Python Programming and IT Automation

Most operations work is repetition: check the disks, list the services, pull a JSON feed, write a report, do it again tomorrow. This course teaches Python 3.12 as the tool for exactly that work, on an Ubuntu Server 24.04 machine in a terminal, with no desktop and no IDE required. You start with the interpreter, the REPL and virtual environments, then build up through strings, functions, collections, files (text, CSV, JSON and YAML), error handling and logging, packages and pinned dependencies, driving the operating system safely with `subprocess`, calling HTTP APIs with timeouts and retries, and finally testing with pytest and scheduling with cron and systemd timers. Every lesson ends with a working script you keep in a small project directory that grows across the course. The final project is a server inventory and health report tool: it reads a YAML inventory, runs local disk, service and uptime checks, writes JSON and Markdown reports, exposes a command-line interface, ships with a pytest suite, and runs on a timer. It is graded by a rubric plus automated checks on your lab machine. Every command in the course was executed on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with Python 3.12.3 and the output you see is the output we observed. A hosted lab machine (`linux01`) is provided for convenience; the course is complete on your own Linux, macOS or Windows machine, and each lesson notes where those platforms differ. This is a learning pathway toward roles that automate infrastructure (systems administration, platform and DevOps work, backend development). It does not promise employment, seniority, salary or any vendor certification; completing it earns an Ultiblob Certificate of Completion.