Chevron Left
Back to Using Python to Interact with the Operating System

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Using Python to Interact with the Operating System by Google

4.7
stars
6,188 ratings

About the Course

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to manipulate files and processes on your computer’s operating system. You’ll also have learned about regular expressions -- a very powerful tool for processing text files -- and you’ll get practice using the Linux command line on a virtual machine. And, this might feel like a stretch right now, but you’ll also write a program that processes a bunch of errors in an actual log file and then generates a summary file. That’s a super useful skill for IT Specialists to know. We’ll kick off by exploring how to execute Python locally, and organize and use code across different Python files. We'll then learn how to read and write different types of files, and use subprocesses and input streams. We'll also dive into Bash scripting and regular expressions -- both very powerful tools for anyone working with systems. We'll even touch on automatic testing, which allows us to automate how we check if our code is correct. To finish, we’ll put all this together by using the tools that we’ve acquired to process data and generate automatic reports. We’ll also explain how to set up your own developer environment in your machine. This is a key step in being able to write and deploy powerful automation tools....

Top reviews

GK

Oct 6, 2022

Expalined the concepts missed from the previous course a lot well. Only thing I would change is to add more about using commands in windows and other platforms as well. Overall it was a great course!

AD

Jun 15, 2020

In starting five weeks , all answers were directly provided and week 6 and 7 were very tough. So i suggest to equalize the toughness level in all weeks ,ie, no direct spoon feed nor abrupt toughness

Filter by:

51 - 75 of 1,474 Reviews for Using Python to Interact with the Operating System

By QING C

•

May 16, 2020

The first few weeks of the course was well paced but in the second last week, the introduction to bash was very rushed and I feel like the tutorials of bash could have been elaborated on more.

By Ankita C

•

Jul 18, 2023

qwiklabs are yet not being loading in course practice

By Bruce G

•

May 7, 2023

This is the worst Qwicklab... Instructions are wrong, unable to access the html files and I completed the lab and the system said my results are incomplete....

By F M L

•

Apr 30, 2023

Unable to complete the assignments and unable to unenroll from the course. Very disappointed in this course.

By Francesco B

•

Jul 8, 2024

Course Review: "Using Python to Interact with the Operating System" Course Overview: "Using Python to Interact with the Operating System" is a course designed to bridge the gap between programming and system administration. This course is particularly valuable for engineering students and professionals who want to leverage Python's capabilities to manage, automate, and optimize various tasks within an operating system environment. Course Structure: The course is structured into several modules that progressively build on each other. These modules cover topics such as file handling, process management, and automation scripts. Each module includes video lectures, reading materials, quizzes, and practical assignments to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the concepts. Key Learning Outcomes: File Operations: Understanding how to read from and write to files using Python. Managing file directories and manipulating file paths. Practical exercises include creating, modifying, and deleting files and directories. System Administration: Learning to interact with the operating system through Python scripts. Using Python to execute system commands and manage processes. Hands-on projects involve creating scripts for automating routine system tasks. Automation: Developing automation scripts to handle repetitive tasks. Scheduling and running automated tasks using Python. Real-world applications include automating backup processes and log management. Error Handling and Debugging: Techniques for handling exceptions and errors in Python scripts. Debugging tools and best practices to ensure robust script performance. Practical Application: Applying Python skills to real-world scenarios. Capstone projects that simulate actual system administration tasks, providing a practical context for the learned skills. Strengths: Hands-On Approach: The course emphasizes practical learning through numerous hands-on exercises and projects, which are crucial for understanding the real-world application of the concepts. Clear Instruction: The instructors provide clear and concise explanations, making complex topics accessible to learners with varying levels of experience. Resource Availability: Ample resources are provided, including sample codes, documentation, and additional reading materials that enhance the learning experience. Conclusion: "Using Python to Interact with the Operating System" is a highly valuable course for engineering students looking to expand their skill set in programming and system administration. The practical approach and comprehensive coverage of essential topics make it an excellent choice for those aiming to leverage Python for system management and automation. Despite minor pacing issues, the course successfully equips learners with the tools and knowledge needed to effectively interact with and manage operating systems using Python.

By Jumrus R

•

Jul 22, 2022

Very useful course for anyone working with a computer. Who doesn't have those pesky tasks that need to be done everyday, yet they are too simple to ask the company's IT specialist to automate it?

Maybe the first few scripts will take a lot of time and efforts to get it right. However, I believe it will be fruitful in the long run. I made my first script when I started this course and I finished it today, along with course completion. Now I can see many other things that does not need human to do it and free up my time to do things that really need me.

Basically 100% recommend for anyone willing to learn. Once you got the concept, the internet is there to help us with the rest.

By Ed W

•

May 23, 2020

Great Course - I especially enjoyed the final assignment. At times I needed to google search some concepts as a reminder, and the test environment was a slightly different version of python to my own machine, but after a few minutes of google searching managed to fix this. I guess this is good practice for the real word when not everything is spoon fed and goes to plan straight away. I disagree that the expected output of the final assignment was unclear. It was well spelt out in the instructions, even showing you a screenshot of the desired output.

By Iain W B

•

Jan 19, 2021

This course starts out "holding your hand" to guide you through the practical assignments. By the time you get to the end, you are on your own and expected to do your own research, to solve the final assignment problem.

Quite often in the real world, we encounter vague problem statements, so it's up to you to make sure you understand the final week problem before you take the assignment. You can practice this in your own setup at home or in the office, to save time submitting the final work. Expect a few surprises, just like in the real world.

By AYUSH R

•

Aug 30, 2020

Please improve the Quicklabs ..I was stuck for days..In the last quicklab assignment when i executed my code it show error i was like what because the same code was working my PC..then i researched a lot then i got to know that this is happening because u guys are using python 3.5 in quicklabs and the code i wrote was only working on python 3.6 and above .....literally somehow i came with some new solution so that it could work on python 3.5 and bang it worked...overall the instructor was amazing...Send love from me...

By Alexandru S

•

Jun 5, 2020

Things that you get to learn while taking this course: CSV files manipulation, REGEXs (regular expressions), script testing, Linux commands and BASH programming. All of these are very interesting and, hopefully, very helpful in every Python developer toolkit (I have reservations with the Linux and BASH, but those are good for your "General IT Knowledge").

PS: If you did not take the course, be very careful with the QwikLabs. You must access them at most 5 times! (nobody mentioned this when I took it)

By Deleted A

•

Sep 29, 2020

The instructor was very very good in explaining every single detail. The puns were good too.

I learnt whole lot of things like about command line tools , python scripting , tests , test automation ,bash scripting and much about the basics of linux ( which was cherry on the top ).

Thank you so much Roger and the Google team for putting up this course and more like these ,so we students can learn and add the skills in our arsenal and in our resume for the various IT related jobs.

Thank You,

Yash Agarwal.

By Harim H

•

Dec 27, 2020

The thing I found hardest to learn was how to interact with the Linux shell, that was completely new to me, but it also opened a new window of oportunity for learning and expanding my skills. For instance, I'll be able to apply my knowledge in my school projects and I'm also sure this tools I've learned will come in handy in my job too. I'm so grateful for the Coursera team for giving me the opportunity to take the course. Overall, the course exceeded my expectations by far.

By Tarit G

•

Sep 19, 2020

This was an excellent experience for me to learn from a very knowledgeable and intelligent instructor from Google. I have learnt a lot of new things in this course. I am very thankful to the instructor especially, and also to the team whose hard work made it possible to bring the course to us. The last two assignments(labs) were little hard, I enjoyed those if you are a beginner in Python then brush up a little to perform well in this pace.

By Adam A

•

Mar 13, 2023

The content was great and all concepts were well explained. A couple of ideas for improvement - 1) show the code for longer and maybe just minimise the instructor window so it's easier to follow. 2) Lab exercises went from copy and paste to write from scratch without any middle ground. This should be more progressive.

Overall this was a great way to lean about how to employ Python skills in the day to day of a sys admin. Thanks Google!

By jose j

•

Jul 29, 2021

Good course, lots of subjects covered. I wish there were more exercises to really consolidate all the information presented. Some videos I had to watch several times because the subject was difficult to grasp. The qwiklabs are good references for real world tasks. I've learned a lot , but I am also forgetting a lot of things due to the lack of reinforcement practice. In general, I would recommend this course and the instructor.

By Leslie Q

•

Apr 13, 2020

This course was very educational and helped me really understand some python fundamentals as well as interactions with the OS! The final lab was a challenging lab. This lab really helped me understand the different ways lists, tuples and dictionaries can be manipulated. Glad to rise up to the challenge although nano really is a pain especially when scripts written in atom runs well but then copy paste into nano comes with issues.

By Armando I

•

Mar 21, 2023

Me encanto este curso, es muy bueno y a mi punto de vista considero que es nivel intermedio. Me gusto mucho pues hay bastante práctica y códigos, además creo que python es excelente lenguaje, cabe mencionar que me agrado que se vio temas de Bash scripting y los Qwiki Labs en Linux,  he tomado otros cursos sobre Python, por lo que tengo referencias y creo que los temas vistos son excelentes pues abarcan temas muy importantes.

By Md. A A B

•

Mar 31, 2023

This is one of the most useful courses for a developer who works as a freelancer, full-stack engineer, or system administrator. I enjoyed all topics, quizzes, and labs of this course. This course gave me confidence a lot about CLI, Regular expression, and automation script. Now I'm more comfortable interacting with the Linux and macOS operating systems. In a single word, the course is awesome and I highly recommend this.

By Shawn F C

•

Jul 15, 2024

This was an exceptional course with a lot of hands-on training. The most endearing part of this course was the design of all the exercises to simulate an IT work environment, and so solving those exercises was all the more enjoyable and satisfying! One tiny downside was that this course takes a rather steep learning curve after the 2nd module. Otherwise, it was an amazing learning experience!

By Rohith K

•

May 6, 2020

This is truly a wonderful course, which will help you to improve your skills in the field of Automation. It teaches you to write scripts in both Python and Bash. It introduces you to various new modules in Python and the basics of scripting in the Bash, which was very useful for performing relatively smaller tasks. Python can be used when the automation of the tasks gets a bit complex.

By Karsten S

•

Apr 21, 2020

The course gives a great start in tools like Python, Bash, Unix commands, Regular Expressions, ... With the qwiklab assignments one can test the learning practically. Lovely teachers, easy to listen to.

The course takes some time, when you practise and really try to do your own mini projects in parallel. But isn't that the whole idea? To learn new skills and not just finish the course.

By A B

•

Jan 28, 2022

I truly recommend going through this course and each courses of this certification. There are many things I already knew from being a freelancer in programming but materials being taught here is better than any school courses I went to. I had to learn everything on my own from the internet but this certification is actually giving you everything you need. Recommend! Thanks Google!

By Mehdi F G

•

Oct 2, 2020

Wise teaching method. The cloud is interesting. The assignments challenge you to work hard and the important key concepts are covered during the course. Good instructor. Thank you. I learned to use a wider IT toolbox with different data structure in an assignment so it gave me a better insight for how to plan my approach for a more complex task and organize my research & planning.

By William E

•

Mar 27, 2024

This was a pretty fun course. I came into it with prior knowledge of Python and Bash but still learned a few new tricks and explored some Python modules like os, csv, and sys that I hadn't previously done much work with. I'd recommend this course to anyone wanting to use Python for system automation tasks, even if they already know how to write other programs in Python.

By Anthony F

•

Oct 5, 2020

Loved the course. The instruction was good and just enough to create real world situations of needing to review documentation during some exercises. The cheat sheets were some times not cheat sheets, but links to documentation; however, some of the links were to great sites when they were not to the official python docs. I really appreciated this course. I'm better.