1 00:00:00,270 --> 00:00:07,170 Welcome to lesson 38 which roughly covers pages 233 236 of the automate the boring stuff with Python 2 00:00:07,170 --> 00:00:15,090 textbook in this lesson we're going to talk about the web browser module and the web browser modules 3 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:20,550 open function can launch a new browser to a specified or else let's enter the following into the interactive 4 00:00:20,550 --> 00:00:30,330 shell web browser open and then pass that a string of A you are able to open automate the boring stuff 5 00:00:30,670 --> 00:00:31,530 dot com 6 00:00:34,350 --> 00:00:37,320 and you can see Python will launch a new browser. 7 00:00:37,530 --> 00:00:44,310 Your operating system Stiefel browser whatever that's configured to to the Web site that you passed 8 00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:45,110 it. 9 00:00:45,130 --> 00:00:49,850 Know this is about the only thing that the web browser module can do this open function. 10 00:00:49,980 --> 00:00:55,710 But even so the open function does make some interesting things possible for example it's really tedious 11 00:00:55,710 --> 00:01:03,150 to go to some web site and then have to copy by pressing Control-C some address and then opening a new 12 00:01:03,150 --> 00:01:10,230 tab and going to map start Google dot com and then having to paste this into that field and then press 13 00:01:10,230 --> 00:01:11,230 enter. 14 00:01:11,670 --> 00:01:17,040 Just to bring up a map of that address and we can take a few steps out of this process by writing a 15 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:22,890 simple script that will automatically automatically launch the browser to this address on the Google 16 00:01:22,890 --> 00:01:24,840 map site. 17 00:01:25,230 --> 00:01:30,390 So let's start up a new file editor window by clicking on file new file. 18 00:01:30,510 --> 00:01:35,880 And let's see we're going to need to import the web browser module for this but let's think about what 19 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,370 exactly we want this program to do. 20 00:01:38,370 --> 00:01:44,300 Now ideally would be nice on Windows if I could just hit windows key are to bring up the Run dialog 21 00:01:44,370 --> 00:01:48,250 and then type out map it to run the map it program. 22 00:01:48,270 --> 00:01:52,260 Well just let me just go ahead and save this as. 23 00:01:52,260 --> 00:01:52,960 Map it. 24 00:01:52,980 --> 00:01:54,620 P y. 25 00:01:54,630 --> 00:02:05,180 Let's go to the my users slash slash my Python scripts folder that we set up in a previous lesson. 26 00:02:05,310 --> 00:02:13,020 I'll just save this as Mattituck it Type-I So be nice if we could just run this program by hitting Windows 27 00:02:13,020 --> 00:02:14,490 key are taking out. 28 00:02:14,490 --> 00:02:21,720 Map it and then just pressing OK and then having having the python script read the contents of the clipboard 29 00:02:21,750 --> 00:02:25,730 and opening up a web browser to the Google Maps page at that address. 30 00:02:25,740 --> 00:02:31,980 Alternatively we can also have is that when you're typing it out right here take out the address that 31 00:02:31,980 --> 00:02:38,280 you want and these command line arguments will be read by the map it program and it would open up the 32 00:02:38,310 --> 00:02:41,400 Google Maps Web site to this address. 33 00:02:41,550 --> 00:02:46,680 So that'll use the command line arguments which we went over in a previous lesson remember that the 34 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:52,110 command line arguments means we need to import the CIS module because the command line arguments are 35 00:02:52,110 --> 00:02:59,250 stored in a list variable because the command line arguments are stored in the list in the sys dot argv 36 00:03:00,060 --> 00:03:01,530 variable. 37 00:03:02,340 --> 00:03:09,990 So if I ran something like map it up PI 870 Valencias street 38 00:03:12,950 --> 00:03:18,690 the R v variable would contain a value that looks something like this would have map it and then hit 39 00:03:18,790 --> 00:03:19,570 70. 40 00:03:19,770 --> 00:03:21,690 It's delimited by spaces. 41 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,760 So these command line arguments would all be separate. 42 00:03:24,900 --> 00:03:28,370 The next string would be Valencia and that final string would be Street. 43 00:03:28,980 --> 00:03:37,710 So first let's have our script check if command line arguments were passed. 44 00:03:37,710 --> 00:03:44,540 So since this is a list value just like any other list value we can call we can pass it to Len. 45 00:03:44,970 --> 00:03:47,140 The length function. 46 00:03:47,670 --> 00:03:52,770 And if we didn't call it with any of these command line arguments the length of this list would just 47 00:03:52,770 --> 00:03:53,780 be one. 48 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:59,310 So we know that if there are command line arguments this list will have a length of greater than 1. 49 00:03:59,310 --> 00:04:05,070 So we'll just say if the length of the system or the list is greater than one then we know command line 50 00:04:05,070 --> 00:04:09,730 arguments have been passed to it. 51 00:04:09,780 --> 00:04:15,340 So again we have this list here which is going to be inside of our V. 52 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:21,000 We want to do is take these strings right here all the strings after the first one and combine them 53 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:26,560 into a single string that looks like this. 54 00:04:27,100 --> 00:04:33,390 And if you remember this is exactly what the join method does for strings so you get have a string with 55 00:04:33,390 --> 00:04:39,030 a single space in it and called join and then pass it that list argv. 56 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,200 So we don't want this first part here. 57 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:46,510 We want to get a slice that is create a new list with just these values. 58 00:04:46,620 --> 00:04:50,070 So we have to have these square brackets and a colon. 59 00:04:50,070 --> 00:04:56,160 And so the slice begins at index 1 not index 0 but index 1. 60 00:04:56,190 --> 00:05:00,450 So we'll have this right here and we want the slice to continue to the end of the list so that means 61 00:05:00,450 --> 00:05:02,510 we'll just leave the second number here. 62 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,350 The second index blank. 63 00:05:04,410 --> 00:05:09,520 So at this place essentially equals is this list value right here. 64 00:05:13,220 --> 00:05:20,040 So that slice is then passed to join which joins all of that into a single string value with a single 65 00:05:20,030 --> 00:05:22,380 space in between them. 66 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,910 So that's the string value we want for the address let's just store that in a variable named address 67 00:05:26,890 --> 00:05:27,650 . 68 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:32,360 Now Otherwise if there were no command line arguments then we're going to assume the user has it on 69 00:05:32,370 --> 00:05:36,920 the clipboard and that we should get the address from the text on the clipboard. 70 00:05:36,930 --> 00:05:41,330 So remember anything dealing with the clipboard we're going to have to import the paperclip module. 71 00:05:41,330 --> 00:05:45,990 This is a third party module that you have to install separately which we did in a previous lessoned 72 00:05:46,380 --> 00:05:50,900 web browser and Cis are modules that come with Python when you install it. 73 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:57,280 So here we just have address equals paperclip paste. 74 00:05:57,310 --> 00:06:02,600 So that takes whatever text is on the clipboard and it returns it as a string which we store to address 75 00:06:02,610 --> 00:06:03,530 . 76 00:06:03,650 --> 00:06:10,040 So by the time the program execution gets passed this if else statement no matter what the address variable 77 00:06:10,190 --> 00:06:13,390 has a string of the address we want to open up. 78 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:17,230 So let's go ahead and launch that web browser. 79 00:06:17,660 --> 00:06:19,850 We'll have to figure out what address to pass it. 80 00:06:19,860 --> 00:06:21,470 So we're going to look at this. 81 00:06:21,500 --> 00:06:26,690 Let me just copy this and paste it into a comment right here. 82 00:06:26,690 --> 00:06:33,680 That is a HUGE your L you know this part makes sense OK Google dot com and then we can see oh here's 83 00:06:33,690 --> 00:06:41,740 the address and then this looks like some latitude and longitude coordinates and then this data part 84 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:43,350 which is really confusing. 85 00:06:43,700 --> 00:06:50,660 Let's just check to see if this actually works. 86 00:06:50,690 --> 00:06:56,420 We can get rid of it and hopefully the Google web site is smart enough to figure out what we actually 87 00:06:56,430 --> 00:06:56,640 want. 88 00:06:56,630 --> 00:06:57,290 And it does. 89 00:06:57,290 --> 00:07:03,950 It actually does reroute to that same address you know adding all these pluses for spaces we could do 90 00:07:03,950 --> 00:07:05,370 that but let's see if the 91 00:07:08,270 --> 00:07:14,950 Google Maps Web site is smart enough where if we just enter spaces directly if it can find our address 92 00:07:15,020 --> 00:07:16,410 and it does so that's great. 93 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:27,470 That means we could just paste this address right here so that we have to go to would be this part. 94 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:32,630 Google com slash maps full by the address we don't even have to do anything special to it we can just 95 00:07:33,380 --> 00:07:37,310 concatenate this string directly to the end of that your l. 96 00:07:37,350 --> 00:07:40,830 So let's go ahead and I'm going to press control-C and copy that. 97 00:07:40,820 --> 00:07:48,780 So the Web site that we want to open up is going to be this Web site and then concatenate the address 98 00:07:48,770 --> 00:07:50,230 string to the end of that. 99 00:07:50,330 --> 00:07:53,340 And then we go ahead and save that. 100 00:07:53,330 --> 00:07:59,210 So this is nice but it's currently not very convenient to call this script because even on Windows when 101 00:07:59,220 --> 00:08:06,860 I press when Dukie are to bring this up in order to run this program we have to first run Python which 102 00:08:06,870 --> 00:08:12,500 is here in program files slash Phyton 3.5. 103 00:08:12,620 --> 00:08:15,710 exe and then I'm going to have to pass it the full path of 104 00:08:18,860 --> 00:08:24,810 the pipe and script itself which is in my Python scripts start there and then I'm going to have to type 105 00:08:24,810 --> 00:08:29,860 in the address but this is way too much typing that's not really that convenient. 106 00:08:29,900 --> 00:08:35,270 What I want is just to be able to say map it and type in the address. 107 00:08:35,410 --> 00:08:36,780 So in a previous lesson 108 00:08:39,500 --> 00:08:42,030 we learned how to create batch files on Windows 109 00:08:45,260 --> 00:08:49,420 which would make it really easy to run a Python script. 110 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:54,110 And this applies to Windows only but in the course notes there are steps on how to do something like 111 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:56,420 this on Mac and Linux as well. 112 00:08:56,450 --> 00:09:01,270 So let's create a batch file that will run our map at that pipe program. 113 00:09:01,430 --> 00:09:06,530 So I just Creevey new file and here are just going to run right on X 114 00:09:09,260 --> 00:09:14,680 and then pass it the path of the script. 115 00:09:16,980 --> 00:09:26,310 And then this percent star syntax just pass just forward any command line arguments to the script. 116 00:09:26,340 --> 00:09:31,900 Make sure I said this to all files and I just save this as map it toward that. 117 00:09:31,910 --> 00:09:38,750 So this is a batch file that is easier to call in the batch file will in turn call map it up high. 118 00:09:39,260 --> 00:09:41,030 Never have that. 119 00:09:41,030 --> 00:09:41,900 I'm all set up. 120 00:09:41,900 --> 00:09:44,570 All I have to do is hit windows key or tape map it 121 00:09:47,470 --> 00:09:56,870 and type out my address and I can bring up a map or we go to a Web site that has a whole bunch of business 122 00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:57,850 addresses on it 123 00:10:00,710 --> 00:10:04,960 and a lot of these Web sites will have links to map Web sites right there. 124 00:10:04,970 --> 00:10:10,980 But if they don't it easily just highlight the address press copy or if somebody sent you an address 125 00:10:10,970 --> 00:10:17,900 in an e-mail or something like that just copy it then press Windows key or then just type map it will 126 00:10:17,900 --> 00:10:22,520 instantly bring up a browser window with the address already plugged in. 127 00:10:22,520 --> 00:10:26,570 So will some of the programs you write will perform huge tasks that save you hours. 128 00:10:26,570 --> 00:10:31,340 It can be just as satisfying to use a program that conveniently saves you a few seconds each time you 129 00:10:31,350 --> 00:10:34,910 perform a common tasks such as getting a map of an address. 130 00:10:34,910 --> 00:10:42,140 So to recap Python comes with a web browser module which has a function called Open which you can pass 131 00:10:42,140 --> 00:10:45,700 a string to open up a web browser. 132 00:10:45,950 --> 00:10:52,410 Well we did and this example was create a small program that will just read an address off of the clipboard 133 00:10:52,460 --> 00:10:59,040 or from the command line arguments and then open that to the Google Maps Web site with the address already 134 00:10:59,030 --> 00:11:00,090 plugged in.