Python Lab1 Excel openpyxl: Visual Programming

#1 New Release - also see other books in the series:
"Python - Learn a New Skill Today: Lab 2: Business Expenses" and
"Python Coding - One Year Later: A Treasure Trove of Practical and Simple Examples

Are you curious about the Python language and wondering how to read and write Excel files? This book is a hands-on lab with simple code examples that perform one basic task: compare two Excel files and output an Excel file of differences. At the end of the lab, you will know enough about Python to work with your own Excel files, even if you’re new to Python or programming.

My examples use the free Anaconda data science platform Python 3.7, running on a Windows computer, utilizing the Spyder application. The step-by-step examples walk through each line of code, with screenshots of the corresponding Excel files so you can follow along as the program moves through the code. In the course of the lab, you’ll learn these Python concepts.

What is a Library?
Comments
Strings, Types, Tuples, and Variables
If…else statements for comparing data
While loops for working with rows of Excel data
Working with the file system (files/directories)
Creating functions and importing them into your main code file
Working with Excel files using openpyxl

The lab has two parts. Part 1 accomplishes the basic tasks to compare the two Excel files. I think of this as the core code that gets the job done. Part 2 adds some nice-to-have features.

Format headings and column widths in the output Excel file
Search for strings and substrings
Find New Items or Retired Items
Compare Dates
Delete Rows
Delete Worksheets
Check if the output Excel file already exists in your filesystem, and delete it if it does exist
Create functions and call them from your main code file.

Please note, I don’t attempt to cover all aspects of Python, only those concepts needed to complete this lab. If you said, "Show me what I need to start using Python with Excel files" this lab answers that simple question. After you complete the lab, you’ll definitely be able to say you can program in Python.

Python is really powerful, and I hope you enjoy the lab and want to continue to expand your Python skills in the future. In my opinion, a working code example takes all the guesswork out of programming, leaving just the fun of learning something new. You don’t have to wonder if you have the correct indentation, your counter is in the right place, or if you forgot the colon at the end of the line when you defined your function.

Are you ready? Let’s get started!