In this article, you'll learn about scripting in software development, using scripting languages to automate tasks, customize software, and speed up development. Scripting facilitates rapid prototyping, automates repetitive tasks, integrates software components, customizes and extends functionality, manages deployment and configuration, and automates testing and quality assurance. You'll be introduced to Python, known for its simplicity, readability, and popularity in automation, system administration, and rapid prototyping due to its ease of learning, extensive standard library, platform independence, and efficient task automation.
Getting Started with Python Scripting
Setting up the Python Environment
Install Python: Following are the steps to install Python in different OS.
For Windows: Download and install Python from the official website.
For Ubuntu: You can download Python using the terminal:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3
For MacOS: You can download Python using Homebrew:
brew install python3
Type python --version in the command prompt or terminal to verify that Python is installed correctly.
Code Editor or IDE: Choose a code editor or integrated development environment (IDE) for writing Python code like Visual Studio Code, PyCharm, IDLE, etc.
Install Packages: You can install Python packages using the Python package manager, pip.
pip install package_name
Create a virtual environment for your Python project using `python -m venv env_name`, then activate it with `.\env_name\Scripts\activate`. To deactivate, run `deactivate`.
Basics of Python Scripting
I highly recommend you to go through the official documentation to more about variable datatypes.
Accepting Inputs The input() function in Python pauses the program, waiting for keyboard input. It returns the entered data as a string.
name = input("Enter your name: ")
You can typecast it to int, float or bool as follows:
int:
age = int(input("Enter your age: "))
float:
temp = float(input("Enter temperature in F: "))
bool:
stud_bool = int(input("Are you a student? (True/False): "))
If you enter a value that cannot be converted to the specified data type (Ex. typing "abc" when expecting an integer), it will result in a `ValueError`.
Displaying Outputs The print() function is used to output text or values to the console.
print("Hello! I'm George.")
Usage of the print() function can vary with different formatting techniques or additional parameters.
For each of the examples listed below, the following variables and their values are considered:
item = "Lemons"
quantity = 10
Multiple items can be printed by separating them with commas.
print("I need", quantity, item, "for this dish.")
Output:
Formatted strings (f-strings) embed variables or expressions directly within a string.
print(f"Bring me {quantity} yellow {item} from the market.")
Output:
You can concatenate strings and variables using the + operator.
print("We are " + str(quantity) + " " + item + " short!")
Output:
Specify the character or string to print at the output's end using the end parameter.
items = ["Lemons", "Limes", "Oranges"]
print(items[0], items[1], items[2], sep = ", ")
Output:
Specify the character or string to print at the output's end with the end parameter.
print("I have only", quantity, end = " ")
print(item, "left.")
Output:
Adding Comments Comments annotate code for explanations, documentation, or notes, enhancing readability and maintainability without affecting functionality.
Single-Line Comments: Single-line comments in Python start with # and provide brief explanations on one line.
x = 5#The variable 'x' holds the value 5
Multi-Line Comments: In Python, multi-line comments can be simulated using triple quotes (''' or """). These strings, not assigned to any variable, act as comments and are ignored by the interpreter.
"""
This sentence
will be ignored by
the interpreter.
"""
Control Structures in Python
Control structures in Python manage code execution based on conditions or loops. They enable decision-making, action repetition, and selective code execution.
Conditional Statements: Conditional statements allow you to execute certain blocks of code based on specific conditions.
if statement: Allows you to execute a block of code if a condition is true. If false, the code block is skipped.
x = 6
if (x%2 == 0):
print("x is even.")
Output:
elif statement: Stands for "else if." It follows an if statement and allows you to check additional conditions if the previous if or elif conditions are false.
x = -7
if (x%2 == 0):
print("x is even.")
elif (x%2==1 and x<0):
print("x is odd and negative.")
Output:
else statement: Optionally follows an if statement or a series of elif statements. It executes a block of code if none of the preceding conditions are true.
x = 7
if (x%2 == 0):
print("x is even.")
else:
print("x is odd.")
Output:
Loops: Loops enable you to execute a block of code repeatedly.
For Loop: Executes a block of code a fixed number of times, iterating over a sequence.
for i in range(1, 6): # i will start from 1 and end at 5
print(i)
Output:
While Loop: Runs code while a condition remains true.
i = 5
while i>0:
print(i)
i-=1
Output:
Functions and Modularization
Functions Functions are code blocks performing specific tasks, taking input parameters, executing actions, and optionally returning results. They're defined with the def keyword, and parameters are specified inside parentheses after the function name.
def add_nums(n1, n2): # function to return sum of 2 numbers
return n1 + n2
Arguments are the actual values that are passed to the function when it is called. You can then call the function by its name and pass arguments.
print(add_nums(2, 7)) # prints the value returned by the function
Output:
Modular Programming Modularization divides a program into separate modules or components, with functions encapsulating related code for reusability. This enhances code organization, readability, and maintainability by enabling easy reuse of specific functionality.
Let's look at an example: In Module calculation.py:
def add_nums(n1, n2):
return n1 + n2
In Module stringops.py:
def concat_strs(s1, s2):
return s1 + s2
The above modules can be imported and their functions can be used in your main program as follows:
import calculation
import stringops
print(concat_strs("Jai", "Kumar"))
print(add_nums(3, 7))
File Handling in Python
Python file handling includes both reading from and writing to files. It allows you to interact with external files on your computer's file system.
Reading from Files To open a file, use the open() function with the file path and desired mode. Once opened, you can read its contents using methods like read(), readline(), or readlines().
read(): The read() method reads the entire contents of the file and returns it as a string.
with open("myfile.txt", "r") as file:
content = file.read()
print(content)
Output:
readline(): The readline() method reads a single line from the file and returns it as a string, advancing the file pointer to the next line with each call.
with open("myfile.txt", "r") as file:
line1 = file.readline()
print(f"line1: {line1}")
line2 = file.readline()
print(f"line2: {line2}")
Output:
readlines(): The readlines() method reads all lines from the file and returns them as a list of strings. Each string in the list represents a file line.
with open("myfile.txt", "r") as file:
lines = file.readlines()
print(lines)
Output:
Writing to Files To write data to a file, you open the file in write mode ("w") or append mode ("a") and use the write() method.
with open("myfile.txt", "a") as file:
file.write("\nEnjoying so far?")
Before writing:
After writing:
It's important to close it using the `close()` method to free up system resources.
File Management The os module in Python offers functions for file management tasks like creating, deleting, and renaming files. To use it, import the module as follows:
import os
Operations on Directories
Output:
os.rmdir(path): Removes the directory at the specified path only if the directory is empty.
os.rmdir("newdir")
os.rename(src, dst): Renames a directory or file from src to dst.
os.rename("newdir", "renamedir")
os.rename("myfile.txt", "sampfile.txt)
os.path.isdir(path): Checks if the path refers to a directory.
os.path.isdir("renamedir")
Operations on Files
os.path.exists(path): Verifies the existence of a file or directory at the given path.
os.path.exists("myfile.txt")
os.listdir(path): Return a list of files and directories in the specified directory.
os.listdir("renamedir")
os.path.getsize(path): Gets the size of a file in bytes.
os.path.getsize("myfile.txt")
Error Handling
Error handling in Python involves dealing with exceptions that may occur while executing your program.
Try-Except Blocks: The try block contains code that might trigger an exception, while the except block contains code to manage the exception. Let's use one to handle division by zero error.
try:
num = 10
den = 0
result = num / den
print("Result:", result)
except ZeroDivisionError:
print("Stop! Division by zero is not allowed.")
Finally Block: You can use a finally block to ensure that certain code is executed regardless of whether an exception occurs. Let's use one to demonstrate file handling.
try:
file = open("myfile.txt", "r")
content = file.read()
print(content)
except FileNotFoundError:
print("Sorry, file not found.")
finally:
if 'file' in locals():
file.close()
The finally block always executes, irrespective of whether an exception occurs. It's typically used for cleanup tasks, such as closing files or releasing resources.
Else Block: The else block in the try-except-finally structure executes when no exception occurs within the try block. It's useful for code that should run only when no exceptions are raised.
try:
num = int(input("Enter a number: "))
except ValueError:
print("Invalid input! Please enter a valid number.")
else:
print("You entered:", num)
If a non-integer value (like a string) is entered, a ValueError triggers the corresponding except block, printing an error message. Otherwise, the else block executes, printing the entered number.
Advanced Scripting Techniques
Regular Expressions Regular expressions (regex or regexp) define search patterns, widely used in text processing for pattern matching. Python's re module supports them.
Metacharacters are special characters with a unique meaning in regular expressions.
.: Matches any single character except newline.^: Matches the start of the string.$: Matches the end of the string.*: Matches zero or more of the preceding character.+: Matches one or more occurrences of the preceding character.?: Matches zero or one occurrence of the preceding character.[]: Matches any character found within the brackets.|: Matches either the expression before or after the pipe symbol.{m}: Exactly m occurrences.{m, n}: Between m and n occurrences.
Character classes enable matching specific sets of characters.
\d: Matches any digit ([0-9]).\w: Matches any alphanumeric character ([a-zA-Z0-9_]).\s: Matches any whitespace character (space, tab, newline).\b: Marks word boundary.
Anchors indicate the position of a match within the text.
^: Matches the start of the string.$: Matches the end of the string.
Escape sequences are used to match special characters. For example \. matches a literal dot.
Let's look at an example:
import re
text = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
pattern = r"\b\w{5}\b"
matches = re.findall(pattern, text)
print("Five-letter words:", matches)
It matches the expression with words comprising of exactly 5 letters and produces the following output:
Command-Line Arguments Python's argparse module simplifies interacting with users via the command line by providing a robust method for parsing arguments and options.
- Import the
argparse module.
- Create an ArgumentParser object.
- Add command-line arguments/options with
add_argument().
- Parse arguments using
parse_args().
You can access the parsed arguments using dot notation on the `args` object.
Let's look at an example of a script to multiply two numbers:
import argparse
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Multiply two numbers')
parser.add_argument('num1', type=float, help='First number')
parser.add_argument('num2', type=float, help='Second number')
args = parser.parse_args()
result = args.num1 * args.num2
print("Result:", result)
Save the above script in a file CLI.py. Run it in the command-line by typing:
python CLI.py 5 7
It will multiply the numbers 5 and 7 and display the output:
Testing and Debugging Scripts
Unit testing and test-driven development (TDD) are two software development practices aimed at enhancing code quality and reliability.
Unit testing involves testing isolated software components, like functions or methods, to ensure they perform as expected, aiding in bug detection and code maintainability.
Test-driven development (TDD) is a method of development where tests are written before code implementation. It encompasses writing failing tests, coding to pass them, and refactoring for improved design while ensuring test success.
Python's unittest module facilitates writing and running unit tests. It offers classes and methods for creating and executing test cases, automating verification of code components like functions and methods.
Let's proceed with an example. Here, I have created a calc.py file with a function to multiply two numbers:
def multiply(n1, n2):
return n1 * n2
Then, I created a test_calc.py file consisting of test cases to validate the results of my function:
import unittest
from calc import multiply
class TestMyMath(unittest.TestCase):
def test_multiply(self):
self.assertEqual(multiply(3, 6), 18)
self.assertEqual(multiply(5, 0), 0)
self.assertEqual(multiply(-5, 3), -15)
self.assertEqual(multiply(-12, -3), 36)
if __name__ == '__main__':
unittest.main()
Import unittest and multiply from calc, create TestMyMath inheriting from unittest.TestCase, define test_add with self.assertEqual() to compare multiply results, and execute tests with unittest.main() from the command line:
python test_calc.py
Output:
Debugging Python scripts is crucial for identifying and fixing errors. This can be achieved using breakpoints, print statements, and tools like pdb.
Conclusion
Python is a versatile language for software development, offering features like syntax, conditional statements, and loops. We explored file handling and error management, highlighting its robust capabilities. Python's scripting power is evident in automation and system administration tasks, aided by libraries like argparse. Regular expressions are potent tools for text processing and pattern matching. Testing with the unittest framework ensures code reliability and maintainability.