Coding #Python and #Google with @wescpy
Tags: python, node, googleapi, googlecloud
Published: 2023-04-24 19:21:01


## "Hello World"

Greetings developers and welcome to my first post on this platform! My name is Wesley Chun, and I'm a software engineer based in Silicon Valley. The primary goal for _this blog_ is to show developers how to _code_ Google. By that I mean integrating (code, your apps) with Google technologies via its numerous APIs, dev tools and platforms. Specifically, I'll focus on [Google Cloud](https://cloud.google.com) ("GCP") and [Google Workspace](https://developers.google.com/gsuite) ("GWS")... the reason being that I spent over a dozen years working on these product teams.

Other topics I'll cover from time-to-time include using other Google APIs or developer tools/platforms, non-Google APIs / devtools / platforms, and general development with #Python and perhaps #Node.js. If you've learned Python in the past decade, you may be familiar with my [_Core Python_](http://corepython.com) (and other Python) books. Since I'll be working on the next edition of the original _Core Python_ book ("Volume 1: Language Fundamentals"), expect me to write about that experience and its content as well.

While [Python](https://dev.to/t/python) is my primary development language, I'm actively learning [Node.js](https://dev.to/t/node)... who wants to be a 1-trick pony?!? `:-)` I'll share my experience with Python as well as coming up-to-speed with Node.js. Each post imparts one specific skill, best practice, or highlights a useful API or platform feature.

Posts will feature relevant code snippets and any complete samples in an offlinked Github repo &mdash; I'm open PRs for improvement and best practices &mdash; and if relevant, important code changes will be rolled back into posts. As mentioned earlier, most code samples will be in Python, but I'll add any equivalent Node.js samples if/when I have them, such as this example from a [blog post](https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/developers-practitioners/calling-google-apis-serverless-part-i-cloud-apis?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=CDR_wes_aap-serverless_nebservconcept_neb_202007) demonstrating how to use the [GCP Translation API](https://cloud.google.com/translate):

![code samples in Python &amp; Node.js](https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-cloudblog-publish/images/Screen_Shot_2022-04-04_at_9.27.35_AM_96qmD.max-1600x1600.png)

## Content preview

What kind of content with Google developer tools should you be expecting? Developer-friendly intros, intermediate features, etc. Here are some topics I've slated to include:

- How to get started using Google APIs
- Use of Google API client libraries
- Different credentials types for Google APIs
- Introducing GWS APIs (Drive, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.)
- Basic operations when using GCP APIs
- API usage for other Google products ([Firebase](https://firebase.google.com), [Google Maps](https://developers.google.com/maps), [YouTube](https://developers.google.com/youtube), etc.)
- Using APIs from multiple Google product families (GCP+GWS, GCP+Firebase, GWS+Maps, etc.)

I also lean towards content that isn't well covered by the official docs for [GWS](http://developers.google.com/gsuite) or [GCP](https://cloud.google.com/docs). Additional (_non-Google_) blog content may include:

- Python language features, interesting 3rd-party packages/modules, etc.
- Learning Node.js, interesting `npm` packages/modules, etc.
- Topics in or about _Core Python_ books
- Use of non-Google APIs (Twitter, Slack, etc.)
- Random tech stuff (dev tools, automation, ChatGPT, testing, etc.)

## What's Next?

The first series I'm working on is intended to help developers get started using Google APIs, especially GWS APIs like Drive &amp; Sheets, primarily because their use is "free," up to certain limits. No credit card is required like most GCP APIs. These posts focus on required boilerplate code as well as accomplishing common tasks, like downloading Google Docs as PDF files, uploading CSV files to Google Sheets, etc. I'll try to deliver a post every couple of weeks, so stay tuned!

NEXT POST: [Part 1 on working with GWS APIs](https://dev.to/wescpy/getting-started-using-google-apis-workspace-9a8)

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**WESLEY CHUN**, MSCS, is a [Google Developer Expert](https://developers.google.com/experts) (GDE) in Google Cloud (GCP) &amp; Google Workspace (GWS), author of Prentice Hall's bestselling ["Core Python"](https://corepython.com) series, co-author of ["Python Web Development with Django"](https://withdjango.com), and has written for Linux Journal & CNET. He runs [CyberWeb](https://cyberwebconsulting.com) specializing in GCP & GWS APIs and serverless platforms, [Python & App Engine migrations](https://appenginemigration.com), and Python training & engineering. Wesley was one of the original Yahoo!Mail engineers and spent 13+ years on various Google product teams, speaking on behalf of their APIs, producing sample apps, codelabs, and videos for [serverless migration](http://bit.ly/3xk2Swi) and [GWS developers](http://goo.gl/JpBQ40). He holds degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Music from the University of California, is a Fellow of the Python Software Foundation, and loves to travel to meet developers worldwide at conferences, user group events, and universities. Follow he/him [@wescpy](https://twitter.com/wescpy) & his [technical blog](https://dev.to/wescpy). Find this content useful? [Contact CyberWeb](https://forms.gle/bQiDMiGyGrrwv5sy5) if you may need help or [buy him a coffee (or tea)](http://buymeacoffee.com/wescpy)!
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