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Final integration — Automation Foundations

Day 28 · ~12 min●

Last code lesson of the track. We tie five week-4 patterns into one short script:

Helper — wrap the read in a function (L24).
Retry — the helper retries on transient errors (L22).
Pagination — fetch up to 2 pages (L23).
Filter — keep only emails matching a predicate (Py L13 + Auto week 3 L17).
Batch action — print per kept email — standing in for an action like send_slack per email (L25).

python

import time

def fetch_emails_paginated(pages=2, per_page=5):
    all_msgs, page_token = [], None
    for _ in range(pages):
        args = {"max_results": per_page}
        if page_token:
            args["page_token"] = page_token
        for attempt in range(1, 4):
            try:
                result = toolset.execute_action(Action.GMAIL_FETCH_EMAILS, args)
                break
            except Exception:
                time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
        else:
            raise RuntimeError("all retries failed")
        all_msgs.extend(result.get("messages", []))
        page_token = result.get("nextPageToken")
        if not page_token:
            break
    return all_msgs

emails = fetch_emails_paginated(pages=2, per_page=5)
filtered = [e for e in emails if e.get("subject")]
for e in filtered:
    print(f"would notify: {e.get('subject')}")
print(f"total notified: {len(filtered)}")

Every line uses a primitive I learned earlier in the track.

That's the point. No new tools, no new concepts — just composition. This is what "writing automation" looks like in practice: not memorising one big script, but knowing the small patterns well enough to compose them on demand.

What this synthesis demonstrates

No new tool. No new concept. Composition of week-4 + earlier patterns into one shape.

Layer-by-layer reading

python

def fetch_emails_paginated(pages=2, per_page=5):

→ Helper (L24). Named, reusable, defaults on args.

python

    all_msgs, page_token = [], None
    for _ in range(pages):
        args = {"max_results": per_page}
        if page_token:
            args["page_token"] = page_token

→ Pagination scaffold (L23). Outer loop bounded by pages; per-iteration args dict.

python

        for attempt in range(1, 4):
            try:
                result = toolset.execute_action(Action.GMAIL_FETCH_EMAILS, args)
                break
            except Exception:
                time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
        else:
            raise RuntimeError("all retries failed")

→ Retry with backoff (L22). Nested inside pagination — each page's call gets its own retry budget. The for / else re-raises only if no break happened.

python

        all_msgs.extend(result.get("messages", []))
        page_token = result.get("nextPageToken")
        if not page_token:
            break

→ Defensive read + pagination break (L23 + week 1 L4). .get() returns None/[] on missing keys.

python

emails = fetch_emails_paginated(pages=2, per_page=5)
filtered = [e for e in emails if e.get("subject")]

→ Filter via list comprehension (Py L24). Drops emails missing a subject.

python

for e in filtered:
    print(f"would notify: {e.get('subject')}")
print(f"total notified: {len(filtered)}")

→ Batch action (L25). Loop, do something per item, log a count at the end.

Why a real workflow looks like this

Production automation scripts that feel "big" usually aren't doing anything new — they're just stacking patterns. Once each individual pattern is reflexive, reading and writing scripts that compose them gets easy.

What you can extend this into

Replace print with a real action: send_slack, append_to_sheet.
Replace the filter predicate: is_unread, from_specific_sender, time-window check (week 3 L18).
Add the dedup check from week 2 L14: skip emails you've already processed.
Add conditional dispatch from L26: route to slack OR email based on subject.

The shape stays the same. You add layers as the requirements need them.

Day 28 · ~12 min●

Last code lesson of the track. We tie five week-4 patterns into one short script:

Helper — wrap the read in a function (L24).
Retry — the helper retries on transient errors (L22).
Pagination — fetch up to 2 pages (L23).
Filter — keep only emails matching a predicate (Py L13 + Auto week 3 L17).
Batch action — print per kept email — standing in for an action like send_slack per email (L25).

python

import time

def fetch_emails_paginated(pages=2, per_page=5):
    all_msgs, page_token = [], None
    for _ in range(pages):
        args = {"max_results": per_page}
        if page_token:
            args["page_token"] = page_token
        for attempt in range(1, 4):
            try:
                result = toolset.execute_action(Action.GMAIL_FETCH_EMAILS, args)
                break
            except Exception:
                time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
        else:
            raise RuntimeError("all retries failed")
        all_msgs.extend(result.get("messages", []))
        page_token = result.get("nextPageToken")
        if not page_token:
            break
    return all_msgs

emails = fetch_emails_paginated(pages=2, per_page=5)
filtered = [e for e in emails if e.get("subject")]
for e in filtered:
    print(f"would notify: {e.get('subject')}")
print(f"total notified: {len(filtered)}")

Every line uses a primitive I learned earlier in the track.

What this synthesis demonstrates

No new tool. No new concept. Composition of week-4 + earlier patterns into one shape.

Layer-by-layer reading

python

def fetch_emails_paginated(pages=2, per_page=5):

→ Helper (L24). Named, reusable, defaults on args.

python

    all_msgs, page_token = [], None
    for _ in range(pages):
        args = {"max_results": per_page}
        if page_token:
            args["page_token"] = page_token

→ Pagination scaffold (L23). Outer loop bounded by pages; per-iteration args dict.

python

        for attempt in range(1, 4):
            try:
                result = toolset.execute_action(Action.GMAIL_FETCH_EMAILS, args)
                break
            except Exception:
                time.sleep(2 ** attempt)
        else:
            raise RuntimeError("all retries failed")

→ Retry with backoff (L22). Nested inside pagination — each page's call gets its own retry budget. The for / else re-raises only if no break happened.

python

        all_msgs.extend(result.get("messages", []))
        page_token = result.get("nextPageToken")
        if not page_token:
            break

→ Defensive read + pagination break (L23 + week 1 L4). .get() returns None/[] on missing keys.

python

emails = fetch_emails_paginated(pages=2, per_page=5)
filtered = [e for e in emails if e.get("subject")]

→ Filter via list comprehension (Py L24). Drops emails missing a subject.

python

for e in filtered:
    print(f"would notify: {e.get('subject')}")
print(f"total notified: {len(filtered)}")

→ Batch action (L25). Loop, do something per item, log a count at the end.

Why a real workflow looks like this

What you can extend this into

Replace print with a real action: send_slack, append_to_sheet.
Replace the filter predicate: is_unread, from_specific_sender, time-window check (week 3 L18).
Add the dedup check from week 2 L14: skip emails you've already processed.
Add conditional dispatch from L26: route to slack OR email based on subject.

The shape stays the same. You add layers as the requirements need them.

What this synthesis demonstrates

Layer-by-layer reading

Why a real workflow looks like this

What you can extend this into

What this synthesis demonstrates

Layer-by-layer reading

Why a real workflow looks like this

What you can extend this into

What this synthesis demonstrates

Layer-by-layer reading

Why a real workflow looks like this

What you can extend this into

Sign up to practice

What this synthesis demonstrates

Layer-by-layer reading

Why a real workflow looks like this

What you can extend this into

Sign up to practice