INTRODUCTION TO AUTOMATION WITH PYTHON

Automation refers to the process of using software to perform repetitive and routine tasks, freeing up time and increasing efficiency. Here are some notes on automation with Python:

1. Built-in libraries: Python comes with several built-in libraries that make it easy to automate tasks, such as the os and shutil libraries for file management, and the re library for pattern matching.
2. Third-party packages: In addition to the built-in libraries, there are many third-party packages available that provide additional functionality for automation, such as Selenium for web testing and openpyxl for working with Excel files.
3. Scripting: Python is often used as a scripting language, meaning you can write short scripts to automate tasks. For example, you can use Python to automatically rename files or move files between directories.

Here’s an example of how you can use Python to automate a task:

import os
import shutil

src_folder = '/path/to/source/folder'
dst_folder = '/path/to/destination/folder'

# Get a list of all files in the source folder
files = os.listdir(src_folder)

# Iterate through each file in the source folder
for file in files:
    # Construct the full path to the file
    src_path = os.path.join(src_folder, file)
    dst_path = os.path.join(dst_folder, file)
    
    # Move the file from the source folder to the destination folder
    shutil.move(src_path, dst_path)

This script uses the os and shutil libraries to move files from one folder to another. The os.listdir() function is used to get a list of all the files in the source folder, and the shutil.move() function is used to move each file from the source folder to the destination folder.

This is just one example of how you can use Python for automation. Whether you’re automating routine tasks, testing web applications, or working with Excel files, Python provides the tools and libraries you need to get the job done.