Welcome back to "Code Against the Clock!" blog series where I’ll reveal how I turned my most boring tasks into streamlined, time-saving machines. I’ll share the exact steps I took to automate these chores and the cool tricks I discovered along the way. Ready to see how you can save time and make life a bit more exciting? Let’s dive in and get your tasks on autopilot!
My Unexpected Online Hustle
Let’s rewind to my college days. I was on a quest to find ways to earn some extra cash online while learning something new. During my research, I stumbled upon a service called Sbitly. The concept was intriguing: it’s a URL shortening platform where you paste a long link, and it gives you a shortened version. The twist? When people click on these shortened links, they first see an ad before being redirected to the original site. You get paid for each click, and it seemed like a neat way to earn money.
I thought, "Why not automate this process?" With a bit of Python and Selenium magic, I set out to streamline this task and see how far I could take it.
The Automation Project:
Here’s a peek into how I tackled this project:
1. Tools of the Trade:
- Python: Chosen for its simplicity and versatility. It’s a powerhouse for scripting and automation.
- Selenium: The go-to tool for web automation. It allows you to control a web browser programmatically, making it perfect for interacting with web interfaces.
2. The Plan:
- Scraping Tech Blogs: I wanted to gather a list of tech blog URLs to shorten. Sites like House of Bots, Fossbytes, and The Hacker News were my targets. For this, I used Python’s BeautifulSoup library to scrape these sites for interesting blog links.
- Shortening URLs: Using Selenium, I automated the process of visiting Sbitly, pasting the URLs, and retrieving shortened links.
- Sharing on Facebook: Finally, I needed to share these shortened URLs on Facebook and in Facebook groups. Again, Selenium was used to automate the posting process, ensuring that all the links were shared efficiently.
Note: As of now, the Sbitly website is no longer active. The automation techniques and code examples shared here are based on my experience with the platform while it was operational.
If you want code feel free ping me :) and watch a demo video here.
Your Turn!
Have you ever automated a task using code? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below! What tasks do you wish you could automate? Let's discuss!
Thanks for joining me on this automation journey. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for more tips and updates. Happy coding!
Finally, if the article was helpful, please clap ?and follow, thank you!
The above is the detailed content of Code Against the Clock: From Clicks to Cash. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

There are many methods to connect two lists in Python: 1. Use operators, which are simple but inefficient in large lists; 2. Use extend method, which is efficient but will modify the original list; 3. Use the = operator, which is both efficient and readable; 4. Use itertools.chain function, which is memory efficient but requires additional import; 5. Use list parsing, which is elegant but may be too complex. The selection method should be based on the code context and requirements.

There are many ways to merge Python lists: 1. Use operators, which are simple but not memory efficient for large lists; 2. Use extend method, which is efficient but will modify the original list; 3. Use itertools.chain, which is suitable for large data sets; 4. Use * operator, merge small to medium-sized lists in one line of code; 5. Use numpy.concatenate, which is suitable for large data sets and scenarios with high performance requirements; 6. Use append method, which is suitable for small lists but is inefficient. When selecting a method, you need to consider the list size and application scenarios.

Compiledlanguagesofferspeedandsecurity,whileinterpretedlanguagesprovideeaseofuseandportability.1)CompiledlanguageslikeC arefasterandsecurebuthavelongerdevelopmentcyclesandplatformdependency.2)InterpretedlanguageslikePythonareeasiertouseandmoreportab

In Python, a for loop is used to traverse iterable objects, and a while loop is used to perform operations repeatedly when the condition is satisfied. 1) For loop example: traverse the list and print the elements. 2) While loop example: guess the number game until you guess it right. Mastering cycle principles and optimization techniques can improve code efficiency and reliability.

To concatenate a list into a string, using the join() method in Python is the best choice. 1) Use the join() method to concatenate the list elements into a string, such as ''.join(my_list). 2) For a list containing numbers, convert map(str, numbers) into a string before concatenating. 3) You can use generator expressions for complex formatting, such as ','.join(f'({fruit})'forfruitinfruits). 4) When processing mixed data types, use map(str, mixed_list) to ensure that all elements can be converted into strings. 5) For large lists, use ''.join(large_li

Pythonusesahybridapproach,combiningcompilationtobytecodeandinterpretation.1)Codeiscompiledtoplatform-independentbytecode.2)BytecodeisinterpretedbythePythonVirtualMachine,enhancingefficiencyandportability.

ThekeydifferencesbetweenPython's"for"and"while"loopsare:1)"For"loopsareidealforiteratingoversequencesorknowniterations,while2)"while"loopsarebetterforcontinuinguntilaconditionismetwithoutpredefinediterations.Un

In Python, you can connect lists and manage duplicate elements through a variety of methods: 1) Use operators or extend() to retain all duplicate elements; 2) Convert to sets and then return to lists to remove all duplicate elements, but the original order will be lost; 3) Use loops or list comprehensions to combine sets to remove duplicate elements and maintain the original order.


Hot AI Tools

Undresser.AI Undress
AI-powered app for creating realistic nude photos

AI Clothes Remover
Online AI tool for removing clothes from photos.

Undress AI Tool
Undress images for free

Clothoff.io
AI clothes remover

Video Face Swap
Swap faces in any video effortlessly with our completely free AI face swap tool!

Hot Article

Hot Tools

Safe Exam Browser
Safe Exam Browser is a secure browser environment for taking online exams securely. This software turns any computer into a secure workstation. It controls access to any utility and prevents students from using unauthorized resources.

Dreamweaver Mac version
Visual web development tools

SecLists
SecLists is the ultimate security tester's companion. It is a collection of various types of lists that are frequently used during security assessments, all in one place. SecLists helps make security testing more efficient and productive by conveniently providing all the lists a security tester might need. List types include usernames, passwords, URLs, fuzzing payloads, sensitive data patterns, web shells, and more. The tester can simply pull this repository onto a new test machine and he will have access to every type of list he needs.

ZendStudio 13.5.1 Mac
Powerful PHP integrated development environment

SublimeText3 Mac version
God-level code editing software (SublimeText3)
