Python Noob - gui module, book, annoying questions

[Mark]

On Aug 29, 8:20 am, Pherdnut <erik.rep... at gmail.com> wrote:
> I want to write cross-platform stuff. Any opinions on the best GUI
> module for that?

The "big three" cross-platform ones are PyQt4, wxPython, and PyGtk.
I prefer PyQt4, but I'm biased as you'll see.

> I like a good juicy, but concise book for reading on my commute
> downtown. I was thinking of checking Python in a Nutshell. Good? Bad?
> Better?

That's a good book---but perhaps a bit out of date now?
David Beazley's "Essential Python Reference" 4th Edition is similar
but more up to date.
But if you want a book that gives a good introduction to Python 2
_and_ GUI programming (with PyQt4), then my book "Rapid GUI
Programming with Python and Qt" fits the bill.

> Is 3.0+ more object based? I'm actually an FED and one of the things I
> love about JS is the consistency of the language. I love Python 2.6 so
> far so I'm not knocking it. But I'm not really taking advantage of the
> non-core libraries as much right now anyway since I'm learning it.

Python 3 is more consistent than Python 2, and I certainly prefer
Python 3---but the differences aren't huge. As for OO, well for more
advanced stuff I think that Python 3 is cleaner (e.g., metaclass
handling), but for everyday programming both are excellent.

> What do you guys like in Reg Ex books/sites? I'd like to become more
> fluent in some of the less commonly used stuff.

The "standard text" on regexes is "Mastering Regular Expressions" by
Jeffrey Freidl, although he doesn't explicitly cover Python (but
Python's regex engine is mostly a subset of Perl's, so the book is
still useful). If you want something smaller and free you could
download my "Programming in Python 3" book's "Regular Expressions"
chapter from http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0137129297
(click Sample Content, then Download the Sample pages; the regex stuff
starts a few pages into the PDF).