This fast-paced tutorial is aimed at experienced programmers. Some Perl examples and comparisons will be used, but Java and other non-Perl programmers are welcome. You already know how to program, so the focus will be on the Python Way, learning Python on its own terms rather than trying to use Python like Perl.

Other important aspects will include: explaining the parts where the Python language is different from Perl; Python object-oriented programming; the general layout of the standard library; Pythonic idioms; the Python development process; and a bunch of cool features.

Following this tutorial, a week of practice should enable the participants to start using Python for production code.

If you're looking for a gentle but fast introduction to Python (maybe you're a sysadmin or a webmaster), take a look at the parallel tutorial, Introduction to Python.