![Chapter 1: A Python Primer
2
The Python Interpreter
One of the most useful tools for writing Python code is the Python interpreter, an interactive editing and
execution environment in which commands are run as soon as you enter them and press Enter. On Unix
and Macintosh machines, the Python interpreter can usually be found in the /usr/local/bin/python
directory, which can be accessed by simply typing the command python.
On Windows machines, the Python interpreter is installed to the c:python25 directory (for a Python
2.5x installation). To add this directory to your path, type the following at a Windows command prompt:
set path=%path%;C:python25.
On a Windows system, such as with Unix/Linux, you simply type python to bring up the interpreter
(either from the c:python25 directory or from any directory if the Python directory has been added to
the path).
When you enter the interpreter, you’ll see a screen with information like the following:
Python 2.5.1 (r251:54863, Apr 18 2007, 08:51:08) [MSC v.1310 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information.
>>>
Your Editing/Execution Environment
Because the minimum requirements for writing and running Python programs are simply an editor that
can save text files and a command prompt where you can run the Python interpreter, you could simply
use Notepad on Windows, Vim on Linux/Unix, or TextEdit on Mac, and a command line for running
programs.
One nice step up from that is IDLE, Python’s integrated development environment (IDE), which is
named after Monty Python’s Eric Idle and is included with Python. It includes the following useful
features:
A full-featured text editor
Syntax highlighting
Code intelligence
A class browser
A Python path browser
A debugger
A Python interpreter environment
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![Chapter 1: A Python Primer
5
Data Types
Python is known as a dynamically typed language, which means that you don’t have to explicitly identify
the data type when you initialize a variable. In the code example above, the variable name is assigned to
the string value “Jim”. However, you don’t specifically identify the variable as a string variable. Python
knows, based on the value it has been given, that it should allocate memory for a string. Likewise for the
age integer variable and the highschoolGPA float variable.
The following table shows the most commonly used available data types and their attributes:
Data Type Attributes Example
Numeric Types
Float Implemented with C doubles. 5.43
9483.123
Integer Implemented with C longs. 1027
211234
Long Integer Size is limited only by system resources. 567893L
Sequence Types
String A list of characters. Is immutable (not changeable
in-place). Can be represented by single quotes or
double quotes. Can span multiple lines.
“This is a string”
”””
This is an example
of a DocString
”””
List A mutable (changeable) sequence of data types.
List elements do not have to be “like.” In other
words, you could have a float element and an
integer element in a single list.
[1, 2.3, “Jim”]
[1, 2, 3]
[1.5, 2.7, 3.0]
[“Jim”, “Joe”, “Bob”]
Tuple An immutable sequence of data types. Other
than the fact that it can’t be changed, it works
just like a list.
(1, 2.3, “Jim”)
(1, 2, 3)
(1.5, 2.7, 3.0)
“Jim”, “Joe”, “Bob”
Dictionary A list of items indexed by keys. d = {“first“:”Jim”,
“last“:“Knowlton“}
Identifiers
An identifier is a unique name that enables you to identify something. Identifiers are used to label
variables, functions, classes, objects, and modules. They begin with either a letter or an underscore, and
they can contain letters, underscores, or digits. They cannot contain punctuation marks.
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![Chapter 1: A Python Primer
9
Iteration
Iteration in Python is handled through the “usual suspects”: the for loop and the while loop. However,
if you’ve programmed in other languages, these seemingly familiar friends are a little different.
For Loops
Unlike in Java, the for loop in Python is more than a simple construct based on a counter. Instead, it is a
sequence iterator that will step through the items of any sequenced object (such as a list of names, for
instance). Here’s a simple example of a for loop:
>>> names = [“Jim”, “Joe”]
>>> for x in names:
print x
Jim
Joe
>>>
As you can see, the basic syntax is for <variable> in <object>:, followed by the code block to be
iterated.
While Loops
A while loop is similar to a for loop but it’s more flexible. It enables you to test for a particular
condition and then terminate the loop when the condition is true. This is great for situations when you
want to terminate a loop when the program is in a state that you can’t predict at runtime (such as when
you are processing a file, and you want the loop to be done when you reach the end of the file).
Here’s an example of a while loop:
>>> counter = 5
>>> x = 0
>>> while x < counter:
print “x=”,x
print “counter = “, counter
x += 1
x = 0
counter = 5
x = 1
counter = 5
x = 2
counter = 5
x = 3
counter = 5
x = 4
counter = 5
>>>
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![Chapter 1: A Python Primer
14
Exploring sys.path
If you ever want to see your system’s Python search path, all you have to do is bring up the interactive
interpreter, import the sys module, and type sys.path. The full Python module search path will be
returned, as shown in the following example:
>>> import sys
>>> sys.path
[‘C:Python25’, ‘C:Python25Libidlelib’, ‘C:Program FilesPythonNet’,
‘c:scriptspython’, ‘c:python25’, ‘C:Python25pyunit-1.4.1’,
‘c:python25pamie’, ‘C:WINDOWSsystem32python25.zip’, ‘C:Python25DLLs’,
‘C:Python25lib’, ‘C:Python25libplat-win’, ‘C:Python25liblib-tk’,
‘C:Python25libsite-packages’, ‘C:Python25libsite-packageswin32’,
‘C:Python25libsite-packageswin32lib’, ‘C:Python25libsite-
packages
Pythonwin’, ‘C:Python25libsite-packageswx-2.8-msw-ansi’]
>>>
Classes
Python is a language that can support both procedural programming and object-oriented programming.
Here is an example of a Python class:
>>> class name1():
def setmyname(self, myname):
self.name = myname
>>> jimname = name1()
>>> jimname.setmyname(“Jim”)
>>> print jimname.name
Jim
>>>
Note some points about Python’s implementation of class programming as demonstrated in the
preceding example:
If we were inheriting from other classes, those class names would have been inside the
parentheses of the class name1(): definition.
In this case, there is one class method, setmyname. If we wanted to create a constructor for the
class, it would be named __init__ .
To create an instance of a class, you simply assign a variable to the class definition, as in
jimname = name1() .
Attributes are accessed with familiar dot notation (instance variable.attribute) such as
jimname.name .
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![Chapter 2: Directory/File Snapshot Program
21
After I tell the directory to “snap,” I get the following prompt:
Enter the name of the snapshot file to create:
In other words, it is creating a file on disk, with the snapshot. This is not a human-readable file (it’s a
“Pickle” file — more on that later), but Python will be able to read it and use it to compare snapshots.
You can give it any valid filename for your system.
Snapshot Filenames
Because you can look up snapshot filenames by extension, it makes sense to use an
extension you can remember, and to be consistent. I suggest naming your snapshots
with a .snp extension, as that isn’t used for any other type of common file.
Your snapshot is now created. Pressing Enter will take you back to the menu.
Listing Snapshot Files
If you type 2 and press Enter, you’ll be presented with an option to list the snapshot files in your current
directory. Snapshot files can have any valid filename, so you’ll be prompted as follows in order for
Python to determine how to list the files:
LIST SNAPSHOT FILES
====================================
Enter the file extension for your snapshot files
(for example, ’snp’ if your files end in ‘.snp’):
After you enter the common extension for your snapshot files, you’ll be presented with a list similar to
the following (except with your own files listed, of course):
Snapshot list:
========================
ci_directory.snp
ci_directory2.snp
doctemp1.snp
doctemp2.snp
Press [Enter] to continue...
As noted in the preceding sidebar, don’t forget to name all your snapshot files with a consistent
extension.
Pressing Enter will take you back to the menu.
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- 6. Python® Create-Modify-Reuse Jim Knowlton Wiley Publishing, Inc. ffirs.indd iii ffirs.indd iii 6/2/08 12:20:02 PM 6/2/08 12:20:02 PM
- 7. ffirs.indd ii ffirs.indd ii 6/2/08 12:20:02 PM 6/2/08 12:20:02 PM
- 8. Python® Create-Modify-Reuse Introduction .............................................................................................. xix Chapter 1: A Python Primer........................................................................ 1 Part I: The Projects ................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2: Directory/File Snapshot Program .............................................. 19 Chapter 3: DVD Inventory System .............................................................. 43 Chapter 4: Web Performance Tester ........................................................... 81 Chapter 5: Customer Follow-Up System...................................................... 103 Chapter 6: Test Management/Reporting System........................................ 125 Chapter 7: Version Management System .................................................... 157 Chapter 8: Content Management System ................................................... 177 Part II: Advanced Topics ............................................................................ 197 Chapter 9: Interacting with the Operating System ...................................... 199 Chapter 10: Debugging and Testing............................................................ 221 Appendix A: Where to Go From Here — Resources That Can Help................ 239 Appendix B: Installing Supplemental Programs ........................................... 241 Index ........................................................................................................ 253 ffirs.indd i ffirs.indd i 6/2/08 12:20:01 PM 6/2/08 12:20:01 PM
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- 10. Python® Create-Modify-Reuse Jim Knowlton Wiley Publishing, Inc. ffirs.indd iii ffirs.indd iii 6/2/08 12:20:02 PM 6/2/08 12:20:02 PM
- 11. Python®: Create-Modify-Reuse Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 10475 Crosspoint Boulevard Indianapolis, IN 46256 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: 978-0-470-25932-0 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Knowlton, Jim. Python : create-modify-reuse / Jim Knowlton. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-470-25932-0 (paper/website) 1. Python (Computer program language) I. Title. QA76.73.P98K56 2008 005.13'3—dc22 2008021374 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley logo, Wrox, the Wrox logo, Wrox Programmer to Programmer, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Python is a registered trademark of Python Software Foundation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. ffirs.indd iv ffirs.indd iv 6/2/08 12:20:02 PM 6/2/08 12:20:02 PM
- 12. To Karin, the love of my life. Words simply can’t express all that I’m grateful for. I know that sometimes I live in another world — but always know that it would be a cold world without you. To my children, Karren, Shannon, Kasey, Brian, Courtney, Jaren, Carlen, Kristin, Logan, and Ben — and to little Olivia yet to come (as I write this). For some of you I was there at your birth, some of you I have known for only a few years, but know that each one of you is a treasure to me. To Mom and Dad, you are still with me every day. I live to make you proud. ffirs.indd v ffirs.indd v 6/2/08 12:20:03 PM 6/2/08 12:20:03 PM
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- 14. vii About the Author Jim Knowlton is a software quality engineer with Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Inc., where he leads quality assurance efforts on ADP’s computer telephony integration and network video projects. He has been instrumental in introducing automated testing methodologies to their QA effort. He has more than fifteen years of experience in the software industry, including clients such as Symantec, Novell, Nike, and Zions Bank. He has extensive experience in open-source technologies, including Python, Ruby, PHP, Apache, and MySQL, and has also worked extensively in the areas of systems management and enterprise security. Jim holds a bachelor of arts degree in management and is currently working on a master of software engineering degree at Portland State University. ffirs.indd vii ffirs.indd vii 6/2/08 12:20:03 PM 6/2/08 12:20:03 PM
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- 16. Acquisitions Editor Jenny Watson Development Editor Ed Connor Technical Editor Jesse Keating Production Editor Daniel Scribner Copy Editor Expat Editing Editorial Manager Mary Beth Wakefield Credits Production Manager Tim Tate Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Richard Swadley Vice President and Executive Publisher Joseph B. Wikert Project Coordinator, Cover Lynsey Stanford Proofreader Nancy Carrasco Indexer Robert Swanson ffirs.indd ix ffirs.indd ix 6/2/08 12:20:03 PM 6/2/08 12:20:03 PM
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- 18. Acknowledgments First, I’d like to acknowledge Guido Van Rossum for creating such a way cool language as Python. I’d like to thank my agent, Neil Salkind, for nursing my insecurities and answering my novice writer questions. I’d like to thank Jenny Watson, my acquisitions editor at Wiley, for being willing to go to bat for an unpublished writer’s crazy ideas. Thanks to Ed Connor, my development editor, for his gentle prodding, high standards, and encouragement. Thanks also to Jesse Keating for his help with technical editing, and to Brent Rufener for providing a cover photo. Finally, but most important, thanks to my family for putting up with my frequent unavailability during the last few months — writing is a solitary art, and it will be nice to reacquaint myself with my loved ones. ffirs.indd xi ffirs.indd xi 6/2/08 12:20:04 PM 6/2/08 12:20:04 PM
- 19. ffirs.indd xii ffirs.indd xii 6/2/08 12:20:04 PM 6/2/08 12:20:04 PM
- 20. Contents Introduction xix Chapter 1: A Python Primer 1 Getting Started 1 Obtaining Python and Installing It 1 The Python Interpreter 2 Your Editing/Execution Environment 2 Lexical Structure 3 Keywords 3 Lines and Indentation 4 Data Types and Identifiers 4 Operators 6 Expressions and Statements 7 Expressions 7 Statements 7 Iteration and Decision-Making 8 Iteration 9 Decision-Making 10 Functions 11 Modules 12 Importing Modules 12 How Python Finds Modules to Load 13 Classes 14 Summary 15 Part I: The Projects 17 Chapter 2: Directory/File Snapshot Program 19 Using the Program 20 Creating a Snapshot 20 Listing Snapshot Files 21 Comparing Snapshots 22 ftoc.indd xiii ftoc.indd xiii 6/2/08 12:19:07 PM 6/2/08 12:19:07 PM
- 21. xiv Contents Viewing Help 23 Exiting the Program 23 Putting It All Together 24 Design 25 How It All Fits Together 25 Main Program 26 Modules 26 Code and Code Explanation 27 Snapshot.py 27 snapshothelper.py 34 Testing 42 Modifying the Program 42 Summary 42 Chapter 3: DVD Inventory System 43 Using the Program 44 Installing MySQL 44 Adding a DVD to the Database 44 Searching the DVD Inventory 46 Modifying a DVD Record 50 Deleting a DVD Record 53 Exporting the List of DVDs to a CSV File 54 Design 55 How It All Fits Together 56 Modules 56 Code and Code Explanation 58 dvd.py 59 add_dvd.py 61 lookup_dvds.py 63 modify_dvd.py 68 delete_dvd.py 74 csvreport_dvd.py 77 Testing 79 Modifying the Program 79 Summary 80 Chapter 4: Web Performance Tester 81 Using the Program 82 Running the Python Web Server 82 Running the Performance Profiler Client 83 ftoc.indd xiv ftoc.indd xiv 6/2/08 12:19:07 PM 6/2/08 12:19:07 PM
- 22. xv Contents Design 88 How It All Fits Together 89 Modules 89 Code and Code Explanation 90 webserver.py 90 webperf.py 92 webclient.py 95 Testing 102 Modifying the Program 102 Summary 102 Chapter 5: Customer Follow-Up System 103 Using the Program 103 Preliminaries 104 Running the Program 112 Design 115 How It All Fits Together 115 Modules 116 Code and Code Explanation 117 form.html 117 form.py 118 Testing 123 Modifying the Program 123 Summary 124 Chapter 6: Test Management/Reporting System 125 Using the Program 126 Running Tests 126 Listing Test Runs 129 Showing Test Results 129 Generating an HTML Test Report 130 Examining the HTML File 131 Displaying Product Help 132 Design 133 Modules 133 Code and Code Explanation 135 test_manager.py 135 test_run.py 140 test_list.py 147 test_results.py 148 test_html.py 151 ftoc.indd xv ftoc.indd xv 6/2/08 12:19:08 PM 6/2/08 12:19:08 PM
- 23. xvi Contents Testing 155 Modifying the Program 155 Summary 155 More About the Minidom Module 156 Chapter 7: Version Management System 157 Using the Program 158 Setting Up Remote Computers 158 Running the Program — Command-Line Syntax 158 Design 162 Modules 162 Code and Code Explanation 163 version_checker.py 164 check_versions.py 168 csv_report.py 173 Testing 174 Modifying the Program 175 Security Considerations 175 Summary 175 Chapter 8: Content Management System 177 Plone Overview 177 What Is Plone? 177 Installing and Configuring Plone 178 Downloading Plone 179 Extracting the Plone Install 180 Running the Plone Install 181 Starting Plone 182 Discovering the Admin User Password 182 Logging In as the Admin User 182 Setting Up the E-mail Server 184 Setting Up a User 185 Logging In as the Set-Up User 186 Design 187 Navigation 189 Content Management 189 Creating a Page 189 Creating a Collection 191 User Permissions 195 Summary 196 ftoc.indd xvi ftoc.indd xvi 6/2/08 12:19:08 PM 6/2/08 12:19:08 PM
- 24. xvii Contents Part II: Advanced Topics 197 Chapter 9: Interacting with the Operating System 199 Generic Operating System Services 200 The os Module — Generic OS Services 200 The time Module — Format and Manipulate System Time 201 The optparse Module — Parse Command-Line Options 203 The platform Module — Get Platform Information 204 The getpass Module — Generate and Check Passwords 204 Some Other Things You Can Do 205 Accessing Windows Services 205 The winreg Module — Manipulate the Windows Registry 205 The winsound Module 206 The win32serviceutil Module — Manage Windows Services 207 The win32net Module — Access Windows Networking Features 209 Some Other Things You Can Do 211 Accessing Unix/Linux Services 212 The termios Module — Access Unix-Style TTY Interface 212 The resource Module — Manage Unix System Resources 212 The syslog Module — Access the Unix syslog 215 The commands Module — Run Commands and Get Output 217 Some Other Things You Can Do 219 Summary 219 Chapter 10: Debugging and Testing 221 The Python Debugger 221 Running the Debugger 222 Python Test Frameworks 226 Why We Test 226 Unit Testing 227 Summary 237 Final Remarks 237 Appendix A: Where to Go From Here — Resources That Can Help 239 Appendix B: Installing Supplemental Programs 241 Index 253 ftoc.indd xvii ftoc.indd xvii 6/2/08 12:19:08 PM 6/2/08 12:19:08 PM
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- 26. Introduction Python: Create-Modify-Reuse is designed for all levels of Python developers interested in a practical, hands-on way of learning Python development. This book is designed to show you how to use Python (in combination with the raw processing power of your computer) to accomplish real-world tasks in a more efficient way. Don’t look for an exhaustive description of the Python language — you won’t find it. The book’s main purpose is not to thoroughly cover the Python language, but rather to show how you can use Python to create robust, real-world applications. In this respect, the goal is similar to foreign-language books that identify themselves as “conversational,” focusing on the vocabulary and concepts that people will need the most. Likewise, I focus specifically on the Python knowledge needed to accomplish practical, specific tasks. Along the way, you will learn to create useful, efficient scripts that are easy to maintain and enhance. The applications, along with source code, are available for download at www.wrox.com. Who This Book Is For This book is for developers with some experience with Python who want to explore how to develop full-blown applications. It is also for developers with experience in other languages who want to learn Python by building robust applications. It is well-suited for developers who like to “learn by doing,” rather than exploring a language feature by feature. To get the most out of the book, you should understand basic programming principles. Because this book is project-based, you can approach it in numerous ways. You can, of course, read it from cover to cover. Chapters 2 through 8 each cover a different project, so the chapters are independent of each other. However, because each chapter project is covered individually, there may be some overlap of information. I also sometimes refer to explanations of particular topics covered in previous chapters. This will help to reinforce important concepts. The end of the book contains two appendixes. The first one is a listing of Python resources you can check out for more information. The second one will help you with installing additional components used in some of the examples. flast.indd xix flast.indd xix 6/2/08 12:19:39 PM 6/2/08 12:19:39 PM
- 27. Introduction xx What This Book Covers I’ve always liked the Saturday morning fix-it shows that demonstrate how to build something, such as a cabinet or a deck. The experts on these shows take seemingly large, complex tasks that appear to be beyond the skill level of the average do-it-yourselfer and break them down into smaller, simple tasks, teaching you valuable skills along the way. That’s basically the intention and approach taken in this book, applied to the construction of software instead of home improvements. This book starts with a basic overview of the Python language, designed for those familiar with other languages but new to Python. It is followed by several chapters, each of which describes a complete project that can be used as-is or modified and extended to suit your particular purposes. You’ll find applications that access databases, take advantage of web technologies, and facilitate network communications, to name a few. In addition, and more important than the technologies you will be introduced to, you will learn how to use Python to solve real challenges. Following these chapters are two chapters that cover accessing operating system resources and debugging and testing, respectively. Each project chapter contains complete instructions describing how to install and use the application, so you can actually see the program run as you learn how to construct and use it, including how the project was designed and prototyped. This book is intended to be both a reference guide and a learning aid, teaching you how to build solutions with Python and providing reference information on a wide variety of Python programming concepts. It is hoped that this book will help you have fun with Python and build useful applications, and — unlike my experience with building a deck — without sore thumbs. How This Book Is Structured This book is framed around the code itself. This is because developers are typically looking for how to do something; and, as with many activities, you learn how to do something by watching how others do it and trying it yourself. If you want to know how a for loop works, you’ll find for loops in my code, but that’s not the thrust of the book. Instead, this book shows you how to do things: how to build a content management system, how to build a test management system, how to set up a system for tracking customer follow-up, and so on. Along the way, you’ll learn how to communicate with a SQL database, how to act as a web server or communicate with one, how to access operating system services, and more. There are three basic components to the book: Chapter 1 is a brief overview of the Python language. Chapters 2–8 cover seven different programming projects, which illustrate various technologies and techniques available to Python developers. Chapters 9–10 cover additional, advanced topics, which will help you as you build Python projects. ❑ ❑ ❑ flast.indd xx flast.indd xx 6/2/08 12:19:40 PM 6/2/08 12:19:40 PM
- 28. Introduction xxi The project chapters have a consistent structure: Overview: What does the application do? Using the program Design ❑ How it all fits together ❑ Modules involved Code and code explanation ❑ Module/class 1 explanation ❑ Module/class 2 explanation ❑ Minor code file explanation Testing, including suggested tests Modifying the project, including some suggested adaptations Summary Each project is designed with classes that can be reused and accessed for multiple purposes. This is one of the main benefits of object-oriented programming, so designing for reusability is a main focus of the book. The book contains the following chapters: 1. A Python Primer This chapter is a basic primer on the Python language, and it functions as either a quick tutorial for experienced programmers new to Python or a refresher for programmers with Python experience. Part I: The Projects 2. Directory/File Snapshot Program This project demonstrates how to interact with files, create and manipulate data structures, and provide user output. It also touches on code design issues to improve code maintainability. Often when installing or uninstalling software, or verifying changes to a file system, it can be valuable to take a “snapshot” of the files and directories, along with their size and last-modified time. The script introduced in this chapter does just that. This chapter also explores how to capture a directory listing into a Python list, and explains how to query this list for particular values. ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ flast.indd xxi flast.indd xxi 6/2/08 12:19:40 PM 6/2/08 12:19:40 PM
- 29. Introduction xxii 3. DVD Inventory System This project takes advantage of Python’s capability to access and manipulate data in a SQL database. The application enables multiple users to log in to a website that provides access to a DVD inventory database. Permissions are set such that some users can add, modify, or delete entries, whereas other users have read-only access to the data. 4. Web Performance Tester This project shows how to communicate with a Python web server and retrieve information regarding how long it takes to receive requested items from the web server. Although writing Python programs to work on a single computer can be useful, the real power of Python can be seen when it is used to script communication between computers on a network. Most networks contain several web servers. A nice feature of Python is that it can act as a lightweight server for various Internet protocols, such as HTTP (web) and ftp. This application enables you to monitor performance of HTTP traffic on your network. 5. Customer Follow-Up System This project shows how to present a web form to the user and retrieve data from it, how to automatically format and send e-mail through an SMTP server, and how to generate an HTML- formatted report. The task for the second example is to automatically generate a customer comments e-mail message based on information the customer enters in a form. It uses the mod_python Apache module to take the information entered in the HTTP form and then utilizes a Python script on the web server to send that information to an SMTP server for mail delivery. 6. Test Management/Reporting System This project makes use of the unittest module to run tests against an existing application, and creates a framework for reporting test results. Testing is a vital process for developing software. This application enables users to run tests for a given piece of software, to list the previous test runs by date, to show test run results for any previously run tests, and to output the results of any test run as HTML for viewing in a web browser. 7. Version Management System This project connects to a list of servers via telnet, checks the application version of a pre-set application list, and displays its results both as output and to a log file. Often, a system administrator needs to patch systems or ensure that systems have the latest application versions installed. This script is an easy way to accomplish that task. It makes use of Python’s capability to emulate a telnet client and log in to remote systems and perform functions on that remote system. 8. Content Management System This project explores Plone, a popular content management system based on Python and Zope (a Python-based application server). Because Python is a very mature language, numerous applications have been built on top of it. A great thing about working with Python-based applications is that you get the benefit of a full-blown application, but you can still use Python to configure and customize it. flast.indd xxii flast.indd xxii 6/2/08 12:19:40 PM 6/2/08 12:19:40 PM
- 30. Introduction xxiii Part II: Advanced Topics 9. Interacting with the Operating System When writing scripts “in the real world,” often it is critical to be able to access services available through (and particular to) the operating system you happen to be on. For example, suppose you wanted to read or modify the Window Registry? Or you wanted to get the Linux process ID of a particular process that is running? Is such a thing even possible? Definitely — and this chapter shows you how. 10. Debugging and Testing Because I am a software tester myself, testing is a subject that is certainly close to my heart. In this chapter, I discuss why testing is important, how to put the right amount of testing into your code, and how writing automated tests can help you to actually write code more quickly. You’ll look at PyUnit, the automated testing framework for Python, and learn how to use it to test the riskiest parts of a script. You’ll also explore the Python debugger and some of the nifty features it offers. Appendix A Where to Go from Here: Resources That Can Help This appendix provides an annotated list of books, websites, and blogs that can provide useful information, insight, and inspiration for the budding Python script developer. Appendix B Installing Supplemental Programs This appendix provides detailed information on how to set up MySQL (used in the project in Chapter 3) and PyWin32 (used in Chapter 10 and various other projects in the book). What You Need to Use This Book For this book, I used Python 2.51 (the “CPython” distribution), run on Windows, as my Python distribution of choice. Most of the examples will work with the latest versions of Python for Windows, Mac, or Unix/Linux, or IronPython. However, to successfully run everything in this book, you’ll want the latest version of CPython on Windows, which is currently version 2.51. Other applications, such as Plone, are available free and can be downloaded as needed. When you get to a chapter for which you need an additional component, I’ll indicate that to you, and you can look in Appendix B for information on installing additional components. Source Code As you work through the examples in this book, you may choose either to type in all the code manually or to use the source code files that accompany the book. All of the source code used in this book is available for download at www.wrox.com. Once at the site, simply locate the book’s title (either by using the Search box or by using one of the title lists) and click the Download Code link on the book’s detail page to obtain all the source code for the book. flast.indd xxiii flast.indd xxiii 6/2/08 12:19:40 PM 6/2/08 12:19:40 PM
- 31. Introduction xxiv Because many books have similar titles, you may find it easiest to search by ISBN; this book’s ISBN is 978-0-470-25932-0. Once you download the code, just decompress it with your favorite compression tool. Alternately, you can go to the main Wrox code download page at www.wrox.com/dynamic/books/download.aspx to see the code available for this book and all other Wrox books. Errata We make every effort to ensure that there are no errors in the text or in the code. However, no one is perfect and mistakes do occur. If you find an error in one of our books, such as a spelling mistake or faulty piece of code, we would be very grateful for your feedback. By sending in errata you may save another reader hours of frustration and at the same time you will be helping us provide even higher quality information. To find the errata page for this book, go to www.wrox.com and locate the title using the Search box or one of the title lists. Then, on the book details page, click the Book Errata link. On this page you can view all errata that has been submitted for this book and posted by Wrox editors. A complete book list including links to each book’s errata is also available at www.wrox.com/misc-pages/booklist.shtml. If you don’t spot “your” error on the Book Errata page, go to www.wrox.com/contact/techsupport .shtml and complete the form there to send us the error you have found. I’ll check the information and, if appropriate, post a message to the book’s errata page and fix the problem in subsequent editions of the book. p2p.wrox.com For author and peer discussion, join the P2P forums at p2p.wrox.com. The forums are a Web-based system for you to post messages relating to Wrox books and related technologies and interact with other readers and technology users. The forums offer a subscription feature to e-mail you topics of interest of your choosing when new posts are made to the forums. Wrox authors, editors, other industry experts, and your fellow readers are present on these forums. At http://p2p.wrox.com you will find a number of different forums that will help you not only as you read this book, but also as you develop your own applications. To join the forums, just follow these steps: 1. Go to p2p.wrox.com and click the Register link. 2. Read the terms of use and click Agree. flast.indd xxiv flast.indd xxiv 6/2/08 12:19:41 PM 6/2/08 12:19:41 PM
- 32. Introduction xxv 3. Complete the required information to join, as well as any optional information you wish to provide and click Submit. 4. You will receive an e-mail with information describing how to verify your account and complete the joining process. You can read messages in the forums without joining P2P but in order to post your own messages, you must join. Once you join, you can post new messages and respond to messages other users post. You can read messages at any time on the Web. If you would like to have new messages from a particular forum e-mailed to you, click the Subscribe to this Forum icon by the forum name in the forum listing. For more information about how to use the Wrox P2P, be sure to read the P2P FAQs for answers to questions about how the forum software works, as well as many common questions specific to P2P and Wrox books. To read the FAQs, click the FAQ link on any P2P page. flast.indd xxv flast.indd xxv 6/2/08 12:19:41 PM 6/2/08 12:19:41 PM
- 33. flast.indd xxvi flast.indd xxvi 6/2/08 12:19:41 PM 6/2/08 12:19:41 PM
- 34. A Python Primer This chapter provides a quick overview of the Python language. The goal in this chapter is not to teach you the Python language — excellent books have been written on that subject, such as Beginning Python (Wrox, 2005). This chapter describes Python’s lexical structure and programming conventions, so if you are familiar with other scripting languages such as Perl or Ruby, or with compiled programming languages such as Java or C#, you should easily be up to speed in no time. Getting Started Of course, the first thing you need to do is install Python, if you don’t already have it. Installers are available for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Unix, and everything from OpenVMS to the Playstation (no, I’m not kidding). Obtaining Python and Installing It If you go to www.python.org/download you can find links to download the correct version of Python for your operating system. Follow the install instructions for your particular Python distribution — instructions can vary significantly depending on what operating system you’re installing to. What Version Number to Install Although the examples in this book should work for any Python version above 2.0, it is best to install the latest stable build for your operating system. For Windows (which is the environment I primarily work in), the latest stable version is 2.51. There is an alpha build of Python 3.0 available as of this writing, but other than just looking at it for fun, I’d steer clear of it for the examples in this book — in some cases the syntax is very different, and the examples in this book won’t work with Python 3.0. c01.indd 1 c01.indd 1 6/2/08 12:03:06 PM 6/2/08 12:03:06 PM
- 35. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 2 The Python Interpreter One of the most useful tools for writing Python code is the Python interpreter, an interactive editing and execution environment in which commands are run as soon as you enter them and press Enter. On Unix and Macintosh machines, the Python interpreter can usually be found in the /usr/local/bin/python directory, which can be accessed by simply typing the command python. On Windows machines, the Python interpreter is installed to the c:python25 directory (for a Python 2.5x installation). To add this directory to your path, type the following at a Windows command prompt: set path=%path%;C:python25. On a Windows system, such as with Unix/Linux, you simply type python to bring up the interpreter (either from the c:python25 directory or from any directory if the Python directory has been added to the path). When you enter the interpreter, you’ll see a screen with information like the following: Python 2.5.1 (r251:54863, Apr 18 2007, 08:51:08) [MSC v.1310 32 bit (Intel)] on win32 Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information. >>> Your Editing/Execution Environment Because the minimum requirements for writing and running Python programs are simply an editor that can save text files and a command prompt where you can run the Python interpreter, you could simply use Notepad on Windows, Vim on Linux/Unix, or TextEdit on Mac, and a command line for running programs. One nice step up from that is IDLE, Python’s integrated development environment (IDE), which is named after Monty Python’s Eric Idle and is included with Python. It includes the following useful features: A full-featured text editor Syntax highlighting Code intelligence A class browser A Python path browser A debugger A Python interpreter environment ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ c01.indd 2 c01.indd 2 6/2/08 12:03:08 PM 6/2/08 12:03:08 PM
- 36. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 3 In addition to IDLE, you do have other options. On Windows, there is a nice IDE called PythonWin, developed by Mark Hammond. It can be installed as a full Python distribution from ActiveState’s website (www.activestate.com), or you can simply install the win32all package to add PythonWin to a standard Python for Windows install. PythonWin is a great product, very slick and with all the features you’d expect from an IDE. Other options include an Eclipse distribution for Python called EasyEclipse for Python. For my money, I’d start out with IDLE, and then as your experience with Python grows, explore other options. Lexical Structure Following is a simple Python program. It shows the basic structure of many Python scripts, which is as follows: 1. Initialize variables (lines 1–3). 2. Do some processing (lines 4–5). 3. Make decisions and perform actions based on those decisions (lines 6–10). name = “Jim” age = 42 highschoolGPA = 3.89 enteredName = raw_input(“Enter your name: “) print “nn” if name == “Jim”: print “Your age is “, age print “You had a”, highschoolGPA, “GPA in high school” if (highschoolGPA > 3): print “You had better than a 3.0 GPA...good job!” Keywords Keywords are words that are “reserved” — they cannot be used as variable names. In the preceding code, the keyword if is used multiple times. c01.indd 3 c01.indd 3 6/2/08 12:03:08 PM 6/2/08 12:03:08 PM
- 37. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 4 The keywords are as follows: and del for is raise assert elif from lambda return break else global not try class except if or while continue exec import pass def finally in print yield Lines and Indentation In Python, unlike a compiled language such as C, line breaks are significant, and the end of a program statement is defined by a hard return. Program blocks are defined by a combination of statements (each on a separate line, but with no end-of-statement character visible) and program blocks, delimited visually by the use of indentation. As shown in the code from the preceding section, lines are indented in Python. This is not simply a stylistic choice — indentation is not just recommended in Python, but enforced by the interpreter. This is probably the most controversial aspect of Python, and it has been the subject of many a flame war online. Basically, it means that the following code would generate an interpreter error, because the action associated with an if statement must be indented: if variable1 == “Jim”: print “variable1 eqiuals Jim” You’ll learn more about the actual if statement itself later. Data Types and Identifiers Python provides a rich collection of data types to enable programmers to perform virtually any programming task they desire in another language. One nice thing about Python is that it provides many useful and unique data types (such as tuples and dictionaries), and stays away from data types such as the pointers used in C, which have their use but can also make programming much more confusing and difficult for the nonprofessional programmer. c01.indd 4 c01.indd 4 6/2/08 12:03:08 PM 6/2/08 12:03:08 PM
- 38. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 5 Data Types Python is known as a dynamically typed language, which means that you don’t have to explicitly identify the data type when you initialize a variable. In the code example above, the variable name is assigned to the string value “Jim”. However, you don’t specifically identify the variable as a string variable. Python knows, based on the value it has been given, that it should allocate memory for a string. Likewise for the age integer variable and the highschoolGPA float variable. The following table shows the most commonly used available data types and their attributes: Data Type Attributes Example Numeric Types Float Implemented with C doubles. 5.43 9483.123 Integer Implemented with C longs. 1027 211234 Long Integer Size is limited only by system resources. 567893L Sequence Types String A list of characters. Is immutable (not changeable in-place). Can be represented by single quotes or double quotes. Can span multiple lines. “This is a string” ””” This is an example of a DocString ””” List A mutable (changeable) sequence of data types. List elements do not have to be “like.” In other words, you could have a float element and an integer element in a single list. [1, 2.3, “Jim”] [1, 2, 3] [1.5, 2.7, 3.0] [“Jim”, “Joe”, “Bob”] Tuple An immutable sequence of data types. Other than the fact that it can’t be changed, it works just like a list. (1, 2.3, “Jim”) (1, 2, 3) (1.5, 2.7, 3.0) “Jim”, “Joe”, “Bob” Dictionary A list of items indexed by keys. d = {“first“:”Jim”, “last“:“Knowlton“} Identifiers An identifier is a unique name that enables you to identify something. Identifiers are used to label variables, functions, classes, objects, and modules. They begin with either a letter or an underscore, and they can contain letters, underscores, or digits. They cannot contain punctuation marks. c01.indd 5 c01.indd 5 6/2/08 12:03:09 PM 6/2/08 12:03:09 PM
- 39. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 6 Operators If you have programmed in other languages, the operators in Python will be familiar to you. The Python operators are fundamentally similar to those used in other languages. In the code shown earlier, the conditions evaluated in both if statements involve comparison operators. The following table describes the operators most commonly used in Python, and the ones used in this book: Operator Symbol Example Numeric Operators Addition + x + y Subtraction − x – y Multiplication * x * y Division / x / y Exponent (Power) ** x ** y (x to the y power) Modulo % x % y (the remainder of x/y) Comparison Operators Greater than > x > y (x is greater than y) Less than < x < y (x is less than y) Equal to == x == y (x equals y) Greater than or equal to >= x >= y (x is greater than or equal to y) Less than or equal to <= x <= y (x is less than or equal to y) Not equal to != or <> x != y, x <> y (x does not equal y) Boolean Operators and and x and y (if both are true, then the expression is true) or or x or y (if either is true, then the expression is true) not not not x (if x is false, then the expression is true) Assignment Operator Assignment = X = 15 name = “Jim” c01.indd 6 c01.indd 6 6/2/08 12:03:09 PM 6/2/08 12:03:09 PM
- 40. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 7 Expressions and Statements Expressions and statements are the building blocks of Python programs. They are the equivalent of phrases and sentences in English. To understand Python, it’s critical to understand how to put these building blocks together. Expressions Expressions consist of combinations of values, which can be either constant values, such as a string (“Jim”) or a number (12), and operators, which are symbols that act on the values in some way. The following examples are expressions: 10 - 4 11 * (4 + 5) x - 5 a / b Operator Precedence in Expressions When you have a multiple expression like 5 + 4 * 7, which operation is done first, the addition or the multiplication? If it isn’t too painful to recall your high school algebra class, you might remember learning the rules of operator precedence. These kinds of complex expressions require a set of rules defining which expressions are executed first. The following list describes the basic rules of operator precedence in Python (don’t worry if you don’t understand all the terms right now; they’ll be explained as you need them): Expressions are evaluated from left to right. Exponents, multiplication, and division are performed before addition and subtraction. Expressions in parentheses are performed first. Mathematical expressions are performed before Boolean expressions (AND, OR, NOT) Statements The statement is the basic unit of programming. In essence, it says “do this to this.” Statements in Python are not delimited by a visible character, such as the semicolon in C or C#. Every time you press Enter and start a new line, you are entering a new statement. ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ c01.indd 7 c01.indd 7 6/2/08 12:03:10 PM 6/2/08 12:03:10 PM
- 41. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 8 For example, if you type: Print 12 + 15 into the Python interpreter, you’ll get the following output: >>> print 12 + 15 27 >>> This is because you told the system to “print the result of the expression 12 + 15,” which is a complete statement. However, if you type: print 12 + you’ll get a syntax error, as shown here: >>> print 12 + SyntaxError: invalid syntax >>> Clearly, the system cannot read this because it isn’t a complete statement, so it results in an error. Multi-line Statements It is possible to have a single statement span multiple lines. You could do this for aesthetic reasons or simply because the line is too long to read on one screen. To do this, simply put a space and a backslash at the end of the line. Here are a few examples: name = “Jim Knowlton” sum = 12 + 13 Iteration and Decision-Making There are two basic ways to control the flow of a program: through iteration (looping) and through decision-making. c01.indd 8 c01.indd 8 6/2/08 12:03:10 PM 6/2/08 12:03:10 PM
- 42. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 9 Iteration Iteration in Python is handled through the “usual suspects”: the for loop and the while loop. However, if you’ve programmed in other languages, these seemingly familiar friends are a little different. For Loops Unlike in Java, the for loop in Python is more than a simple construct based on a counter. Instead, it is a sequence iterator that will step through the items of any sequenced object (such as a list of names, for instance). Here’s a simple example of a for loop: >>> names = [“Jim”, “Joe”] >>> for x in names: print x Jim Joe >>> As you can see, the basic syntax is for <variable> in <object>:, followed by the code block to be iterated. While Loops A while loop is similar to a for loop but it’s more flexible. It enables you to test for a particular condition and then terminate the loop when the condition is true. This is great for situations when you want to terminate a loop when the program is in a state that you can’t predict at runtime (such as when you are processing a file, and you want the loop to be done when you reach the end of the file). Here’s an example of a while loop: >>> counter = 5 >>> x = 0 >>> while x < counter: print “x=”,x print “counter = “, counter x += 1 x = 0 counter = 5 x = 1 counter = 5 x = 2 counter = 5 x = 3 counter = 5 x = 4 counter = 5 >>> c01.indd 9 c01.indd 9 6/2/08 12:03:10 PM 6/2/08 12:03:10 PM
- 43. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 10 Break and Continue As with C, in Python you can break out of the innermost for or while loop by using the break statement. Also as with C, you can continue to the next iteration of a loop by using the continue statement. What about switch or case? Many of you familiar with other programming languages are no doubt wondering about a decision-tree structure similar to C’s switch statement or Pascal’s case. Unfortunately, you won’t find it in Python. However, the conditional if-elif-else structure, along with other constructs you’ll learn about later, make their absence not such a big deal. Decision-Making When writing a program, it is of course critical to be able to evaluate conditions and make decisions. Having an if construct is critical for any language, and Python is no exception. The if Statement The if statement in Python, as in other languages, evaluates an expression. If the expression is true, then the code block is executed. Conversely, if it isn’t true, then program execution jumps to the end. Python also supports use of zero or more elif statements (short for “else if”), and an optional else statement, which appears at the end if you also have elif statements, and would be the “default” choice if none of the if statements were true. Here’s an example: >>> name = “Jim” >>> if name == “Jim”: print “your name is Jim” elif name == “Joe”: print “your name is Joe” else: print “I have no idea what your name is” your name is Jim >>> c01.indd 10 c01.indd 10 6/2/08 12:03:11 PM 6/2/08 12:03:11 PM
- 44. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 11 Functions In many ways, the principle behind a function is analogous to turning on a TV. You don’t have to understand all the electronics and communications technology behind getting the TV signal to your receiver in order to operate the TV. You do have to know some simple behaviors, however, such as how to turn it on, where the volume switch is, and so on. In a similar fashion, a function gives the program an interface through which it can run program code without knowing the details about the code being run. Defining a Function You define a function in Python with the following simple syntax: def functionName(paramenter1, parameter2=default_value): <code block> return value (optional) Note two elements in the preceding example: Parameters — As you can see, parameters can simply be a variable name (making them required as part of the function call), or they can have a default value, in which case it is optional to pass them in the function call. The return statement — This enables the function to return a value to the code that called it. The nice thing about this is that you can run a function and assign its output to a variable. Here’s an example of a function definition: >>> def getname(name): return name + “ is very hungry” >>> Calling a Function To call a function, simply enter the function name with the function signature: functionName(paramenter1, parameter2) If a parameter has a default value in its definition, then you can omit that parameter when you call the function, and the parameter will contain its default value. Alternately, you can override the default value by entering the value yourself when you call the function. ❑ ❑ c01.indd 11 c01.indd 11 6/2/08 12:03:11 PM 6/2/08 12:03:11 PM
- 45. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 12 For example, if a function were defined as follows: def jimsFunc(age, name = “Jim”): Then you could call the function in any of the following three ways: jimsFunc(23) jimsFunc(42, “James”) jimsFunc(42, firstName=”Joe”) In the first example, I simply took the default value for the first parameter; in the second, I replaced it with “James.” Modules A module is the highest-level programming unit in Python. A module usually corresponds to a program file in Python. Unlike in Ruby, modules are not declared — the name of the *.py file is the name of the module. In other words, basically each file is a module, and modules import other modules to perform various programming tasks. Importing Modules Importing modules is done with either the import or reload command. Import To use a module, you import it. Usually import statements occur at the beginning of the Python module. Importing modules is a fairly simple operation, but it requires a little explanation. Consider the following examples: 1. import os 2. import os, sys 3. from os import getcwd 4. import os as operatingSystem These examples highlight some variations in how you can import modules: 1. This first example is the simplest and easiest to understand. It is merely the keyword import followed by the module name (in this case, os). 2. Multiple modules can be imported with the same import command, with the modules separated by a comma. c01.indd 12 c01.indd 12 6/2/08 12:03:11 PM 6/2/08 12:03:11 PM
- 46. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 13 3. You can import specific names only within a module, without importing the whole module, by using the from <module> import <name> statement. This can be useful for performance reasons if you only need one function from a large module. 4. If a module has a name that’s difficult to work with or remember, and you want to use a name to represent it that is meaningful to you, simply use the as keyword and import <module> as <identifier>. Reload Reload is another very useful command, especially when entering code within the Python interactive interpreter. It enables you to reload a particular module without reloading Python. For example, if you wanted to reload the os module, you would simply enter reload os. If you’re wondering why you would ever want to do that, one scenario would be if you have a Python script that runs all the time and it accesses a module on another machine. Assuming you always want to ensure that you’re running the most current version of the remote module you’re accessing, you’d use the reload command. How Python Finds Modules to Load When you use an import statement, you don’t tell Python where the module that needs to be loaded is located. How, then, does it know where to find the file? The answer to that question is the module search path. The Module Search Path Python has a predefined priority specifying where it should look for modules, known as the module search path. When you enter an import command and the name of the module, Python checks the following locations in the order shown here: 1. The home directory — This is either the directory from which you launched the Python interactive interpreter or the directory where the main Python program is located. 2. PYTHONPATH — This is an environment variable set in the system. Its value is a list of directories, which Python will search for modules. 3. Standard library directories — The directory in which the standard libraries are located are searched next. c01.indd 13 c01.indd 13 6/2/08 12:03:11 PM 6/2/08 12:03:11 PM
- 47. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 14 Exploring sys.path If you ever want to see your system’s Python search path, all you have to do is bring up the interactive interpreter, import the sys module, and type sys.path. The full Python module search path will be returned, as shown in the following example: >>> import sys >>> sys.path [‘C:Python25’, ‘C:Python25Libidlelib’, ‘C:Program FilesPythonNet’, ‘c:scriptspython’, ‘c:python25’, ‘C:Python25pyunit-1.4.1’, ‘c:python25pamie’, ‘C:WINDOWSsystem32python25.zip’, ‘C:Python25DLLs’, ‘C:Python25lib’, ‘C:Python25libplat-win’, ‘C:Python25liblib-tk’, ‘C:Python25libsite-packages’, ‘C:Python25libsite-packageswin32’, ‘C:Python25libsite-packageswin32lib’, ‘C:Python25libsite- packages Pythonwin’, ‘C:Python25libsite-packageswx-2.8-msw-ansi’] >>> Classes Python is a language that can support both procedural programming and object-oriented programming. Here is an example of a Python class: >>> class name1(): def setmyname(self, myname): self.name = myname >>> jimname = name1() >>> jimname.setmyname(“Jim”) >>> print jimname.name Jim >>> Note some points about Python’s implementation of class programming as demonstrated in the preceding example: If we were inheriting from other classes, those class names would have been inside the parentheses of the class name1(): definition. In this case, there is one class method, setmyname. If we wanted to create a constructor for the class, it would be named __init__ . To create an instance of a class, you simply assign a variable to the class definition, as in jimname = name1() . Attributes are accessed with familiar dot notation (instance variable.attribute) such as jimname.name . ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ c01.indd 14 c01.indd 14 6/2/08 12:03:12 PM 6/2/08 12:03:12 PM
- 48. Chapter 1: A Python Primer 15 Summary This chapter provided a brief tour of the Python language, including the following highlights: How to get up and running with Python Python’s lexical structure Operators, expressions, and statements Iteration and decision-making Functions and modules Classes and object-oriented programming Of course, there is much more to the Python language than what this short chapter has outlined. Much of it you’ll discover as you work through the projects in this book. Let’s get started! ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ c01.indd 15 c01.indd 15 6/2/08 12:03:12 PM 6/2/08 12:03:12 PM
- 49. c01.indd 16 c01.indd 16 6/2/08 12:03:12 PM 6/2/08 12:03:12 PM
- 50. Part I The Projects c02.indd 17 c02.indd 17 6/2/08 12:05:24 PM 6/2/08 12:05:24 PM
- 51. c02.indd 18 c02.indd 18 6/2/08 12:05:25 PM 6/2/08 12:05:25 PM
- 52. Directory/File Snapshot Program Have you ever installed a program and wanted to know exactly what was installed? Programs typically include numerous files and directories — in some cases hundreds. It can be difficult to determine what was put on the system. This can especially be important if, for instance, you are verifying an install to ensure that all the directories and files were placed on the system. Conversely, with an uninstall, you want to verify just the opposite –– that everything that had been put on the system is now gone. The File/DirectoryComparison program enables you to create a “snapshot” of your system based on a directory “base” you provide. It will also perform a comparison of two snapshots to show you the differences. This includes items missing from snapshot 1 but in snapshot 2, and items missing in snapshot 2 but present in snapshot 1. Along the way, you’ll learn several valuable things about Python and its features: How to create and import modules How to create and call functions Getting user input and passing the value provided by the user to the program How to find information related to the Python Standard Library ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ c02.indd 19 c02.indd 19 6/2/08 12:05:25 PM 6/2/08 12:05:25 PM
- 53. Part I: The Projects 20 Using the Program You can find the program located on the www.wrox.com page for this book. To run it, simply go to a command prompt, and from the directory on your system where the Chapter 2 program files are located, type the following: python snapshot.py. This will bring up a menu like the one shown here: DIRECTORY/FILE COMPARISON TOOL ==================================== Please type a number and press enter: 1. Create a snapshot 2. List snapshot files 3. Compare snapshots 4. Help 5. Exit From here, you can create a snapshot, compare two snapshots, view some help text (always a good idea!), or exit the program. The following sections describe each of the program features. Creating a Snapshot There are two scenarios for which you would create a snapshot: You haven’t created a snapshot yet and want to create one to have a “base” to compare against later. You have created a snapshot and have run some process (such as an install or uninstall) and want to compare it to the first snapshot you created. In both cases, the interface is the same. When you type 1 and press Enter to create a snapshot, you are prompted for some information the program needs to create it. First, you’ll get the following prompt: Enter the directory name to create a snapshot of: This prompt is asking you for the “root” on which to base your snapshot. For instance, if I were installing a program into the normal Windows location (which is C:Program Files), which creates a directory called jimsprogram, for this prompt I would initially type C:Program Files because I want to know anything that was put into that directory. That way, when my program installs, I can see what has been put into there. ❑ ❑ c02.indd 20 c02.indd 20 6/2/08 12:05:25 PM 6/2/08 12:05:25 PM
- 54. Chapter 2: Directory/File Snapshot Program 21 After I tell the directory to “snap,” I get the following prompt: Enter the name of the snapshot file to create: In other words, it is creating a file on disk, with the snapshot. This is not a human-readable file (it’s a “Pickle” file — more on that later), but Python will be able to read it and use it to compare snapshots. You can give it any valid filename for your system. Snapshot Filenames Because you can look up snapshot filenames by extension, it makes sense to use an extension you can remember, and to be consistent. I suggest naming your snapshots with a .snp extension, as that isn’t used for any other type of common file. Your snapshot is now created. Pressing Enter will take you back to the menu. Listing Snapshot Files If you type 2 and press Enter, you’ll be presented with an option to list the snapshot files in your current directory. Snapshot files can have any valid filename, so you’ll be prompted as follows in order for Python to determine how to list the files: LIST SNAPSHOT FILES ==================================== Enter the file extension for your snapshot files (for example, ’snp’ if your files end in ‘.snp’): After you enter the common extension for your snapshot files, you’ll be presented with a list similar to the following (except with your own files listed, of course): Snapshot list: ======================== ci_directory.snp ci_directory2.snp doctemp1.snp doctemp2.snp Press [Enter] to continue... As noted in the preceding sidebar, don’t forget to name all your snapshot files with a consistent extension. Pressing Enter will take you back to the menu. c02.indd 21 c02.indd 21 6/2/08 12:05:25 PM 6/2/08 12:05:25 PM
- 55. Exploring the Variety of Random Documents with Different Content
- 56. "Hush! Barbe, don't call!" entreated Sandy.— p. 168. "Good, pure, true, and strong," she settled; "and," as a sudden conviction struck her, "she is beautiful, like her mother was ten years ago. Dressed"—her thoughts following along the same way as Charity's—"well, she would be a success. She is wasted on Mr. Warde. Shall I interfere?" She was so deep in thought, working out a sudden plan, that she did not notice when Marjorie ceased playing. Marjorie, glancing at her, asked softly— "Was that too sad? Shall I try something else?" But in a moment the Duchess rose briskly, and put her hand kindly on Marjorie's shoulder. "No, my dear. I shouldn't like that spoiled by anything else. Mr. Warde is right. You have a gift. But a girl like you should not be sad
- 57. or—or perplexed. Forgive an old woman. Is something troubling you?" Marjorie looked up into the keen eyes above her. "Not troubling," she hesitated, "only things are sometimes perplexing." As she spoke her eyes travelled to the window, through which came the sound of low-voiced chatter and delicate laughter. The older woman, looking at the girl, saw a sudden arrested look come into her eyes and, following their direction, was again puzzled. Charity, standing by Mrs. Bethune's chair, was smiling up into Mr. Pelham's face. She had the manner of one who is pleased, and who wishes to please, and her pretty daintiness of pose and dress was very attractive. Mr. Pelham's whole attention, as he conversed, was given to her. In his courteous attitude were expressed, in the eyes of the two lookers-on, both deference and admiration. "That girl has grown very pretty," the Duchess said, "and Mr. Pelham seems to think so. He is quite an acquisition here, though I am amused to hear you sniffed at him at first." "Yes," agreed Marjorie, a little pang at her heart. The keen eyes travelled back again to Marjorie's face. "But your mother was prettier than any of you. The sweetest, merriest creature ever seen, with you babies at her feet. I am glad to see her so much better, able to do even this little, poor soul, poor soul!" The sudden tears welled up into Marjorie's eyes at the appreciation and tenderness of the tone. "And, my dear—forgive an old woman again—but I think I have guessed Mr. Warde's hopes for a long time, and he is a good man. There, there"—as Marjorie's face grew agitated—"nothing could have happened better. Your mother will have you at hand, and though she is so unselfish and brave, she has missed you sadly; and there is plenty of money."
- 58. Marjorie listened in silence, with a feeling as though chains were being bound round her. As she walked back by the Duchess's side to her mother's chair she strove in vain to recall her courage. In the eyes of the man who watched her, as she came towards him, the shadow on her face had deepened with that little excursion into the house.
- 59. CHAPTER VI. A MIDNIGHT VISIT. The boys had seized the opportunity of the attention of their elders being engaged elsewhere to get into mischief. Although they had made so much fuss about their right of way to school, it was not the only way they used. They had, in fact, several ways. One was by train to Baskerton, a village on the river five miles away, and thence, by lanes and the parks, home. This, however, required time and the absence of authorities. Another way was through Easton and the parks, up the course of the little stream, which at one point nearly touched the Court gardens. In this stream, its shallow waters splashing up against their ankles, the boys were walking, and the baby was prancing between them. "Should we take Barbe with us?" David had asked, pausing on the Green. "If we can get her," Sandy had replied. The boys reconnoitred, and the piercing whistle, which set the baby all a-quiver with expectation, sounded through the garden. "There then, go!" said nurse somewhat crossly, as Barbe began to stamp; and she went. Her education was proceeding apace. Her father sometimes listened aghast at the things which, in her baby prattle, she reported herself to have done. "See, Barbe, there's a rat!" Sandy said eagerly, as a flop and a splash made them jump. "See, it's swimmin' away." "'Wimmin' away," said the baby, stooping to look, her two hands on her two knees, and the front of her frock sailing on the water before her.
- 60. "Oh, Barbe, you're all wet!" David said, as they landed, and strolled up the field. "Wet!" she echoed delightedly. "Foots—f'ock!" "You'll have to be dried." "I know," said Sandy cheerfully; "we'll dry you by the Bishop's fire— almost sure to be a fire." But the study window, to which they crept warily by sheltered ways, was shut. The Bishop was absent. "Now what's to be done?" said David. "I know where there's a fire," Sandy said. "Was this morning, 'cos of that lead. Let's take her to the little room." Again they slipped by leafy ways out of the Palace garden into the cathedral yard. The baby's wet skirts flopped round her, and David lifted her into his arms. The approach of Mrs. Lytchett, returning from the Deanery in unwonted bravery of attire, prompted them to seek refuge behind a tomb. Here it took the boys' whole attention to prevent Barbe's chatter drawing unwished-for notice upon them. "Hush! Barbe, don't call!" entreated Sandy. "Barbedie good girl," announced the baby in a loud voice, lifting herself on tip-toe to see the passer-by. Mrs. Lytchett's ears were good, and, besides, she felt certain at this point that her eyes had seen something fluttering. She stepped off the pathway, and examined a tomb near. "Hush!—sh—sh!" cautioned David, holding up his finger to his mouth —a movement which so pleased Barbe that she proceeded to copy it. Mrs. Lytchett passed on; the danger was over. David lifted up the baby and carried her into a little octagon room near by, built in the wall of the cathedral, and used frequently as a workroom or office.
- 61. Here the boys were at home. It was the head-quarters of their greatest friends—the masons engaged on the renovations always in progress at the cathedral. In the grate were the slowly dying embers of a fire, and the room was empty. "Mr. Galton ain't locked up yet, knowed he wouldn't," said Sandy. "He likes his tea punctual—'spects it's time. Now, Barbe, come an' get done." Whilst David was holding the baby to the fire, Sandy disappeared, presently returning with an excited face. "They've nearly done," he said. "It's prime up there. Seems to me, we'd best settle as soon as possible." "This baby won't get dry," said David, gloomily. "Just look at her!" "I know," said Sandy, regarding the bedraggled Barbe. "We'll take it off an' leave it here. An' I'll fetch her somefink. Sure to be somefink stored in Margie's basket—know Orme made holes in himself last week." So it happened that it was a little blue girl—clad in one of Orme's shabbiest overalls—who met Mrs. Bethune's returning chair, and was lifted to her knee for a "yide." "But what has happened? where are her own clothes?" Mrs. Bethune asked, recognising the substitute. "We thought they were just a little damp," said Sandy in explanation, climbing up the back of the chair to kiss his mother. "Good boy, Sandy!" said his mother, "to take care of her." "But how did they get damp?" asked Marjorie suspiciously. "Just a little water p'raps got on them," he replied, feeling the tone unkind after his mother's praise. "Then you have been in mischief?" asked Marjorie.
- 62. "Barbedie walked in er water," the baby replied, as if she had been doing a good work. "You shouldn't have let her," Mrs. Bethune said caressingly. "Barbe don't want lettin'," answered Sandy philosophically. "She does wivout." The sweets of mischief whetted the boys' appetites for more. They applied themselves with zeal to a work they had in hand, and for the next few days little was seen of them. One evening they were standing in a disused corner of the Palace grounds, under the ruined window of the old banqueting hall, which formed part of the wall enclosing the gardens of the modern wing of the house. The corner where they stood was immediately adjoining the wall of their own garden, and was part of an overgrown shrubbery between the ruins and the parks. Both boys were exceedingly dirty. Faces, capless heads, fingers, clothes, all bore traces of the underground work from which they had just emerged. They had burrowed from their cave, and were mightily pleased at their point of exit. No place could be more secluded, nor less likely to be discovered. And from the ruined wall close by, under the shelter of a spreading elder, they were able to drop easily either into the cathedral yard or the Bishop's garden. "Now the game begins. We've got a base of operations," said David grandly. "How much?" asked Sandy. "What you work from, and what you fall back upon, if you get besieged. And it's a good base too," he added, looking round. "We've got to make this passage hard and firm, and then hide it from that prying gardener." "An' we can pay back Mrs. Lytchett," said Sandy with joy.
- 63. "How?" "Oh, I know! She just hates us going to the Bishop's window. He told me he'd just got a new tin of gingerbread, an' now we can get in wivout goin' through the gate. She's made that gate so it clicks." "But you mustn't let her see." "Not me! If she comes, we'll just run round the house, and she'll fink we've come back way. And then she'll run round to catch us, an' we shan't be there." Sandy spoke with the certainty of much experience, as, indeed, he had a right to do. "Our character is all gone," David said thoughtfully, "so it don't much matter how bad we are." "No, s'long as it ain't wicked bad. We'll be highwaymen, but we won't be thieves and robbers." "We can get into the cathedral, too," suggested David. And then, with minds full of revolution and anarchy, the boys bent earnestly to the preliminary work of making their passage secure. "Ross and Orme, you're never to go along there without us," David said to his young brothers, when he had wriggled back to the cave whence his passage started. Now their services were no longer needed, they were felt to be rather nuisances. "If you do, you'll get smacked right hard," said Sandy. Both children fixed round eyes on their elders, unable to understand this sudden change. They were dismayed at its injustice. For some days they had been treated with indulgent kindness, all their faults overlooked, so long as they did diligent work. They were cleaned when possible, and consoled when their dirty appearance awoke wrath in the powers responsible for them. Now, it seemed, all was changed. There was no mistaking Sandy's attitude, as he stood ready to administer the smacks alluded to. Nor were David's frowning brows more encouraging.
- 64. Ross tried argument. "We'se scooped, too," he said. "We'se got dirty, ever so," he added. "Ever so," echoed Orme. "No matter! You kids must do as you're bid, and if ever you go a step along there you'll catch it. See?" said David. And the infants, with moody brows, averred that they saw. By this time the hole which formed the entrance to the cave was much improved. The wooden steps had been replaced by a flight of mud steps, the making of which had been a joy, not only to the boys, but to the baby. They had required water as well as mud in their making—endless paddlings and pattings and treadings down of little feet before the staircase was complete. David had engineered the proceedings, and Mr. Warde, now and then hovering about the top, had conferred advice. He was not encouraged to descend. The boys wanted no prying grown-ups to mar their schemes. Marjorie, now and then, had suspicions that some extra mischief was afloat. Never before had she known them to stick to anything for so long. But she recollected the fascination of caves and holes, and was, besides, much engaged with her own concerns.
- 65. The Bishop and the boy. —p. 170. One evening the Bishop, on leaving the drawing-room, had gone to his study. It had been a wet day, and the rain had finished in a thunderstorm an hour or so before, leaving the sky washed and pellucid under the summer moon. The shutters had been closed and a little fire lighted; but presently, finding the room warm, the Bishop opened the window, and stood gazing over the wide lawn which occupied the space between the house and the ruins. The delicate tracery of the ruined window of the banqueting hall, and the many unevennesses of the walls, stood out black against the sky. Every object on the lawn—every bush and tree and flower—was sharply distinct. As he looked, his eye caught a movement among the distant shrubs. Some small object was advancing along the gravelled walk surrounding the lawn. Presently, as if attracted by the light, it turned off the pathway on to the lawn, in a bee-line for the window. The Bishop stood watching, wondering a little, when the object resolved itself first into a small boy, and then into Sandy Bethune. "Why, Sandy!" he exclaimed, "how did you get here?" "Is it the middle of the night?" asked Sandy in his usual cheerful way. "Nearly. It's half-past eleven. Good gracious! What have you been doing?" For, on approaching the light, Sandy was seen to be covered with mud and otherwise much disarrayed. Sandy considered. He was in a deep fix—so deep a one as to threaten the upheaval and overthrow of some well-laid plans, just on the point of being carried out. The Bishop was an understanding man. Sandy had confided in him before, and knew his worth. If only
- 66. Mrs. Lytchett did not live at the Palace, and spoil everything, Sandy would have been quite willing to share that residence with the Bishop. He had once told the Bishop so, artlessly asking when Mrs. Lytchett was going away to live elsewhere. The Bishop, on his side, found the children of his friend very charming, specially so irrepressible Sandy; and was ready to be lenient when their peccadilloes were in question. He now invited Sandy in, despite the muddy covering which encased him from head to foot. Sitting down, he began to question him gravely. "What is it, Sandy? Why are you in such a mess?" Sandy sat down on a little stool, as if glad to present his small person to the fire, and said, "It's the bovering funderstorm. We'd never thought of that. An' we got caught, an' had to take shelter, an' when we got back our way was bunged up—all squashy with mud. An' we hadn't got no spades nor fings out with us. So at last I said I would go and scout—you know—an' then I saw you." "Who's 'we'?" asked the Bishop. "Me an' David." "And how did you get into my garden?" "Oh, over the wall. We're highwaymen, and we've got a way of our own." "Indeed. And where's David now?" "Oh, he's over there, all muddy, tryin' to clean himself. He's a deal worse than me," said Sandy cheerfully. "He must indeed be bad, then. What do you propose to do?" "That's it. We can't get back to the pantry window now our way's gone," said artless Sandy. "Not in at all, not wivout knockin' at the door. I did think p'raps"—persuasively—"you cud come and knock." "I see. And then?"
- 67. "Then, when you was talkin' to father, we cud slip in. Don't fink father would see—not to notice." "How long have you been highwaymen?" the Bishop asked. "On'y about a week—and this is a sickener," said Sandy disgustedly. "We was ghosts for a bit at first—till a woman screeched so we nearly got caught, stupid fing!" And the Bishop, remembering certain reports that had been made to him, was pleased with his acumen in refusing to call in the police. "If I were you, I should try a better line of business," he said. "Ghosts frighten silly women, and highwaymen are not very creditable, on the whole." "Yes," agreed Sandy. "We're goin' to. Next we're goin' to be pioneers and settlers." "Ah, I see. And where are you going to settle?" Sandy's bright eyes were turned suspiciously to the kind ones looking down upon him. He fidgeted uneasily, and a smile came across the Bishop's face. "I see," he said. "Perhaps you have not yet made up your minds." Sandy looked uncomfortable. "Not 'zactly," he confessed. "Truth is, it depends—I don't fink Dave would like me to tell. It's such a grand plan," he went on enthusiastically, "it 'ud be such a pity——" "To have it spoilt. Well, don't get into more mischief than you can help," the Bishop cautioned, "and don't do anything to make your mother uneasy." "Mother? Oh, mother'll laugh—she always does. You see, the bother is," confided Sandy, "there ain't no places to pioneer—every bit's taken. An' we've on'y just thought on it; an' it's splendid. We want a girl badly, though. Margie? No, Margie's no good. Settlers has wives an' squaws," went on Sandy pensively, "and we've on'y got Barbe lately, an' she's aw'fly little. 'Sides, you have to take such care on her —she's the on'y one Mr. Pelham's got. There's a lot of us, but mother
- 68. says she cudn't spare not the littlest bit of one. So much less him his one, an' such a little one. It's a 'sponsibility," sighed Sandy, "when you want to do fings." Through the open window came the musical sound of the chimes from the cathedral. The Bishop, with a quick sigh, rose. "There is a quarter to twelve. Your father will be going to bed. Fetch David quickly." "Should fink he's cleaned by now," said Sandy hopefully. "He was rubbin' himself wiv the leaves off the trees—drippin' wet." Mr. Bethune opened his front door in response to a low knocking, which at first he did not hear. His eyes had the unseeing, far-away look in them of a man disturbed in a possessing line of thought. The red light in the hall shone on the face of the Bishop, who entered and stood on the doormat for a minute, in such a position as to shield the entrance of the two muddy boys. "Here is the Guardian for you," he said, "with a very appreciative notice of your paper." Then he went on, "And tell Marjorie to-morrow morning not to be too cross with the state of the boys' clothes. They've been in mischief, but it won't happen again—not the same sort."
- 69. The father pretended not to hear the scuffling of small feet. The two men looked at one another and laughed, and the father pretended not to hear the scuffling of small feet upon the stairs. The Bishop went home with no weight on his conscience—only a little pathetic envy of the man he had just left. Somehow those stifled scufflings up the stairs had gone straight to the depths of his very tender and lonely heart. "The Bishop knows all 'bout it," excused Sandy sturdily, when confronted by Marjorie the next morning.
- 70. "The Bishop knows that all your clothes are in the bath, with both taps running!" "Well, he does," Sandy repeated, "proberly. He said we were the out-an'-outest dirtiest little grubs he'd ever seen." "That you are—no one will contradict him. But he couldn't know that your clothes were in the bath." "Yes, he would. If they were so dirty, where else could they be? It's all that 'gustin' funderstorm." "Thunderstorm!" echoed Marjorie suspiciously. "That was at ten o'clock. What has that got to do with your clothes and the Bishop?" "Tell you it has. You'd best ask him, if you don't b'lieve me," said Sandy, hurt at her unbelief. "Anyhow, he does know that they was dirty. An' just cos we want to save trouble an' wash 'em ourselves, you're cross an' spiteful. Girls are no good—'cept little uns. What's there to put on? Best be somefink old, cos there's a deal of diggin' to be done." "I shall stop that digging if you make such a mess of yourselves." "You'd best not," said David meaningly, from his bed in the further corner. "If you do, you'll be sorry," he said darkly. END OF CHAPTER SIX.
- 72. Three Songs of Birth A Christmas Sermon By the Rev. Hugh Miller, M.A. "Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."—St. Luke ii. 13, 14. Three times are we told in Scripture that the angels sang. At the birth of the world, when the foundations of the earth were laid, the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. When Jesus was born into the world a multitude of the heavenly host praised God and said, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." And when anyone is born again there is joy among the angels in heaven over the sinner that repenteth. The subject of the song in each case is the same: the leading motif of them all is man. Man, to begin with, was God's chief end in creation, and the angels sang not so much because a new world had been made, but rather because a new being akin to themselves was put into it, to whom they might minister and with whom they might co-operate in the doing of God's most holy will; and this season comes to remind us of our inherent dignity in God's sight, of the noble ideal He has formed for us, of the value He sets on those whom He sent His Son to seek and to save. As God made us and as He intends us to be, we are not a little higher only than the animals, we are rather only "a little lower than the angels." He has crowned us with glory and honour and set us over the work of His hands. He has put all things under our feet. The material universe was made for man, to be his home, to develop his powers, to be a test and discipline of his moral character. I refuse to be reduced to the same rank, or to be placed in the same order,
- 73. as the beasts that perish. Remembering the angels' first song, I assert my supremacy. And man is most of all supreme because God has given him the freedom to choose the objects of his life, and the means by which he can secure them. Sun, moon and stars are bound by laws which they cannot transgress. The movements of the animals are guided by impulses and instincts over which they have no moral control. To man alone belongs the power of refusing to bow before God's greatness and of disobeying God's commands. Man only has this sovereignty; but his sovereignty led to his servitude, and the chains that bound him were forged by an angel who fell before man's fall. If, then, all the angels worshipped and adored when man was made with the great gift of free choice, how must the holy ones that remained after the first and great apostasy have grieved when the fallen angels took man along with them in their fall! For because of man's disobedience God's idea in making man seemed to be thwarted and the peace and good will to which he was called appeared no longer possible. Instead of being the master of creation, he was now to a large extent its unhappy victim. We know from hints thrown out here and there in Scripture with what absorbing interest the angels followed the plans of God to bring order once more out of the chaos caused by sin, and the effort He put forth to create a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. No wonder, then, that when the fulness of the time was come, and God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem man, the angels should have sung a second time, and anticipated for man at last a happy time of peace and good will. The angels had a clear perception of the purpose of Christ's coming. One of the chief of them said to Joseph, "Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." And they all sang when He came, because they knew that God was now dealing in a special and most effective way with that dark thing which cast its shadow on heaven as well as on earth. And it becomes us to
- 74. remember that it is the sin of man which in the mind of God and His holy angels is associated with the coming of Jesus Christ. To this end was He born, and for this cause came He into the world. The sin of our first parents had passed on from generation to generation, and each one of the millions of mankind had to say, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me"; and each fulfilled in his own life all too truly the sad promise of his birth. How was the tradition to be broken, and yet broken by one who really belonged to the race? The instincts of man himself foreshadowed the truth. Stories of a virgin birth here and there discernible in paganism show the deep intuition which was realised in Jesus Christ. He came into the world to fight with sin, to redeem a race steeped in a terrible heritage of evil, and that He might redeem it He Himself was born, and yet was free from evil. He fought sin and He conquered it. Why, then, has the angels' song not been fulfilled? Why does sin still cast its shadow on earth and heaven alike? Why does God's loving purpose in sending His Son seem still to suffer so wide defeat? Because in his recovery as in his fall, man's will must play its part. I can only be saved from sin when I will to be saved; I only become a partaker of the benefits which Christ brought from heaven to earth when, yielding to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I turn with full accord to Jesus Christ as my Saviour. Marvel not, therefore, that we say to you with peculiar emphasis on the day in which Christ was born, "Ye must be born again." Otherwise, His birth is of no avail to you and me. We are not honouring Him, we are putting Him rather to an open shame, if we keep out of our thoughts at this time the supreme purpose of His coming, if we are not personally dealing with Him even now as to the burden and guilt of our sin. But we can set the angels a-singing in the sky, and the melody of their music can be felt in our own hearts, if we turn in lowly penitence to Him who came to save His people from their sins, and to quicken them to a new life of righteousness and peace and joy. Only when a man comes to himself in lowly penitence, and then
- 75. goes to his Father with a lofty faith, does he enter into the full purpose of his manhood; and only then, also, is there not only joy among the angels in heaven over the sinner that thus repenteth, but there is music and dancing on the earth as well, and the old life ends in which sin reigned, and the new begins in which Christ reigns; and His reign means "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men." "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."
- 76. O Wondrous Night! A NEW CHRISTMAS CAROL. Words by Arthur Bryant. Music by Charles Bassett. 1. O wondrous night! O wondrous night! we fain would tell The news the Angel told; The holy vision which befel The Shepherds by their fold. With fear they saw, with gladness heard The heav'nly minstrelsy, With hope each trembling heart was stirred At that sweet harmony: ... "We bring good news Which ne'er shall cease; To God be praise, to God be praise, On earth be peace." 2. O wondrous sight! O wondrous sight for simple swains, With hasty steps who sped; The music of those joyous strains To that poor manger led. With awe they gazed on Christ the Lord Amid that happy throng, And Israel at His feet adored, Taught by the Angels' song: ... "We bring good news, Which ne'er shall cease; To God be praise, to God be praise, On earth be peace."
- 77. 3. O wondrous night! they homeward turned To where their flocks did lay, And sang the song they late had learned To cheer them on their way. The timid dawn began to peer Across the dewy wold; Their lips in accents loud and clear The gladsome tidings told: "We bring good news," &c. 4. O wondrous sight, that God should live In robe of flesh for man! O wondrous Love, Himself to give When closed His mortal span! Sing, O ye skies! be joyful, earth! Ye winds, bear o'er the seas The news of blessèd Jesu's birth, And those sweet harmonies: "We bring good news," &c.
- 78. THE HOUSE COMFORTABLE. By Lina Orman Cooper, Author of "The House Beautiful," Etc. The House Beautiful must needs be also the House Comfortable, if we take true loveliness to consist of perfect fitness for service. Thoroughness is the keynote of each. In order to strike it we must have entered heart and soul into Ruskin's translation of St. Ursula's Room. Carpaccio himself painted the useful in the beautiful in this famous picture. From the princess's book, set up at a slope fittest for reading, to the shelf which runs under the window, providing a place to put things on—from a silver lamp on the white wall to the little blue slippers beside her bed, each detail ensures comfort of the first quality. Comfort is a thing quite apart from fashion. So it is easier to indicate the road which leads to the House Comfortable than it was to point out details in the House Beautiful. We most of us agree about the essentials required for real comfort: chairs upon which you can sit fearlessly; beds which rest and do not bruise; arms that support without cramping; pokers that bend not; strong tables and sharp knives, these are a sample of the things I mean. But true comfort depends on more than surface surroundings. It is indissolubly linked with attention to detail. The houses to which guests return time after time is the one in which soap is never absent from its tray, and where pillows are not only covered with frilled slips, but also stuffed with down and interlined with soft covering in place of waxed ticking. I would say, first of all, that the House Comfortable must stand in a sunny situation. This ensures warmth and light, without which our bodies are ill-nourished and miserable. "Where the sun never comes the doctor does" is a much-to-be-quoted proverb. We cannot all live
- 79. exactly where we like. Circumstances of business, and means, generally determine locality. But common-sense must guide us in the selection of our houses. If we would be really comfortable, we must live in light, dry, airy, and clean homes. Never take a house on the sole recommendation of its pretty appearance. To have a really beautiful house we must first see that it is essentially built for comfort. The really useful and good is generally ornamental, for it possesses the realistic beauty of fitness. A north and south aspect for the chief sitting rooms, with east and west windows, secures both sunshine and shade. We want afternoon coolness as well as morning light. If our apartment looks towards the sun rising, heavy curtains should be ready to draw when east wind rages. A stick to effect this noiselessly is a small boon much appreciated. If our casement faces the golden gates of the west, no such protection is called for. But all windows should have double blinds—white outside, to absorb heat, and dark inside, to veil the sun when necessary. The comfort of lying in bed, facing a dark green blind can only be estimated by those who have reluctantly been disturbed by the too early shafts of the god Phœbus. There should be a triple water supply in the House Comfortable; ewers always filled from the soft-water pump. Every well and tank should be tested ere we take up residence. Pure water, and plenty of it, is essential to the health (and therefore comfort) of every household. It should be perfectly clear and bright, and free from taste or smell. Yet impurity may lurk even in the most sparkling water. Therefore science must decide as to its desirability. If only iron or lime water is procurable, jars of lump ammonia, or a bottle of cloudy liquid ammonia, a bag of oatmeal or a bundle of bran should lie on every washstand. The hot-water boiler not only supplies unlimited baths, but may be devised to heat the house. In every Canadian home a stove in the cellar warms the rooms above by means of drums and fans. We might do much the same in England with our hot-water pipes. These should certainly run through the linen-press and clothes cupboards, and terminate in bathroom spirals. On these, towels and rough sheets could be dried and aired.
- 80. A face cloth always warm is one of the luxuries in our House Comfortable. After sanitation, ventilation takes its place in the home. How to secure a constant supply of fresh air is a question which demands most serious consideration. In ages past, houses were unintentionally ventilated by the ill-fitting doors and window-frames, wide chimneys, and open fire-places. But in our modern buildings comfort is secured by almost air-tight doors and windows. Ventilators at the top of such are delightful and necessary for real comfort, or a Queen Anne casement may have a swing in its upper frame. It is not always easy, however, to secure exemption from draught in our modern mansions. When the brick-and-mortar fiend has placed door, window, and fireplace exactly opposite each other, screens must be judiciously used. A brass rod from which hangs a curtain, screwed into the door jamb and suspended by a tiny chain from the ceiling, is a good thing, or an ordinary portière may be allowed. The former plan, however, enables us to keep the door open without feeling a wind. Padded stair-carpets secure noiseless ascent in the House Comfortable. Cork mats by the big bath are welcome to bare feet. Many cupboards are a necessity. A place for everything and everything in its place is one of the initial rules for everyone's comfort. It is also Divine law. Hanging presses, medicine cupboards, butler's pantry, housemaid's closets, keep dresses from dust, poisons from the unwary, silver and glass intact, and brushes unworn. The House Comfortable must not be over-servanted. Neither must it be undermanned. Of the two evils, the latter is preferable, as the mistress herself then looks after the minutiæ of her house. With all deference to Matthew Prior, comfort does not flow on a line with ignorance. It requires a cultivated intelligence to provide such in our homes. Education has done much for us on this point. How not to do it in the House Comfortable is exemplified by the abodes of our forefathers. Going over Beaumaris Castle the other day, I noted the
- 81. small apertures for exit; the high caverns of chimneys; the windows of horn; the crooked stairs. Nowadays we find stoves and slow combustion grates quite a necessity for comfort—whilst lofty ceilings, broad staircases, and wide windows can be quite as picturesque, and are far more to be desired. The dictionary definition of the word "comfort" implies enlivenment and capability for dispensing bodily ease. For this, moral qualities are as necessary as well-planned, well-equipped houses. Punctuality, for instance, is an ingredient required to secure a comfortable home. When breakfast and dinner are movable feasts, served up at the whim of a lie-a-bed or a gad-about, they can only be make-believes, after all. Cold coffee is unpalatable even when partaken of in a sunny room. Whitey-brown sausages are unappetising unless piping from the pot. Yet this—like all other virtues—may be strained too far. Nothing is more uncomfortable than to feel no latitude is allowed to a weary guest, or to find one's host at marmalade three minutes after the time appointed for the disappearance of a savoury. Courtesy in this must be our rule. Neatness is another necessity. No house can be really comfortable that is littered with papers, or in which boots lie in the drawing-room—yet finickiness in arrangement makes the home unbearable. The most uncomfortable visit I ever paid was to the most scientifically correct house. Chairs were not allowed to touch the wall-paper; footstools never shifted. A towel for wiping down the varnish of the bath was provided, and—I was made miserable! By all means keep paint and paper in as much primitive purity as possible, but let unobtrusive service guard these points. Much more could I discourse of the House Comfortable, but space forbids. Let me only remind you that the veriest cottage—plenished with wisdom and lovingly provided—may fulfil all its conditions just as well as the most luxurious castle.
- 82. Told in Sunshine Room.]
- 83. DONKEY BOY To The QUEEN A TRUE INCIDENT. By Alfred T. Story Part II. A week passed before anything further was heard. Then a summons came for Tam to appear before her Majesty on the following afternoon. He was duly in attendance, and had not long to wait before a man in Highland costume came into the room where he was seated and said— "Noo, my braw laddie, her Most Gracious Majesty and his Royal Highness the Prince Consort will come in through that door in twa seconds. When they enter all you hae to dy is ta stan' up an' mak' yer obeisance. An' when they ax ye a question jist ye say yes or nae, your Majesty, or your Royal Highness, as the case may be. An' if they ax ye naething—weel, jist ye say naething in return." With these words the wise servitor withdrew. Barely had he gone out of one door ere the other opened, and the same lady he had seen before, leaning on the arm of the gentleman he likewise remembered, appeared before friend Tam. They were both dressed much more richly than when he had previously seen them, the lady having a brilliant star on her breast, and the gentleman wearing a silken sash over his shoulder. For a moment the boy was confused, but he recovered himself sufficiently to recollect that he had to make an "obeisance." He had omitted to ask the Highland gentleman what that was, but he
- 84. thought it must be something like the soldier's salute, and so he stood perfectly upright and saluted. "So you have come, my lad, to see her Majesty about the position of donkey-boy?" said the gentleman. "Yes, sir—your Royal Highness," replied Tam. Only when he had got out the word "sir" did it flash upon him that he was standing before the Queen and her Royal Consort. "Well, her Majesty has caused inquiries to be made about you, and she finds that, although you are a little wayward and sometimes disobedient to your grandparents, you are not on the whole a bad boy." "No, your Royal Highness," said Tam. "Does that mean that you are not a bad boy, or that you do not sometimes disobey your grandparents?" This question, though backed by a genial smile, somewhat disconcerted the would-be donkey-boy. He was silent for a moment, then he answered, looking first at one and then at the other, with that straight glance of his, "I hae sometimes been disobedient to my grandparents, but I think I have learned better now." "I am glad to hear that," said the Prince. Then, speaking for the first time, the Queen said, "Well, Tam, if I make you my donkey-boy, will you promise to be obedient to all my slightest wishes and commands? Do not answer lightly. I am a severe mistress in that I expect the strictest obedience and attention to duty. But I, in return, am strict in doing my duty to those I employ." "And if you prove a worthy and trustworthy servant," added the Prince, "your position is secure for life." "Not, however, as a mere donkey-boy all your days," put in the Queen with a smile.
- 85. Said Tam with a faltering tongue: "If ye'll try me, your Majesty, I'll do my best, and," he added, as though struck with a sudden thought, "I'll no need to lick the donkeys, 'cos I ken hoo ta mek 'em run 'thout the stick."
- 86. Yetta threw up her hands in amaze. "And how do you do that?" asked the Prince with a smile. "I meks 'em carry a bunch o' thistles afore 'em." "Well, we will see," replied her Majesty, smiling. "Now you may run home and tell your grandparents you are to be ready to begin duty this day week. But before you go you will see the gentleman who spoke to you a minute or two ago." With these words and a kindly smile the Sovereign and her Royal Consort withdrew. The one door closed, the other immediately opened, and again entered the Highland gentleman. "Sae ye hae been engagit ta look after ta cuddies, eh?" he questioned. Tam said he had.
- 87. "Aweel, it's a verra guid step in life for a young callant to begin wi', an' if ye tek heed there's nae telling whereto it may lead—ablins even to the primiership, if ye ken what that is. For ye mun know, the gift o' the heaven-made Prime Minister is just to ken hoo ta manage a' th' human cuddies that are sent to Parliament to bother 'em. But mebbe a' that's a wee bit abune yer understanding as yet, and sae we'll just leave it an' speer aboot yer claes." Needless to say how surprised Donal and Yetta were to hear Tam's story, how thankful to reflect that their boy was to have such a start in life. He reported to them what had been said, and the promise he had given, and they believed that, like the Jamison he was, he would be true to his word. All the same, they did not omit to pray for that guidance and support for him without which his own efforts would be vain. The evening before Tam's week was up a parcel was delivered at Jamison's door, addressed to his grandson. It contained a complete new suit, as the Highland gentleman had said, "from the skin outwards." Never was seen such a brave outfit, to Tam's thinking. He turned it over and admired it, article by article, for at least a couple of hours, but would not try it on, or any part of it, until he had had a good wash. The tub was never a thing he was shy of, but on this occasion it was used as though he intended to wash out his every fault, as well as all the merely superficial smuts and stains that had accumulated, so as to appear before his Queen a spotlessly clean cuddy-tender. When the operation was completed, Tam indued himself in his new garments and went on parade, so to speak, before his grandmother. Yetta was busy stirring the matutinal porridge when he walked into the ben and said: "How do I look, granny?" Yetta, turning round, threw up her hands in amaze. She hardly knew him, so great was the transformation effected by the new clothes and the scrubbing he had given himself. Donal was no less surprised
- 88. when he came in from his morning milking. Tam looked two inches taller and a lot sprucer. "Ye mind me of yer puir father," said the old man as he sat down to breakfast. That was a note of sad recollection which brought tears to Yetta's eyes; but a smile was soon gleaming through them when Tam, getting sight of Meg, who was eyeing him as it were askance, said drily, "Meg looks as if she hardly kenned what ta mek of her handiwark; for the beginning o't was a' her doing." Just then the noise of wheels was heard on the road, and as the messenger who brought the clothes left word that one of the Queen's carriages would pick him up on the morrow, Tam thought surely this was the one. But it was not. Indeed, he ran to the door at least twenty times ere, towards eleven o'clock, his vehicle arrived. It was a quaint affair, half carriage, half wash-basket, drawn by two asses, creatures as beautiful of their kind as could be found. It was driven by her whom he knew, and by her side were several bright little faces, while the Highland gentleman, riding behind on one pony, as sturdy and Hielan' as himself, led another by the bridle. Donal and Yetta came out and with bowed heads thanked the august though simple-hearted lady for the great kindness she had shown to their boy. She replied with a kindly smile: "There appears to be the making of a good man in him, and, with God's help, we will do our best to make him one." Little more was said, and, mounting the led pony, Tam rode off by the side of the faithful retainer, who never got further away from the carriage than the dust raised by its wheels. Thus commenced Tam's career in life. Though he served the noblest lady in the land, he did not find his way one altogether of buttered
- 89. parsnips and cream. The one thing abhorrent to his royal mistress was idleness and indifference. The motto of her establishment—of all her establishments—was "The diligent eye." In this principle she found not only the best interests of her own house, but the best interests also of those who served her. Tam could not be called idle, nor could he be called exactly indifferent; but during the years of his tending of cattle and sheep on the brae-side he had got into the habit of liking to loll about, to saunter and dream, and then to make up, or try to make up, the leeway of work or duty by a spurt of energy. Another fault he had was to leave things about—for others to "side" or put in order. This arose, no doubt, from the narrow dimensions of his home, where there was hardly room for everything to have its particular place. It was, however, neither a very grievous nor a deeply rooted fault; and a little sharp drilling, not unfrequently at the hands of the Highland gentleman—a sort of major of the household, who possessed "the diligent eye" par excellence—soon corrected Tam's delinquency in this regard. But the other fault was more deeply rooted and cost the young donkey-boy many a bad quarter of an hour. Indeed, on one occasion it nearly cost him his place. He had been given a task to do, and in place of doing it with all diligence he had been found with his feet growing to the ground, as it were. The consequence was an interview with the Highland gentleman, who told him, "Tam, ye have either ta pe punisht or to leave her Majesty's service: which shall it pe?" "I'll tek the punishment, sir, if you please," he answered. "Tam, ye are a wise poy, an' we'll mebby mek a man o' ye yet," said the major-domo. Tam took his punishment, and was the better for it; but he still failed to come up to his royal mistress's ideal of a servant. Like his fellow- servitors, he had plenty of time for rest and recreation: hours of labour were by no means long. So much time had he, indeed, for
- 90. himself, that the Highland gentleman put suitable books before him, and counselled him to improve his mind by reading and study. He failed, however, to profit by the advice, and was presently made aware of his error by a violent thunder-clap. He was in attendance on his royal mistress one day, when she and the children were out for a drive. A poor body was met, in apparent distress, by the wayside. Inquiry was made as to her condition, present help was extended, and a promise of future beneficence given if further investigation should warrant its bestowal. Hence the necessity arose for an address to be written down, and Tam, who was that day the only person in attendance, was requested to do it. When Tam entered the royal service he could read a bit and write very imperfectly; but there had been time, had he followed the counsel given him, to have greatly improved himself in both those accomplishments. Not having done so, he fumbled egregiously over the task set him, and, in short, made such a hash of it that an eye of wrath was turned upon him. Tam had seen that eye in all its moods—of laughter and smiles, of grief, of earnestness, of affection, even of solemnity and awe, but he had never as yet beheld it flash in indignant wrath. He felt as though the muscles of his knees had been cut away and the ground was sinking from under his feet. What would he not have given to be miles away! But he had to face the storm, and it came in this way: "Were not books and paper and ink put before you? And were you not advised to improve your reading and writing?" Tam falteringly admitted that such was the case. "Why did you not attend to the advice?" "I—I——" stammered the ease-loving Tam. "Had you not the time?" "Yes." "Then why did you not do as you were wished?"
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