Important Python Modules

1. os

The os module is your go-to tool for interacting with the operating system. It

enables you to perform various tasks such as file path manipulations,

directory management, and handling environment variables.

You can perform the following data engineering tasks with the os module’s

functionalities:

Automating the creation and deletion of directories for temporary or

output data storage

Manipulating file paths when organizing large datasets across

different directories

Handling environment variables to manage configuration settings in

data pipelines

OS Module - Use Underlying Operating System Functionality, a tutorial by

Corey Schafer, covers all the functionality of the os module.

2. pathlib

The pathlib module provides a more modern and object-oriented approach to

handling file system paths. It allows for easy manipulation of file and directory

paths with an intuitive and readable syntax, making it a favorite for file

management tasks.

The pathlib module can come in handy in the following data engineering

tasks:

Streamlining the process of iterating over and validating large

datasets

Simplifying the management of paths when moving or copying files

during ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes

Ensuring cross-platform compatibility, especially in multi-environment

data engineering workflows

Here are a couple of tutorials that cover the basics of working with pathlib

module:

How To Navigate the Filesystem with Python’s Pathlib

 Organize, Search, and Back Up Files with Python’s Pathlib

3. shutil

The shutil module is for common high-level file operations. Which include

copying, moving, and deleting files and directories. It’s ideal for tasks that

involve manipulating large datasets or multiple files.

In data engineering projects, shutil can help with:

Efficiently moving or copying large datasets across different storage

locations

Automating the cleanup of temporary files and directories after

processing data

Creating backups of critical datasets before processing or analysis

shutil: The Ultimate Python File Management Toolkit is a comprehensive

tutorial on shutil.
4. csv

The csv module is essential for handling CSV files, which are a common

format for data storage and exchange. It provides tools for reading from and

writing to CSV files, with customizable options for handling different CSV

formats.

Here are some tasks you can use the csv module for:

Parsing and processing large CSV files as part of ETL pipelines

Converting CSV data into other formats, such as JSON or database

tables

Writing processed or transformed data back into CSV format for

downstream applications

CSV Module - How to Read, Parse, and Write CSV Files is a good reference

to use the csv module.

5. json
The built-in json module is the go-to choice for working with JSON data—quite

common when working with web services and APIs. It allows you to serialize

and deserialize Python objects to and from JSON strings, making it easy to

exchange data between your application and external systems.

You’ll use json module for:

Seamlessly converting API responses into Python objects for further

processing

Storing config info or metadata in a structured format

Handling complex, nested data structures often found in big data

applications

Working with JSON Data using the json Module will help you learn all about

working with JSON in Python.

6. pickle
The pickle module is used for serializing and deserializing Python objects to

and from a binary format. It’s particularly useful for saving complex data

structures, such as lists, dictionaries, or custom objects, to disk and reloading

them later.

The pickle module is useful for the following tasks:

Caching transformed data to speed up repetitive tasks in data

pipelines

Persisting trained models or data transformation steps for

reproducibility

Storing and reloading complex configurations or datasets between

processing stages

Python Pickle Module for saving objects (serialization) is a short but helpful

tutorial on the pickle module.

7. sqlite3
The sqlite3 module provides a simple interface for working with SQLite

databases, which are lightweight and self-contained. This module is great for

projects that require structured data storage without the overhead of a

database server.

Prototyping ETL pipelines before scaling them to fully fledged

database systems

Storing metadata, logging information, or intermediate results during

data processing

Quickly querying and managing structured data without setting up a

database server

A Guide to Working with SQLite Databases in Python is a comprehensive

tutorial to get started with SQLite databases in Python.

8. datetime
Working with dates and times is quite common when working with real-world

datasets. The datetime module helps you manage date and time data in your

applications.

It provides tools for working with dates, times, and time intervals, and supports

formatting and parsing date strings for:

Parsing and formatting timestamps in logs or event data

Managing date ranges and calculating time intervals when working

with real-world datasets

Datetime Module - How to work with Dates, Times, Timedeltas, and

Timezones is an excellent tutorial to learn all about the datetime module.

9. re

The re module provides powerful tools for working with regular expressions,

which are crucial for text processing. It enables you to search, match, and
manipulate strings based on complex patterns, making it indispensable for

data cleaning, validation, and transformation tasks.

Extracting specific patterns from logs, raw data, or unstructured text

Validating data formats, such as dates, emails, or phone numbers,

during ETL processes

Cleaning raw text data for further analysis

You can follow re Module - How to Write and Match Regular Expressions

(Regex) to learn to use the built-in re module in great detail.

10. subprocess

The subprocess module is a powerful tool for running shell commands and

interacting with the system shell from within your Python script.

It’s essential for automating system tasks, invoking command-line tools, or

capturing output from external processes such as:

 Automating the execution of shell scripts or data processing

commands

Capturing output from command-line tools to integrate with Python

workflows

Orchestrating complex data processing pipelines that involve multiple

tools and commands

Calling External Commands Using the Subprocess Module is a tutorial on

getting started with the subprocess module.