Review: Python Automation Cookbook

Disclaimer: The publisher asked me to review this book and gave me a review copy. I promise to be 100% honest in how I feel about this book, both the good and the less so.

Overview

This book is intended for someone who wants to automate some tasks, but may not be an overly technical person. They may have a Python background, but not necessarily so. They may be developers, but don't have to be. They just need to get something done, and don't want to keep doing it by hand.

What I Like:

This is a wide ranging book that gives the reader an opportunity to learn about libraries and techniques that they probably haven't seen before. Each section, or recipe, is set up the same. It starts with Getting Ready, which lists the required libraries, their version, and the command to set it up. Next is How To Do It, which gives the code. The code is, of course, available through the Packt website, as it is for any book with code. Then we have How It Works, which changes back to a more conversational tone and talks through the code example. The fourth section is There's More, which gives you a few tips to extend what was just taught. Each recipe finishes up with See Also, where you see what other recipes are related to the current one. This standard structure makes it easy to read through a recipe and focus on what you need.

What I Don't Like:

The title of this section is probably a little too strong. It would be better to say, What I Don't Prefer. However, this is how I've been organizing these reviews, and that's what I'l stick with for now.

So what I don't prefer are the last few sections. Chapter 11 is about using machine learning. Anyone who has been following my book reviews knows that I love machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence. This chapter, though, uses Google Cloud, which is an entirely different beast than what has been discussed. Machine learning itself is a skill to be learned, as is Google Cloud. It also sticks out as the only section in the book that uses anything from Google. I personally would have preferred to learn about using Python with Google Drive products, such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Sites. Many people use these technologies, and would probably welcome automating using them. Thankfully, the author finishes up with testing and debugging, which a less technical person will probably need.

What I Would Like to See:

Given how useful I tend to find cookbooks, I would like to see more recipes. As you would expect from having personal expectations, there are plenty of recipes that I don't think I'll need. But do I still gain value from them? Yes. It gives me an idea of what is possible that I haven't thought about yet. Maybe I'll need them one day. Or maybe I can use this book to guide someone else who has a question. It's a good reference book for a library all around.

I can easily give this book a 5 out of 5. It is very useful with both the specific recipes as well as how they are organized. I would be very happy to see more books like this from Packt and would like to thank the author for this one.