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.

---

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

subprocess

Env Variable

shutil

Logging

import logging

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

Shebang

exit codes

pathlib

Cross-platform