Recursion and Parameters

Importing files one at a time is time-consuming, especially if you have many files in a folder that need to be imported. A simple solution is to use a recursive procedure. A recursive procedure is one that can call itself and saves you, the user, from entering the same import command for each file.

Performing a recursive CLI command requires passing a parameter to the API. This sounds complicated, but it is incredibly easy. First, a parameter is simply a name or option that is passed to a program to affect the operation of the receiving program. In our case, the parameter is recursive, and the entire command to perform the recursive command is as follows:

aws s3 cp s3://myBucket . --recursive

With this command, all the S3 objects in the bucket are copied to the specified directory:

Figure 1.33: Parameter list

Activity 1.01: Putting the Data into S3 with the CLI

Let's start with a note about the terminology used in this activity. Putting data into S3 can also be called uploading. Getting it from there is called downloading. Sometimes, it is also called importing and exporting. Please do not confuse this with AWS Import/Export, which is a specific AWS service for sending a large amount of data to AWS or getting it back from AWS.

In this activity, we will be using the CLI to create a bucket in S3 and import a second text file. Suppose that you are creating a chatbot. You have identified text documents that contain content that will allow your chatbot to interact with customers more effectively. Before the text documents can be parsed, they need to be uploaded to an S3 bucket. Once they are in S3, further analysis will be possible. To ensure that this has happened correctly, you will need to install Python, set up the Amazon CLI tools, and have a user authenticated with the CLI:

1. Configure the CLI and verify that it can successfully connect to your AWS environment.
2. Create a new S3 bucket.
3. Import your text file into the bucket.
4. Export the file from the bucket and verify the exported objects.

   Note

   The solution for this activity can be found on page 276.