Hello ladies, gents, cartoon animals, and others.
Something we can’t stop talking about when it comes to Twitter. In case you are already following us there. We are sure you know…
Learn Python.
Better said, learn Python basics so you can automate all the boring stuff on your 9-5. This should result in having more free time to do the things you love + making WiFi money.
Currently, our reporting is automated through scripts we wrote earlier in the year. As a result, we now have approximately 2 to 3 extra hours each week for other activities.
But how can you get started?
Things To Keep In Mind
Unfortunately, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to automating with Python. Exactly why we are starting the article with a tricky topic.
The level of how far you will be able to push things when it comes to automation will all come to your “company security”.
First of all, it’s hard to generalize it since we don’t know what is your role/department. The second concern is security. Which would result in not having permission to run things.
If you are working as a coder of course you will be able to run Python scripts - things are pretty straightforward and you should already know what to do.
But what about those in sales or any other department?
Well…
Your best bet would be to get inside info from your system/IT department → meaning you will go directly to them and ask for permission to run Python from your machine. Most often with good enough reason, they will allow the installation → grant permission for the installation.
Keep in mind you will have to prepare your "defense" and explain why you want it installed on the machine. Under any circumstance don’t mention you want more free time. Play smart and go for extra “work” that Python will allow you to do.
Wishing you good luck getting access to install Python + IDE.
In case you don’t get the required access. There is a solution…
Bypassing IT Security
If your risk tolerance is high and you don’t care if you get caught in the process. You will be able to run off the executables straight from your USB → Python and its extras to be precise.
The only thing you will need is winpytho + USB drive.
Using WinPython should allow you to gain access to Python without installing anything. Better said you can script your work without having to bother IT / request access.
Play at your own risk and be cautious with non-approved stuff from your department.
In case you bypass, the route getting the libraries will be similar but at the same time a different process. Check out the winpytho documentation for more.
Where To Start?
Since we are “limited to 14 days” to pick up the basics and start running stuff or at least that’s what we have promised. Let’s keep things as simple as possible.
Setup
When it comes to technical setup, your best bet is to use VS Code with Python.
Why VSCode and not PyCharm or any other solution?
The best thing about VS Code is that it allows you to use it for commercial purposes. Meaning that you will be able to work with it in your workplace without having to worry about licensing or any other legal regulation.
Once you have both Python and VS Code on the machine. The first thing you will want to do once you open up VS Code is to go into the “Extensions” on the sidebar and look for Python. Click on the Install button and reload when required.
Congrats you can now write and run Python on your machine easily.
The whole setup part comes to:
Install Python
Install VS Code
Install the Python extension inside of VS Code
Install required libraries → you will learn what you need along the way
Getting Serious
Days 1 - 7
The first 7 days of your time will be spent using Codecademy.
No doubt Codeacademy is great. Why? Solid balance between hand-holding and pushing you to think about what you are doing.
Another great thing about it is that you will have a “7-Day free Trial” which you will use. Pay attention to cancel it before the trial period is over. This way, in case you want to extend your Codecademy usage (subscription), you will have to pay.
Your choice.
Days 7 - 14
Your next few days will be spent going through a copy of “Automating Boring Stuff with Python”. If you want to make your life easier there is a web version → available from the author on the following link.
When it comes to Automate Boring stuff with Python it’s a great read because it’s full of practical examples. Examples that are transferable into your daily projects or better said routines.
Straight from the book
Why book after the Codecademy and not before?
You will realize that Codeacademy is a great starting point. But it can feel too much as hand-holding through the whole process. Killing your creative side in the process.
It feels easy and good → not what you want.
With the book, you will have to start analyzing and thinking about the process behind it. Not saying a book will not handhold you. It’s a different and more relatable one to the “real life” problems.
That is exactly why you should aim to finish both within 14 days.
Once you are done with 14 days of coding and dealing with challenges (with some hand-holding). The fun part starts here, since no one will handhold you anymore and tell you to do X, resulting in Z. But instead, you will have to think about your “problems” as well as solutions for them.
Python Libraries
A Python library is a collection of related modules. It contains bundles of code that can be used repeatedly in different programs. It makes Python Programming simpler and convenient for the programmer. - Geeksforgeeks
You don’t need to put in any extra preparation or reading.
It’s going to come naturally to you once you start with the material provided above. For simplicity reasons, we decided to separate a few libraries into categories.
Hard to say what you will be using and what are you trying to automate. But most often at least a few of those from the list that you are going to be using.
GUI Automation
Pywinauto (Easy mouse and keyboard automation)
PyAutoGui
Tkinter
Web scraping
Selenium (Web browser automation)
Scrapy
Requests
BeautifulSoup
Others
Pillow
Flask
Matplotlib
NumPy
Pywin32 (Outlook / Excel automation)
Pandas
You will quickly realize that StackOverflow + the problem-solving ideas you come up with along the way will get you far when it comes to Python.
Main reason why we love it so much.
Extra material
The video below is not perfect. But it’s good enough to watch once or twice to get the basic concept down. Treat it as an addition when you feel too tired to work on the real problems.
Conclusion?
We hope you were not expecting some magic solution on how you will be able to pick up the Python basics without putting in the necessary work. Like everything else worth having in life.
It’s impossible.
14 days are minimum - enough to get you started thinking about how you will tackle your “problems” and automate solutions. We should be transparent about Python being an easy language once you get the basics. At the same time, don’t expect to become an expert. Some will pick it up easier than others and that is completely fine.
Anyone who is reading our material can pick up enough of Python in 14 days to get started with their projects. Deeply believing.
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