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IronPython in Action | 
 enlarge | Authors: Michael Foord, Christian Muirhead
Publisher: Manning Publications
Buy New: $29.69
New (32) Used (10) from $21.00
Media: Paperback
Edition: Pap/Pas
Pages: 480
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 1933988339
Dewey Decimal Number: 005
EAN: 9781933988337
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In 2005, Microsoft quietly announced an initiative to bring dynamic languages to the .NET platform. The starting point for this project was a .NET implementation of Python, dubbed IronPython. After a couple years of incubation, IronPython is ready for real-world use. It blends the simplicity, elegance, and dynamism of Python with the power of the .NET framework. IronPython in Action offers a comprehensive, hands-on introduction to Microsoft's exciting new approach for programming the .NET framework. It approaches IronPython as a first class .NET language, fully integrated with the .NET environment, Visual Studio, and even the open-source Mono implementation. You'll learn how IronPython can be embedded as a ready-made scripting language into C# and VB.NET programs, used for writing full applications or for web development with ASP. Even better, you'll see how IronPython works in Silverlight for client-side web programming. IronPython opens up exciting new possibilities. Because it's a dynamic language, it permits programming paradigms not easily available in VB and C#. In this book, authors Michael Foord and Christian Muirhead explore the world of functional programming, live introspection, dynamic typing and duck typing , metaprogramming, and more. IronPython in Action explores these topics with examples, making use of the Python interactive console to explore the .NET framework with live objects. The expert authors provide a complete introduction for programmers to both the Python language and the power of the .NET framework. The book also shows how to extend IronPython with C#, extending C# and VB.NET applications with Python, using IronPython with .NET 3.0 and Powershell, IronPython as a Windows scripting tool, and much more.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 makes it easy to get started using IronPython right away. May 28, 2009
Scott C. Koon (Seattle, WA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've always wanted to use Python more. Mostly I use it to write little one off scripts when I want to move a bunch of files around or parse some text. I was really excited when Manning asked to to review IronPython in Action because I wanted to dive a little deeper into Python and possibly use it in some web applications. "IronPython in Action" makes it easy to get started using IronPython right away.
The book starts out with an introduction to Python itself and continues with a general description of how IronPython can use .NET types. It starts off by showing how to build a Winforms app using IronPython. If anything exposes the cruel, unnecessary complexity of .NET, it's got to be a Winforms app. The IronPython examples are easy to follow and it's always fun to create and manipulate a Winforms app using the IronPython console.
Chapter 4 talks about using Design patterns in IronPython. This is a refreshing change from most language books where patterns aren't mentioned at all. The chapter builds an IronPython application and uses the MVC pattern for the overall architecture and the command pattern for the implementation of the menu bar events.
Chapter 7 discusses agile testing and unit testing using IronPython. I almost dropped the book in amazement. Unit testing is almost never mentioned in any language book and is relegated to a niche or advanced topic. Find a book about any other .NET language that mentions unit testing that doesn't have the word "testing" in the title. This alone sets the quality of this book far above other language books I have read. It's not just enough, in my opinion, to discuss the syntax of the language. You have to teach the reader how to use the language in your everyday work.
The next section, section3, deals with a few core UI frameworks commonly used during .NET development, WPF, Silverlight, and ASP.NET, as well as showing how you can use IronPython to administer your system. Performing tedious tasks is my most common use of IronPython. I use it to automate moving files that fit a specific pattern out of my "downloads" directory to their proper places. It was great to learn a few new techniques for using IronPython in Powershell.
The last section talks about extending IronPython using C#, something which it sounds like should be avoided unless you just can't achieve decent performance with the equivalent IronPython code, and using IronPython as an embedde scripting engine. Python is used a lot in game programming because it's easy to embed. The nuts and bolts of the game engine will be written in low-level C/Assembly while the game logic and story is written in Python. I love the idea of having an embedded scripting engine in my application that will allow me to quickly extend my application at runtime. The user need to perform a new calculation on some data? Just send them an IronPython script and have them put it in a directory. It's a great idea and the book describes exactly how to do just that.
My overall feeling about this book is that it's a great book. The authors use the same humor and dry wit that Python is known for to great effect. Making the digestion of a very different language easier. I'm sure that as I continue to experiment with IronPython that I'll keep this book close at hand.
 If you start with IronPython, buy this book May 23, 2009
Matthieu Brucher (Pau, France)
IronPython is the first dynamic language developed for the .Net plateform. At first, .Net didn't support this kind of language. This is something that keeps on coming back througout the book: you have to use some additional tricks to unleash the power of .Net dynamic and static languages.
The book starts with a general introduction to IronPython. A quick review of the language itself is followed by the use of the .Net assemblies. At the end of this part, one is comfortable enough to do some small IronPython programs.
The next part is dedicated to what IronPython offers thanks to Python and to its affiliation to .Net. The authors go through standard Python (battery included) and the somewhat associated .Net assemblies (some arguments on using one or the other could have been a big plus to the explanations), depending on what must be done. Because or (or thanks to) .Net, several pages are dedicated to XML, as it is needed to simplify the description of UIs. Also several useful designed patterns are presented with the .Net approach.
The next part starts with WPF, the official graphical interface, with several ways of using it (bridge from C#, XAML, ...). Then WMI (used for system administration) is handled, but from my point of view, it is the weirdest part. WMI has its own language which does not seem like C# or Python. Besides, PowerShell, presented as well as a way of doing system administration, has its own language. There is a book dedicated to PowerShell, so only the communication between IronPython and PowerShell is handled. So two additional languages in this chapter, perhaps too many (they are limited to this chapter).
IronPython is a .Net language, so it is possible to do ASP with it. A chapter deals with this approach, chapter well written but it needs to follow the associated example in your favorite IDE if you want to follow what's happening. Web means also web services and databases, handled in one chapter. The basis of SQL tools addressed, as well as basic webservces (mainly REST). I have to say that there are some mistakes there, as SOAP is not only used with POST HTTP requests but also with GET requests (it can be seen in the official w3c specification) and also with other transport protocols than HTTP. Perhaps these are .Net implementation's limitation, in which case it should have been mentioned. Finally Silverlight integration allows developping light clients that can interact with other langages as well as the web page.
Throughout the book, complete interaction with other .Net languages was not addressed. It is the goal of the last part to show how assemblies can be used in IronPython and how IronPython scripts can be used from .Net static languages. As I've said, the interaction does not go completely smoothly, there are several solutions to accomplish it. At least, the book does not only speak about the upcoming .Net 4.0 that will help this interaction.
As a conclusion, those who need a dynamic language (to script an application) can go for IronPython, th first dynamic language for the .Net framework, compatible with the langage Python 2.5, and in that case, go for this book that will help you for anything.
Simply a Fantastic Python Book May 5, 2009
Robert S. Oakes (Salt Lake City, Utah)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
While I just got my print copy of Michael Foorde's excellent book, "IronPython in Action," I've been using it and referring to it for the better part of a year. There's a back story here, so be prepared.
I'm not a computer programmer, I'm an engineer who occasionally needs to do a bit of (rather frustrated) computer tinkering. For that, I've long used Matlab (a product of the MathWorks company). Matlab works well for most things, but it has some rather serious technical limitations. More importantly, though, it's tremendously (prohibitely even) expensive. In contrast, Python is free, OpenSource and solves many of Matlab's serious problems.
So, a little more than a year ago, I did a bit of investigation and eventually decided to try IronPython. It tied into Microsoft's .Net library, it was real python, and it worked flawlessly on Windows. There was, however, just one problem: I didn't have the time to figure out Python programmming on my own. That's when I found Michael's book. And it has been a godsend.
As I said above, I'm not a computer programmer and computer programming isn't a skill I've ever wanted to properly acquire. My idea of computer programming is to find someone else's example and then poke and prod until it does something relatively close to what I need. I don't have the attention span for most books on the subject, and I don't have a great deal of desire (or any serious motivation) to learn better skills.
Foord's book simultaneously addressed two very real problems: 1) my own ignorance, 2) my impatience for results. The book nicely balances the need to teach skills with the need to show results. And I was well satisfied. The included examples are excellent, and I was able to get up and running on my own projects quickly. More importantly, though, I picked up quite a few insights on how to properly write a piece of code. For both of these reasons, this book easily earns its five stars. If you are interested in Python or .Net, it is an excellent reference. Do yourself a favor and just buy the book.
The best IronPython book to date April 27, 2009
Larry OBrien (Kailua Kona, HI, US)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book excels in its discussion of both "pythonic" and ".NET / DLR" issues. IronPython is a relatively new port of Python and its interaction with Microsoft's managed platform is an important concern.
The book is well written, has some excellent "worth a thousand words" diagrams, and no technical errors jumped out (as with all development books, I am sure there are _some_ technical errors). I recommended "IronPython in Action" in my SD Times column and expect to see it among the entries for the 2009 Jolt Awards for "Best Technical Book."
Great for learning and to have on hand as a reference! April 27, 2009
Sarah Dutkiewicz (Cleveland, OH)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
What I liked best about this book is that in the beginning, IronPython was discussed while looking at it from two different angles - covering what a .NET developer would get out of IronPython and a what Python developer would get out of it as well. The examples in this book were easy to follow and very applicable to everyday programming. The book flowed well, covering the fundamentals and then stepping up into more complex concepts (WPF, ASP.NET, system administration, web services, databases, and more).
I had reviewed this book before it came out, and I had mentioned that I'd buy a copy of it when it came out, even though I already have the eBook. I purchased this through Amazon.com, and I now keep it on hand as a reference while I'm coding in IronPython or when I'm giving a presentation on IronPython at the various events in the region of MI/OH/KY/TN.
Overall, I would recommend IronPython in Action for anyone wanting to learn IronPython. Even if you're an experienced IronPython programmer, this book would be great to have on hand as a reference.
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