Python Basics: Retrieving Online Data (Coursera)

Python Basics: Retrieving Online Data (Coursera)

Python doesn't just represent numbers, but also text and other kinds of things. In technical terms, the parts of Python you'll learn are strings, lists, Booleans, errors, lists, and list manipulation. At a higher level you will learn how people use code to represent real-world ideas. In the process you'll use Python to automatically read Wikipedia and Twitter.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Course 2 of 4 in the Python Basics for Online Research Specialization.

What You Will Learn

  • Learn strategies for getting coding help and run code to automatically access thousands of pages on Wikipedia.
  • Practice playing with text, numbers, true/false values in Python and learn how to handle error messages and ask for help.
  • Learn how Python lets us change, grow, access, and play with lists.
  • Run code that accesses Twitter from Python, interact with virtually every aspect of Twitter, and learn about social media bots.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Your Chances of Becoming Famous Using Python
What do you think, is it easier to become famous than it used to be or harder? In this module, you will run code to automatically access thousands of pages on Wikipedia and calculate your probability of becoming famous over time. Let's get started!

WEEK 2
Representing Ideas in Python
There is more to programming than reproducing your calculator. In this module, we learn how to play with text, numbers, true/false values in Python, all towards analyzing a popular pop song. We also learn how to handle error messages and ask for help.

WEEK 3
Representing Collections in Python
Sometimes we deal with individual things in the world, sometimes collections of things. Python represents this idea with collections such as lists. We learn how Python lets us change, grow, access, and play with lists. We'll see how this is useful by reconstructing the Western history of the months of the year.

WEEK 4
Course Summary & Honors: Interactive Demo
In the honor's section of this module, you will run code that accesses Twitter from Python. You have to jump through a few hoops to get it set up, but once it's running you can interact with virtually every aspect of Twitter via Python. If you've ever wondered how social media bots work, this is precisely how.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Selenium WebDriver with Python (Coursera) Coursera
Whizlabs

Selenium WebDriver with Python (Coursera)

“Selenium WebDriver with Python” is a foundational course that aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of Selenium and its components. It also helps in understanding how Selenium WebDriver Operates. This course begins by demonstrating an environment setup for Selenium WebDriver with Python. A brief description of locating Web elements and web Interactions is provided in this course. This course covers an overview of testing frameworks with Selenium WebDriver. Some advanced topics such as Handling Popup, Alerts, Multiple Browser Tabs, Mouse and Keyboard interactions are also highlighted in this course.

Nov 9th 2026
3 Weeks
Learn HTML and CSS (Coursera) Coursera
Scrimba

Learn HTML and CSS (Coursera)

This course is perfect if you want to learn how to code websites from scratch. You will learn the basics of HTML and CSS through interactive challenges. Along the way, you will build multiple projects, like a Google.com clone, a Space Exploration page, and a fun birthday site filled with GIFs. While most of the challenges are done in Scrimba's interactive editor, you will also learn how to use professional tools like VS Code for code editing, GitHub for hosting your code, and Netlify for deploying your projects to the world wide web.

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Estructuras de datos de Python (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Estructuras de datos de Python (Coursera)

Este curso presentará las estructuras de datos básicas del lenguaje de programación Python. Veremos los conceptos básicos de la programación de procedimientos y exploraremos cómo podemos usar las estructuras de datos integrados de Python, como listas, diccionarios y tuplas, para realizar análisis de datos cada vez más complejos. Este curso abarcará los capítulos 6 a 10 del libro de texto “Python para todos”. Este curso cubre Python 3.

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Accounting Data Analytics with Python (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Accounting Data Analytics with Python (Coursera)

This course focuses on developing Python skills for assembling business data. It will cover some of the same material from Introduction to Accounting Data Analytics and Visualization, but in a more general purpose programming environment (Jupyter Notebook for Python), rather than in Excel and the Visual Basic Editor. These concepts are taught within the context of one or more accounting data domains (e.g., financial statement data from EDGAR, stock data, loan data, point-of-sale data).

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks
COBOL Programming with VSCode (Coursera) Coursera
IBM

COBOL Programming with VSCode (Coursera)

Professor Tak Auyeung of American River College, said it beautifully, “A programming language is not a fashion statement” it is used for a purpose. Whether it is to add new features, modify logic, create APIs to integrate it into other applications, or implement modern development practices, businesses around the world need application developers who know COBOL.

Nov 9th 2026
3 Weeks
Llama for Python Programmers (Coursera) Coursera
University of Michigan

Llama for Python Programmers (Coursera)

Llama for Python Programmers is designed for programmers who want to leverage the Llama 2 large language model (LLM) and take advantage of the generative artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. In this course, you’ll learn how open-source LLMs can run on self-hosted hardware, made possible through techniques such as quantization by using the llama.cpp package.

Nov 9th 2026
3 Weeks
Persistent Memory Technology - Introduction and Deployment (Coursera) Coursera
EDUCBA

Persistent Memory Technology - Introduction and Deployment (Coursera)

Embark on a dynamic learning journey through this course. In the first module, explore the intricacies of Persistent Memory (PMEM), unraveling its fundamental concepts, characteristics, and operating system support. Transition seamlessly into the second module, mastering transactional concepts, optimizing hardware configurations, and discerning between volatile and persistent libraries. In the final module, dive into advanced programming with libpmemobj, overcoming C++ Standard limitations, and applying insights to real-world scenarios like building a phonebook.

Nov 9th 2026
3 Weeks
Learn JavaScript (Coursera) Coursera
Scrimba

Learn JavaScript (Coursera)

This is perhaps the most interactive JavaScript course ever recorded. It contains 140+ coding challenges, meaning that you will finally build that ever-so-important JavaScript muscle memory. You will solve the challenges directly in the browser thanks to Scrimba's interactive video technology, so there's not setup needed. Say goodbye to "tutorial hell" and get ready to start feeling your JavaScript superpowers grow exponentially.

Nov 9th 2026
4 Weeks
Introduction to Software, Programming, and Databases (Coursera) Coursera
IBM

Introduction to Software, Programming, and Databases (Coursera)

There are many types of software and understanding software can be overwhelming. This course aims to help you understand more about the types of software and how to manage software from an information technology (IT) perspective. This course will help you understand the basics of software, cloud computing, web browsers, development and concepts of software, programming languages, and database basics.

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks