazley's _Python Essential Reference_ about once every couple of
days.  Surprisingly, I use it more than _Python in a Nutshell_, but
that may be due more to the fact _PER_ is usually within closer reach.
They're both good references, with _PiaN_ being more heavyweight with
better coverage.

The _Python Cookbook_ is a great way to expand your knowledge of Python
and discover the weird and cool stuff you can do with it.