From Frank Andrade's Automation Cheat Sheet
Put bluntly, computer programming is all about automation. If you didn't need to automated something, you wouldn't be writing code. That script you wrote to process CSV files? Automation. That program you wrote to parse text input? Automation.
Programming is all about automation, and the more you can automate, the easier you can make your life as a programmer (and the more value you can subsequently provide to those with whom you collaborate).
Nobody likes rote repetition (OK, maybe somebody does). The balance of doing something manually X times versus taking the time to automate it is a bit of an art form, but generally-speaking if you are going to do the same thing on your computer over and over, you may as well automate it. And what better choice than to automate with Python, one of the most popular, well-supported, and easy to use programming languages we have at our disposable today.
freeCodeCamp has recently launched a free course on automating with Python, conveniently titled Automate with Python. Taught by Frank Andrade, the course has a unique approach to teaching Python and its usefulness in taking the mundane out of repetitive tasks. The course is project-based, in that it sets out 4 major projects and each section builds upon the Python skills needed to be able to complete said project. There are no one-off lines of code here; everything fits together, progresses nicely, and makes sense.
Specifically, the four projects covered in the course are:
- Table Extraction
- Web Automation & Web Scraping
- Automate Excel Report
- Automate WhatsApp
Along with learning how to specifically automated these project tasks in the course, you should also gain an understanding of how to think in terms of automation, honing your skills and changing your perspective to be on the lookout for opportunities to do the same in future situations. You will also learn the usage of some automation-friendly Python libraries such as Path, Selenium, and XPath. You'll also pickup some other valuable skills along the way such as some basic HTML, converting Python files to EXEs, scheduling scripts, writing Excel formulas with Python, and more.
The course comes with code, data, and a (separately-available) handy multi-page automation cheat sheet created by course author Frank Andrade for his lengthier but very much related Automate Your Life With Python course on Udemy.
The freeCodeCamp version of the course clocks in at just under 3 hours, and you can find it on YouTube as well as embedded below.
If you're still manually performing the boring tasks regularly, or writing ad hoc code to take care of these chores often, join the cool kids and spend the time learning how to properly automate with Python. You're future self will thank you.
Matthew Mayo (@mattmayo13) is a Data Scientist and the Editor-in-Chief of KDnuggets, the seminal online Data Science and Machine Learning resource. His interests lie in natural language processing, algorithm design and optimization, unsupervised learning, neural networks, and automated approaches to machine learning. Matthew holds a Master's degree in computer science and a graduate diploma in data mining. He can be reached at editor1 at kdnuggets[dot]com.
The biggest source of Python videos, exercises, and scripts to help you master Python programming the fun way!
What you'll learn:
- Learn to use Python to automate web scraping, video processing, chatbots, and hundreds of more tasks
- Build a vast GitHub portfolio of your own programs, which you will build during the course
- Validate and improve your skills with independent Python exercises
- Be ready to apply for Python jobs after finishing the course
- Learn the latest Python high-tech tools and packages
- Learn Python programming tricks as you build real-world programs
- Get support from the instructor and the student community forum
What is this course about?
In a fast-growing world, Python programming is becoming a must-have skill. Whether you want to automate email sending, rename 10
thousand files at once, schedule SMS, auto-start the webcam, create APIs, auto-login to websites, scrape values, and many, other cool programs, this course has it all. In the process of learning to do all those cool programs, you will master Python and will create programs with ease.
What will students learn to automate?
One of Python's strongest points is to make our jobs easier and more fun by automating tasks in any area. You will learn to send emails with
attachments to hundreds of CSVcontacts, automate SMSmessages, filter photos from your albums, detect faces in photos and videos, spin up and deploy quick web apps, extract data from websites and PDFfiles, convert between different file formats, clean text using natural language processing, and many many more. At the end of the course, you will be equipped with a strong set of skills and a good GitHub portfolio.
Who is this course for?
This course is literally for
anyone, from data scientists to students to doctors to musicians to new prospective programmers. With Python, you can do things from web scraping to generating music. There is always something that can be done with Python.
Do Ineed prior Python knowledge?
Yes. You need to know Python basics that are variables, data types, functions, conditionals, and loops. This course does not cover those because you can find such content easily on YouTube.
Can we use
the apps to build our own GitHub portfolio?
Yes. You can publish the apps in your own GitHub account. However, it is recommended that you first change something from the code or even better, improve the code to make the apps really unique and yours. That will help your learning.
Do Ihave to follow the course in the given order?
No, you can pick the topics you like and only watch the videos and do the practice activities only for those topics.
What
if Iget stuck?
You will get stuck at some point. Every programmer does. When that happens, we've got your back. You can drop a question in the Q&A, and the instructor or the teaching assistant will answer your questions within the same day. You can also use the chat in the course Discord server to ask questions and chat with fellow students about Python.
What if I don’t like the course?
That will likely not happen. But, if it does, you are covered by the
Udemy 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can quickly return the course. No questions asked.
Does this course cover Python 2 or Python 3?
Python 3.
What IDE/editor is used in the course?
We use the Repl IDE which is becoming a gold standard nowadays due to the share and collaborate features the IDE offers which are especially useful when you are still learning However, you are free to use your favorite IDE.
Do I need Windows,
Mac, or Linux to take the course?
The operating system does not matter. You can even use a mobile device since the IDE we are using works in the browser.
Does the course expire?
No. Once you buy the course, it is yours. You will get all future updates for free as well.