3. Python Services

The modules described in this chapter provide a wide range of services related to the Python interpreter and its interaction with its environment. Here's an overview:

sys Access system specific parameters and functions.
types Names for all built-in types.
UserDict Class wrapper for dictionary objects.
UserList Class wrapper for list objects.
operator All Python's standard operators as built-in functions.
traceback Print or retrieve a stack traceback.
pickle Convert Python objects to streams of bytes and back.
cPickle Faster version of pickle, but not subclassable.
copy_reg Register pickle support functions.
shelve Python object persistency.
copy Shallow and deep copy operations.
marshal Convert Python objects to streams of bytes and back (with different constraints).
imp Access the implementation of the import statement.
parser Retrieve and submit parse trees from and to the runtime support environment.
symbol Constants representing internal nodes of the parse tree.
token Constants representing terminal nodes of the parse tree.
keyword Test whether a string is a keyword in the Python language.
code Code object services.
pprint Data pretty printer.
dis Disassembler.
site A standard way to reference site-specific modules.
user A standard way to reference user-specific modules.
__builtin__ The set of built-in functions.
__main__ The environment where the top-level script is run.