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Document options Document options requiring JavaScript are not displayed Rate this pageHelp us improve this contentLevel: IntroductoryDavid Mertz (mertz@gnosis.cx), Applied Metaphysician, Gnosis Software, Inc. 01 Mar 2001Although users usually think of Python as a procedural and object-oriented language, it actually contains everything you need for a completely functional approach to programming. This article discusses general concepts of functional programming, and illustrates ways of implementing functional techniques in Python. We'd better start with the hardest question: "What is functional programming (FP), anyway?" One answer would be to say that FP is what you do when you program in languages like Lisp, Scheme, Haskell, ML, OCAML, Clean, Mercury, or Erlang (or a few others). That is a safe answer, but not one that clarifies very much. Unfortunately, it is hard to get a consistent opinion on just what FP is, even from functional programmers themselves. A story about elephants and blind men seems apropos here. It is also safe to contrast FP with "imperative programming" (what you do in languages like C, Pascal, C++, Java, Perl, Awk, TCL, and most others, at least for the most part).

Metaclass programming in PythonPushing object-oriented programming to the next level

New to AOP? You may find this "Introduction to Aspect-Oriented Programming" (PDF) by Ken Wing Kuen Lee of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology interesting.

Python threads - a first example If you have a process that you want to do several things at the same time, threads may be the answer for you. They let you set up a series of processes (or sub-processes) each of which can be run independently, but which can be brought back together later and/or co-ordinated as they run

So here is my own personal gentle introduction to using pdb. It assumes that you are not using any IDE -- that you're coding Python with a text editor and running your Python programs from the command line.