August 22, 2014 at 6:35 am
John,
Good article, but you may want to edit it before reposting again, it's too late to get an MCM.
As for Python, it's the language/tool that fills in the gaps. PowerShell is great for admin automation on Windows, but Python is insanely great for dealing with a whole spectrum of issues, especially data. Check out what you can do with iPython and iPython Notebooks and the some of the large meta distributions like Anaconda.
I commonly use it to extract data from general ledger reports, analyze delimited data and a dozen other tasks that don't quite work well in PowerShell or SSIS. Plus you can use Visual Studio as an editor.
No matter the tool, automation rocks!
August 22, 2014 at 7:25 am
chrisn-585491 (8/22/2014)
John,Good article, but you may want to edit it before reposting again, it's too late to get an MCM.
As for Python, it's the language/tool that fills in the gaps. PowerShell is great for admin automation on Windows, but Python is insanely great for dealing with a whole spectrum of issues, especially data. Check out what you can do with iPython and iPython Notebooks and the some of the large meta distributions like Anaconda.
I commonly use it to extract data from general ledger reports, analyze delimited data and a dozen other tasks that don't quite work well in PowerShell or SSIS. Plus you can use Visual Studio as an editor.
No matter the tool, automation rocks!
Ha! Indeed. Whilst the shiny trophy and certification may no longer be available, the knowledge and supporting resources sure are, and that's where the value is.
I'm not Python bashing, more just tongue-in-cheek. As a Data Professional you have to work with the tools and technology that are right for your specific needs.
August 22, 2014 at 7:27 am
Not always true. There are more bad companies out there than good. It is good to automate most things but not all. I have seen people let go at Microsoft directly as a result of this.
August 22, 2014 at 10:17 am
Great article and I agree. I've also heard the saying that "a good DB is a bored DBA". Basically the idea behind that is you've designed systems and have automated processes to keep everything in tip top shape to where you don't have much to do in a given day.
Another phrase I've heard from a DBA manager is that when it comes to processes you do one of two things: automate or delegate. If you do this, then no process you have will be tedious.
August 23, 2014 at 5:42 am
Sooo, you're saying I should automate myself out the job? :hehe:
Seriously though, I use Python myself. It's insanely powerful and I use it for everything that I can, especially as the pipes for a number of my ETL systems involving API's that live in *inx based environments.
But the main reasons I use Python for automation is the fact that I can also integrate it into applications and be used natively across platforms without heavy costs that powershell may bring with it. I also use it because Python is one of the leading languages with support for data science where R (domain specific versus general purpose) or the costs of SAS (small business versus large corporation) may are not an option.
<3 Python automation
August 25, 2014 at 11:28 am
Very good points. It is definitely a worthy goal to automate. That level has not yet been reach in my organization, but hopefully, it will get to that state. When I worked in automating wafer fab production, we called the supreme automation "lights out" automation. And as we cannot every really do that completely (without outsourcing), We can certainly make it easier to have more time to see the big picture and not be a permanent fire-fighter. 🙂
BTW, I'm trying to figure out how to automate the input of articles like this into my brain. If anyone has done that yet, please the scripts or whatever was used to accomplish that.
Thanks for the article! Nice job.
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