Scripting Skills

Features

Feature	Description	Use Case
CLI with argparse	Command-line argument parsing for building robust CLI tools.	Building user-facing scripts (e.g., python greet.py John)
os module	Interacting with OS: path manipulation, directories, file operations.	Automating file/folder operations like creating backups or organizing directories.
subprocess module	Executes shell commands inside Python.	Automating command-line tasks, shell scripting, running bash or system utilities.
Environment Variables	Accessing or modifying system environment variables.	Loading secrets/configs dynamically, adapting script behavior based on environment.
shutil for file ops	High-level file operations like copy, move, archive.	Backup, restore, zip/unzip automation, temporary file cleanup.
Logging (logging)	Replaces print with log levels (info, debug, error).	Debugging and monitoring script behavior in production or automation pipelines.
Shebang Line	#!/usr/bin/env python3 lets a script be run as an executable on Unix-like systems.	Run scripts directly like ./myscript.py from terminal.
Exit Codes (sys.exit)	Return specific exit codes for success or failure in automation pipelines.	Integrating with CI/CD or cronjobs where exit codes signal job status.
pathlib	Modern, OOP way of handling file paths (better than os.path).	Cleaner syntax for cross-platform file manipulation.
Cross-platform Compatibility	Consider differences in OS, paths, and encoding.	Make scripts usable on both Windows and Linux/macOS.

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Code sample

Argparse

import argparse

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Greet someone.")
parser.add_argument("name", help="Name of the person")
args = parser.parse_args()

print(f"Hello, {args.name}!")

OS

import os

print("Current directory:", os.getcwd())
os.mkdir("new_folder")
print("Files:", os.listdir())

subprocess

import subprocess

result = subprocess.run(["echo", "Hello from subprocess"], capture_output=True, text=True)
print(result.stdout)

Env Variable

import os

print("PATH:", os.environ.get("PATH"))
os.environ["MY_VAR"] = "123"
print("MY_VAR:", os.environ["MY_VAR"])

shutil

import shutil

shutil.copy("example.txt", "backup_example.txt")
shutil.move("backup_example.txt", "new_location/backup_example.txt")

Logging

import logging

logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
logging.info("This is an info message.")
logging.error("This is an error message.")

Shebang

#!/usr/bin/env python3

print("This script can be run directly in Unix-like systems!")

exit codes

import sys

if some_condition_failed:
    sys.exit("Exiting due to error...")
else:
    print("All good!")

pathlib

from pathlib import Path

p = Path("my_folder") / "file.txt"
print(p.name)      # file.txt
print(p.exists())  # True/False

Cross-platform

import os
import platform

if platform.system() == "Windows":
    os.system("dir")
else:
    os.system("ls -la")