I have done a bit of web scraping lately both to automate some of the tasks I do regularly and some to get data for projects. I have learned one big thing from doing this it is ok to do something for a one off … sometimes.

There are times when working on scripts when you can reuse a lot of the work for different projects. However, some things are just not meant to be used again and that is ok.

Not all projects you work on need to be done in a reusable manner, some can just be a one and done. As I have said I have been doing a bit of web scraping with python. Some of the scrapers I have made are modular some are complete bespoke. Although it can be a time saver to reuse code if you are doing a very specific thing it can be faster to just start from a blank script. You can make a new script it to fit the need opposed to starting from an older project and making to work for what you are doing.

Making something for a one off can be great if what you are working on requires a lot of work before or after running the script. This has been the case for some of the things I have been working on. The python is a necessary step, but it is not the biggest part of the project. Making a script that works in a timely manner is better than spending more time than necessary working on a perfect script. So, go ahead and nest them if statements don’t put in comments, this is not advised for all your work just the one-off scripts for specific use cases.

That is it from me go off and don’t feel guilty about that one off script if it works it works.