Book Image

Python Automation Cookbook - Second Edition

By : Jaime Buelta
Book Image

Python Automation Cookbook - Second Edition

By: Jaime Buelta

Overview of this book

In this updated and extended version of Python Automation Cookbook, each chapter now comprises the newest recipes and is revised to align with Python 3.8 and higher. The book includes three new chapters that focus on using Python for test automation, machine learning projects, and for working with messy data. This edition will enable you to develop a sharp understanding of the fundamentals required to automate business processes through real-world tasks, such as developing your first web scraping application, analyzing information to generate spreadsheet reports with graphs, and communicating with automatically generated emails. Once you grasp the basics, you will acquire the practical knowledge to create stunning graphs and charts using Matplotlib, generate rich graphics with relevant information, automate marketing campaigns, build machine learning projects, and execute debugging techniques. By the end of this book, you will be proficient in identifying monotonous tasks and resolving process inefficiencies to produce superior and reliable systems.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
14
Other Books You May Enjoy
15
Index

Sending an individual email

The most basic way of sending an email is by using the standard Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). SMTP is one of the oldest protocols on the Internet. Although newer proprietary protocols exist, SMTP is the standard used by all email providers to communicate with each other and is one of the pillars of electronic communications.

SMTP allows you to send rich emails with multiple sections containing different kinds of data. These sections can be used to add attachments, or to generate alternative sections, such as a plain text and HTML version of the same message, to display on compatible email clients.

Given SMTP is such a strong standard, it is easy to use, and virtually all languages and operating systems support it. This ease of usage is also a weakness as the amount of spam email is huge, and big players in the email domain have strong incentives to disallow emails coming from non-verified sources, like a Python script.

This is why...