about the technology

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.

about the book

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.

what's inside

• An introduction to IronPython, including a Python tutorial
• Overview of the .NET framework for Python programmers
• Embedding IronPython in applications
• Extending IronPython with C#
• IronPython web programming with ASP, Silverlight, and the DLR
• Structured application programming
• Testing with IronPython
• The power of dynamic languages through easy introspection, functional programming, and metaprogramming.

about the reader

Whether you're a Python user exploring .NET or a .NET developer exploring the world of dynamic languages, IronPython in Action will get you started quickly and show you how to be productive with this powerful new tool.

about the authors

Michael Foord and Christian Muirhead both work full time with IronPython for Resolver Systems; creating a highly programmable spreadsheet called Resolver One. They have been using IronPython since before version 1.0 was released.

Michael Foord has been developing with Python since 2002. He blogs and writes about Python and IronPython far more than is healthy for one individual and in 2008 was made the first Microsoft MVP for dynamic languages. As the Resolver Systems community champion he speaks internationally on Python and IronPython. He maintains the IronPython Cookbook and IronPython-URLs websites, and can also be found online at http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/weblog/. In the real world he lives in Northampton, UK with his wife Delia.

Christian Muirhead began his career in a high-volume database environment, and for the last eight years has been building database-driven websites. He has five years of experience working with C#, the .NET framework, and ASP.NET. He has been using Python in most of his projects since discovering it in 1999, including building web applications for the BBC using Django. Christian is a New Zealander currently exiled in London with his wife Alice.