Python for IT Automation

You have an asset register and a second inventory exported by a collector. They disagree. Before anyone updates ownership, retires a device or opens a service ticket, the team needs a dependable comparison: which identities exist in only one source, which shared identities have different fields, and whether the exports can support those conclusions at all.

This course builds that comparison. It is a practical continuation of Python Foundations: you should already understand variables, dictionaries, functions and basic file handling. You will design a data contract, reject ambiguous identities, compare normalized records, preserve source provenance, write a reproducible report and demonstrate that independent tests catch a real defect. The program does not contact devices or modify either inventory. No book purchase or cloud tenant is needed.

Use a local Python 3.10-or-later interpreter and a new practice directory. The project uses only the standard library. Save the supplied files there and record your actual interpreter version. A virtual environment is a useful habit for larger projects, but installing third-party libraries is unnecessary for this lab. These fixtures are synthetic and intentionally small enough to reconcile by hand.

Four chapters, with practical work

1. Turn an automation request into a precise contract
2. Parse, validate and index the evidence
3. Build a complete, bounded reporting program
4. Prove the rule and complete an independent project

Applied capability and learning route

Create a repeatable file-processing workflow with explicit idempotency and failure behavior.

Follow the lessons in order: establish the model, trace the supplied evidence, attempt the case, compare the worked solution, and complete the changed-condition project. The target is intermediate reasoning within this stated scope, not mastery of the entire profession or product. If a prerequisite is unfamiliar, pause and use the linked foundational teaching before attempting the project.

All teaching, explained answers and core synthetic practice are free. Some operational labs require separately available software, a licensed test tenant or an authorized lab; offline completion does not claim hands-on product proficiency.

How to complete this course

Study the worked examples, attempt the exercises before opening solutions, and submit your own project notes. Completion records are self-reported; practical competence requires the stated verification.