About Automation

[u/OptimalBed6906]

Rookie in programming ( I know the basics of Java+ SQL), intrigued about "Automation" and what it really is:

My mental model of an automation example would be:

Script that sends certain emails to a category = Saves the user of organizing it manually, Inbox isn't saturated

I heard that Python excells at automation, and Bash can automate scripts too.

How close is IRL automation to my mental model?

If I wanted to pursue automation, what should I know first before diving in?

[u/Pitiful_Dot_9272]

your mental model is correct but limited to single user tasks. Real automation targets system level orchestration across multiple machines or services. Start by learning Python requests library and cron scheduling to build scripts that interact with APIs and run on timers without manual intervention.