Chapter 1. Concurrent and Parallel Programming - An Advanced Introduction

The first chapter of Mastering Concurrency in Python provides an overview of what concurrent programming is in contrast to sequential programming, while briefly discussing the difference between a program that could be made concurrent, and one that cannot. We will go over the history of concurrent engineering and programming, and a number of examples on how concurrent programming is being used in the present day. Finally, the chapter gives a brief introduction of the approach taken in this book, including an outline of the chapter structure as well as detailed instructions on how to download the code and create a working Python environment.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

• The concept of concurrency
• Why some programs cannot be made concurrent, and how to tell them from ones that can
• The history of concurrency in computer science, how it is being used in the industry today, and what can be expected in the future
• Which specific topics each section/chapter of the book covers
• How to set up a Python environment and how to check out/download code from GitHub