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Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition

Author Al Sweigart
Paperback
$59.99 US
No Starch | No Starch Press
7.13"W x 9.25"H x 1.49"D   | 43 oz | 10 per carton
On sale May 20, 2025 | 672 Pages | 9781718503403
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The bestselling introduction to Python programming, revised to include the latest Python features, improved explanations, and new chapters about databases and sound files.

If you’ve ever spent hours renaming files or updating hundreds of spreadsheet cells, you know how tedious tasks like these can be. But what if you could have your computer do this work for you?

In this fully revised third edition of Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, you’ll learn how to use Python to write programs that do in minutes what would take you hours to do by hand—no prior programming experience required. Early chapters will teach you the fundamentals of Python through clear explanations and engaging examples. You’ll write your first Python program; work with strings, lists, dictionaries, and other data structures; then use regular expressions to find and manipulate text patterns. 

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll tackle projects that teach you to use Python to automate tasks like:

  • Searching the web, downloading content, and filling out forms
  • Finding, extracting, and manipulating text and data in files and spreadsheets
  • Copying, moving, renaming, or compressing saved files on your computerSplitting, merging, and extracting text from PDFs and Word documents
  • Interacting with applications through custom mouse and keyboard macros
  • Managing your inbox, unsubscribing from lists, and sending email or text notifications

New to this edition: All code and examples have been thoroughly updated. You’ll also find four new chapters on database integration, speech recognition, and audio and video editing, as well as 16 new programming projects and expanded coverage of developer techniques like creating command line programs.

Don’t spend your time on work a well-trained monkey could do. Even if you’ve never written a line of code, you can pass off that grunt work to your computer. Learn how in Automate the Boring Stuff with Python.
Al Sweigart is a software developer, fellow of the Python Software Foundation, and author of several popular programming books including The Big Book of Small Python Projects, Beyond the Basic Stuff with Python, Coding with Minecraft, and The Recursive Book of Recursion (all from No Starch Press).
Al Sweigart View titles by Al Sweigart
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Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Programming Fundamentals
Chapter 1: Python Basics
Chapter 2: if-else and Flow Control
Chapter 3: Loops
Chapter 4: Functions
Chapter 5: Debugging
Chapter 6: Lists
Chapter 7: Dictionaries and Structuring Data
Chapter 8: Strings and Text Editing

Part II: Automating Tasks
Chapter 9: Text Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions
Chapter 10: Reading and Writing Files
Chapter 11: Organizing Files
Chapter 12: Designing and Deploying Command Line Programs
Chapter 13: Web Scraping
Chapter 14: Excel Spreadsheets
Chapter 15: Google Sheets
Chapter 16: SQLite Databases
Chapter 17: PDF and Word Documents
Chapter 18: CSV, JSON, and XML Files
Chapter 19: Keeping Time, Scheduling Tasks, and Launching Programs
Chapter 20: Sending Email, Texts, and Push Notifications
Chapter 21: Making Graphs and Manipulating Images
Chapter 22: Recognizing Text in Images
Chapter 23: Controlling the Keyboard and Mouse
Chapter 24: Text-to-Speech and Speech Recognition Engines

Appendix A: Installing Third-Party Packages
Appendix B: Answers to the Practice Questions

Index
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 22-23
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 42-43
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 102-103
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 132-133
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 148-149
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 304-305
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 312-313
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 500-501
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 502-503
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 530-531
Praise for the second edition of Automate the Boring Stuff with Python:

"With lessons on how to use Python to program Excel spreadsheets, crawl websites, parse PDFs and Word documents, send emails, and other productivity-boosting task automation, it's a stellar resource for office workers, academics, and administrators."
—Mashable

"I think many educational resources jump levels way too quickly. One of the best I ever used was Automate the Boring Stuff with Python - that book stayed at the right level the whole way!"
—Oscar Baruffa, @OscarBaruffa

About

The bestselling introduction to Python programming, revised to include the latest Python features, improved explanations, and new chapters about databases and sound files.

If you’ve ever spent hours renaming files or updating hundreds of spreadsheet cells, you know how tedious tasks like these can be. But what if you could have your computer do this work for you?

In this fully revised third edition of Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, you’ll learn how to use Python to write programs that do in minutes what would take you hours to do by hand—no prior programming experience required. Early chapters will teach you the fundamentals of Python through clear explanations and engaging examples. You’ll write your first Python program; work with strings, lists, dictionaries, and other data structures; then use regular expressions to find and manipulate text patterns. 

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll tackle projects that teach you to use Python to automate tasks like:

  • Searching the web, downloading content, and filling out forms
  • Finding, extracting, and manipulating text and data in files and spreadsheets
  • Copying, moving, renaming, or compressing saved files on your computerSplitting, merging, and extracting text from PDFs and Word documents
  • Interacting with applications through custom mouse and keyboard macros
  • Managing your inbox, unsubscribing from lists, and sending email or text notifications

New to this edition: All code and examples have been thoroughly updated. You’ll also find four new chapters on database integration, speech recognition, and audio and video editing, as well as 16 new programming projects and expanded coverage of developer techniques like creating command line programs.

Don’t spend your time on work a well-trained monkey could do. Even if you’ve never written a line of code, you can pass off that grunt work to your computer. Learn how in Automate the Boring Stuff with Python.

Creators

Al Sweigart is a software developer, fellow of the Python Software Foundation, and author of several popular programming books including The Big Book of Small Python Projects, Beyond the Basic Stuff with Python, Coding with Minecraft, and The Recursive Book of Recursion (all from No Starch Press).
Al Sweigart View titles by Al Sweigart

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: Programming Fundamentals
Chapter 1: Python Basics
Chapter 2: if-else and Flow Control
Chapter 3: Loops
Chapter 4: Functions
Chapter 5: Debugging
Chapter 6: Lists
Chapter 7: Dictionaries and Structuring Data
Chapter 8: Strings and Text Editing

Part II: Automating Tasks
Chapter 9: Text Pattern Matching with Regular Expressions
Chapter 10: Reading and Writing Files
Chapter 11: Organizing Files
Chapter 12: Designing and Deploying Command Line Programs
Chapter 13: Web Scraping
Chapter 14: Excel Spreadsheets
Chapter 15: Google Sheets
Chapter 16: SQLite Databases
Chapter 17: PDF and Word Documents
Chapter 18: CSV, JSON, and XML Files
Chapter 19: Keeping Time, Scheduling Tasks, and Launching Programs
Chapter 20: Sending Email, Texts, and Push Notifications
Chapter 21: Making Graphs and Manipulating Images
Chapter 22: Recognizing Text in Images
Chapter 23: Controlling the Keyboard and Mouse
Chapter 24: Text-to-Speech and Speech Recognition Engines

Appendix A: Installing Third-Party Packages
Appendix B: Answers to the Practice Questions

Index

Photos

Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 22-23
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 42-43
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 102-103
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 132-133
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 148-149
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 304-305
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 312-313
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 500-501
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 502-503
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 3rd Edition pages 530-531

Praise

Praise for the second edition of Automate the Boring Stuff with Python:

"With lessons on how to use Python to program Excel spreadsheets, crawl websites, parse PDFs and Word documents, send emails, and other productivity-boosting task automation, it's a stellar resource for office workers, academics, and administrators."
—Mashable

"I think many educational resources jump levels way too quickly. One of the best I ever used was Automate the Boring Stuff with Python - that book stayed at the right level the whole way!"
—Oscar Baruffa, @OscarBaruffa

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