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<H1><A NAME="SECTION001000000000000000000"></A>
<BR>
Front Matter
</H1>

<P>
Copyright &#169; 1991-1995 by Stichting Mathematisch Centrum,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

<P>
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">
All Rights Reserved

</DIV>

<P>
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted,
provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in
supporting documentation, and that the names of Stichting Mathematisch
Centrum or CWI or Corporation for National Research Initiatives or
CNRI not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to
distribution of the software without specific, written prior
permission.

<P>
While CWI is the initial source for this software, a modified version
is made available by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives
(CNRI) at the Internet address <span class=url><a href="ftp://ftp.python.org">ftp://ftp.python.org</a></span>.

<P>
STICHTING MATHEMATISCH CENTRUM AND CNRI DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH
REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL STICHTING MATHEMATISCH
CENTRUM OR CNRI BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR
PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER
TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR
PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

<P>

<H3>Abstract:</H3>
<DIV CLASS="ABSTRACT">

<P>
Python is an extensible, interpreted, object-oriented programming
language.  It supports a wide range of applications, from simple text
processing scripts to interactive WWW browsers.

<P>
While the <i>Python Reference Manual</i> describes the exact syntax and
semantics of the language, it does not describe the standard library
that is distributed with the language, and which greatly enhances its
immediate usability.  This library contains built-in modules (written
in C) that provide access to system functionality such as file I/O
that would otherwise be inaccessible to Python programmers, as well as
modules written in Python that provide standardized solutions for many
problems that occur in everyday programming.  Some of these modules
are explicitly designed to encourage and enhance the portability of
Python programs.

<P>
This library reference manual documents Python's standard library, as
well as many optional library modules (which may or may not be
available, depending on whether the underlying platform supports them
and on the configuration choices made at compile time).  It also
documents the standard types of the language and its built-in
functions and exceptions, many of which are not or incompletely
documented in the Reference Manual.

<P>
This manual assumes basic knowledge about the Python language.  For an
informal introduction to Python, see the <i>Python Tutorial</i>; the
<i>Python Reference Manual</i> remains the highest authority on
syntactic and semantic questions.  Finally, the manual entitled
<i>Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter</i> describes how to
add new extensions to Python and how to embed it in other applications.

<P>
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