Python is a general-purpose high-level language. It's commonly used for web development (see web frameworks), desktop applications (see py2exe and py2app), server scripting, as an embedded language (see scripting in blender), and games (Sid Meier and Eve Online).
Python has been implemented in several VMs; CPython is the main implementation, IronPython (.NET), Jython (Java VM), and PyPy (python in python, actually quite fast). Using IronPython/Jython will allow you to use existing code from the base VM, so you can tie into Java and .NET very quickly.
The official Python docs are the best I've ever seen, so don't hesitate to check there for any python-core related questions. The search and nav could use some improvement, but the docs are usually top google search results. docs.python.org
Check out who is using python(python.org).
Tutorials
- The Python Tutorial Official, long
- Making Self-contained windows exe from python project quick guide on py2exe
- Learn Python the hard way Beginner (free)
- A Byte of python Beginner (free)
- Dive into python 3 For programmers familiar with another language (free)
- Expert Python Programming (best practices)
- Advanced Python or Understanding Python Google tech talk on advanced python (youtube)
- The Meaty Parts of Python PyCon 2010 (http://python.mirocommunity.org)
- Unicode In Python, Completely Demystified (youtube)
- MIT OpenCourseWare Free MIT video lectures(ocw.mit.edu) (thanks Verahta)
- Python Videos, Tutorials and Screencasts(showmedo.com) (thanks UnknownUser)
- Built-in functions (docs.python.org)
- Generator Tricks for Systems Programmers advanced
- Metaclasses in Python advanced (stackoverflow.com)
- PEP 8 -- Official Style Guide Learn it, use it. One of the best features of python is it's readability, keep it that way. I find it to be a very readable language; within the first week I was digging through Django source without a problem.
- Python scripting in blender (blender.org)
- Django Larger framework; fairly beginner friendly.
- Bottle Micro-framework, single file, fast to get started
- Pyramid Small web framework, easy to swap components
- py2exe Make standalone windows programs from python projects
- py2app Make standalone OSX apps from python projects
- pip Easy python package manager
- virtualenv Used to create isolated python environments, good for server usage and keeping different versions of packages apart
- SQLAlchemy Most comprehensive and widely used SQL toolkit + ORM
- Django Packages Lots of packages for Django framework
- Python 3 Wall of Shame Python 3 common package support
- Improving your programming style with python
- 33 projects that make developing django apps awesome Several must-have django apps/extensions
- Jython Python for the java platform
- IronPython Python for the .NET platform
- PyPy Python implemented in Python, very cool. Can be faster than CPython
- Cython Middle language between C and Python, used for quickly writing lower-level CPython extensions.
- Stackless Python CPython with microthreads, used for EVE Online
- Python examples (java2s.com) (thanks UnknownUser)