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the intro

Acknowledgments

My editor:
Brian Sawyer was Head First Python’s editor. When not editing
books, Brian likes to run marathons in his spare time. This turns out
to be the perfect training for working on another book with me (our
second together). O’Reilly and Head First are lucky to have someone
of Brian’s caliber working to make this and other books the best they
can be. Brian Sawyer

The O’Reilly team:
Karen Shaner provided administrative support and very capably coordinated the techical review process, responding
quickly to my many queries and requests for help. There’s also the back-room gang to thank—the O’Reilly Production
Team—who guided this book through its final stages and turned my InDesign files into the beautiful thing you’re
holding in your hands right now (or maybe you’re on an iPad, Android tablet, or reading on your PC—that’s cool, too).
And thanks to the other Head First authors who, via Twitter, offered cheers, suggestions, and encouragement
throughout the entire writing process. You might not think 140 characters make a big difference, but they really do.
I am also grateful to Bert Bates who, together with Kathy Sierra, created this series of books with their wonderful
Head First Java. At the start of this book, Bert took the time to set the tone with a marathon 90-minute phone call,
which stretched my thinking on what I wanted to do to the limit and pushed me to write a better book. Now, some nine
months after the phone call, I’m pretty sure I’ve recovered from the mind-bending Bert put me through.

Friends and colleagues:
My thanks again to Nigel Whyte, Head of Department, Computing and Networking at The Institute of Technology,
Carlow, for supporting my involvement in yet another book (especially so soon after the last one).

My students (those enrolled on 3rd Year Games Development and 4th Year Software Engineering) have been exposed
to this material in various forms over the last 18 months. Their positive reaction to Python and the approach I take with
my classes helped inform the structure and eventual content of this book. (And yes, folks, some of this is on your final).
Family:
My family, Deirdre, Joseph, Aaron, and Aideen had to, once more, bear the grunts and groans, huffs and puffs,
and more than a few roars on more than one occasion (although, to be honest, not as often they did with Head First
Programming). After the last book, I promised I wouldn’t start another one “for a while.” It turned out “a while” was no
more than a few weeks, and I’ll be forever grateful that they didn’t gang up and throw me out of the house for breaking
my promise. Without their support, and especially the ongoing love and support of my wife, Deirdre, this book would
not have seen the light of day.
The without-whom list:
My technical review team did an excellent job of keeping me straight and making sure what I covered was spot on.
They confirmed when my material was working, challenged me when it wasn’t and not only pointed out when stuff
was wrong, but provided suggestions on how to fix it. This is especially true of David Griffiths, my co-conspirator on
Head First Programming, whose technical review comments went above and beyond the call of duty. David’s name might
not be on the cover of this book, but a lot of his ideas and suggestions grace its pages, and I was thrilled and will forever
remain grateful that he approached his role as tech reviewer on Head First Python with such gusto.
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