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Step 1 - Overview
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{{page.title}}

Description and introduction to the project are given in [Step 2]({{ site.url }}{{ site.baseurl }}/step02).

The due dates and intermediate checkpoints are listed below.

START WORKING ON THIS PROJECT RIGHT AWAY to give yourselves adequate time to get all of it done. The deadlines are not flexible and we will not accept any late submissions.

Table of Contents

  1. Instructions about Academic Honesty
  2. Submission to Gradescope
  3. Due Dates
  4. Late Submissions
  5. Project requirements
  6. Grading
  7. Workflow Recommendations
  8. Submission checklist
  9. Asking for help
  10. Updates

Instructions about Academic Honesty

This project is supposed to be your own individual work. This project is open book, open notes, however, you are not allowed to ask others for help with coding (in-person or virtually) or look things up in sources other than the zyBook and the course lecture notes. Doing so constitutes an academic integrity violation. A violation of academic integrity on the final project can result in getting an F in the entire course, since it puts into question your work throughout the quarter.

We will run an automatic similarity check, which is not easily fooled by the variable / whitespace changes or other modifications.

Using advanced Python concepts

You MAY NOT USE material or techniques that we haven't covered in this course, either in the zyBook or in lecture, without express advance permission from the instructor. If you do, you are subject to a grade of FAIL for the project.

Here's why: when very advanced Python concepts show up in your code, it's often an indication that you got a solution to a problem from an online source rather than solving it yourself.

If you are unsure about whether a specific technique is okay to use, please check in via a private post on Piazza addressed to the Instructors. Use the title "Advanced concepts".

Academic Integrity Reporting

All students involved in an academic integrity incident, regardless if they are copying or sharing their work, are going to be reported to The Office of Student Conduct, and get an F grade in the course.

Please complete your own work (without using resources other than your own knowledge) and keep it to yourself. You should not share your code or answers directly with other students. All students, regardless of copying or sharing the code, would be reported to The Office of Student Conduct.

By submitting your final project work, you are asserting that all work on this project is yours alone, and that you will not provide any information to anyone else doing the project, nor will you solicit help from anyone in the class or on the internet. In addition, you are agreeing that you will not discuss any part of the solutions for this project with anyone (except the course staff during the office hours, or on Piazza; we will not use any other channels of communication with you). Not sharing any part of the projecy includes discussing the solutions with others after you finish this course or posting any information about this project on any site on the internet. Doing so constitutes a violation of the academic integrity agreement for this course, which can lead to getting an F in the course. We reserve the right to change the grade retroactively, even after the final grades have been posted.

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Submissions to Gradescope

You will not need to submit anything on zyBooks. You will need to submit three (3) Python files to Gradescope:

  • functions.py
  • main.py
  • tests.py

Your first submission to Gradescope

To get started on this project, create a new folder/directory for your work on this project (you might call it csw8-project, for example.)

In that folder/directory, store three new Python files with the provided names and contents:

  • functions.py, initially with just this one comment - **replace YOUR NAME with your first and last name:
# functions.py: YOUR NAME
  • main.py, initially with only this one line of code:
from functions import *
  • tests.py, initially with just that same line of code as main.py:
from functions import *

Now that you have these three files created, try running main.py and tests.py to make sure that they don't have any syntax errors.

Then, submit them to Gradescope as an initial sanity check - do this as soon as possible.

Submit the three files to Gradescope

TODO: Now that you have these three files, submit your files to Checkpoint 1 on Gradescope as shown below:

image

When submitting on Gradescope, remember that you can either navigate to your file or "drag-and-drop" them into the "Submit Programming Assignment" window. If you already submitted something on Gradescope, it will take you to their "Autograder Results" page. There is a "Resubmit" button on the bottom right that will allow you to update the files for your submission. You can re-submit your work as many times as you would like until the deadline.

You should get back at least one passing test from the autograder.

Why submit to Gradescope now?

  • to ensure that you are able to submit all necessary files
  • as evidence that you've gotten started on the project.

It likely won't pass any tests other than the 1 point you get for "three required files". At this point that's fine. You'll have to complete steps 3 and 4 also before it passes all of the Checkpoint 1 tests.

But at least you've gotten started! We hope that you enjoy putting this project together!

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Required files

You need to be running your code in an IDE (IDLE or another program) - they will warn you each time you run it if your code contains syntax errors. Code that contains syntax errors might get a 0 for the entire autograded portion, so make sure to run your code before submitting it (see more info about it).

Important: The three files (functions.py, main.py, and tests.py) need to be in the same folder on your computer. The import statements in your code will not work correctly, if the files are in different locations on your hard drive.

Explanation of the three files

File 1 - all your functions

The file functions.py in where you will assemble all the relevant functions.

You do not need to use if __name__ == 'main' in this file, because we can import your functions as shown below.

Again, all relevant functions for this project will need to be implemented and added to this file.

File 2 - the main program

The file main.py, will contain your main program. As you will place all function definitions in the functions.py, you can import them here using this statement:

from functions import *

File 3 - test code

The file tests.py is where the assert statements will be collected to help you verify that your implementation of each function is correct.

Put this at the top to import all of the functions from functions.py

from functions import *

Important: you need to run this file separately: running the main program will not automatically execute the assert statements. Each function that returns values will need to have the corresponding assert statements to check its correctness. Make sure that you have at least three assert statements for each function.

If the assert statements are failing, then the autograder on Gradescope will surely fail as well.

If you are getting an AssertionError, then fix the corresponding function - do not modify the provided assert test to pass, fix the code instead.

Write your own assert statements to make sure to test all edge cases specified in the instructions: the autograder will be verifying that those work correctly.

Each time you submit, you will need to submit all files at the same time to Gradescope (again, not in zyBooks).

Due Dates

There are required Checkpoint submissions, which are described below. EVERYTHING is submitted via Gradescope (NOT zyBooks).

The following components will count in your final project grade as follows:

  • 5% - Checkpoint 1 grade
  • 20% - Checkpoint 2 grade
  • 75% - Final submission grade

The project will be automatically graded for some functions, and manually graded for functionality and style in Gradescope. Upload the files to Gradescope all at once to the correct assignment.

Make sure to periodically backup your work by submitting it to Gradescope, so that in an unexpected event, we can use your backup, instead of giving you a 0 for a missing submission.

We will only grade the latest Gradescope submission.

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Make sure that you write the assert statements and test your program interactively on your Python IDLE (or other IDE if you want).

{% include checkpoint1_details.md %}

{% include checkpoint2_details.md %}

{% include checkpoint3_details.md %}

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Late Submissions

Submitting late Checkpoint 1 and Checkpoint 2 (by a max of 24 hours) will cause a 20% loss in grade for those checkpoints. Once Gradescope is closed for submission, it will not be re-opened.

We will not accept any late submissions at all for the final submission. The deadline for checkpoint 3 (i.e. {{site.checkpoint3 | date: "%a, %b %d, %H:%M" }}) is absolutely the last day to submit. This is a hard rule to ensure that we can grade the submissions in a timely manner and submit the final grades before the university deadline.

Please plan accordingly to make sure that travel, Internet or electricity outages or any other unexpected circumstances or events will not have a severe effect on your submission. Start early, test often, and backup your work on Gradescope periodically.

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Project requirements

Programs that have syntax errors in the file will not receive any credit.

  • ⚠️ Test your code for syntax errors before making a final submission.

    • Run it in an IDE each time you make even a smallest change: remember that even an extra space character can cause an error in Python. It is better for you to submit a partially working program than one that has syntax errors. We will not be modifying/correcting your code.

  • You are not allowed to use external libraries (like math or statistics) for this assignment except where specified in the instructions. Your project might fail because of an unrecognized import (this includes libraries that we have not used in this class). Do not import anything unless the project specifically requests it.

  • Do not create new functions or change the requested functions' names and/or the parameters, since you may lose points from the rubric set in Gradescope.

  • You must correctly and appropriately comment your code to clearly explain your solution.

  • Every function should include an appropriate, informative docstring that is included immediately underneath the function signature. You will be graded on the presence and quality of your documentation. Include more extensive comments for the parts that you found harder to code.

  • There shouldn't be any pass or TODO or FIXME comments left in your code!

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Grading

Your project will be automatically graded on Gradescope for the presence and naming of required files, functions, inclusion of docstrings, correct return values, etc. The autograder score will be the majority of the project grade.

If there are no syntax errors, we will manually grade the final project checking the correct code style, use of comments, and use of asserts in your test file (more on that below).

If your project fails due to syntax errors, we will not manually grade it, automatically assigning it a 0 for the manual score.

⚠️ Test your code for syntax errors before making a final submission!

Manual Grading

As you write your code, be mindful of the fact that there is also a manual component to the project grading.

Here are some of the things the manual check will be looking for (based on the Project Requirements listed above:

  1. Did the solution use imports other than import csv and import os?

  2. Did the solution use Python features not covered in the course (e.g. lambda functions, map/reduce, etc.) without advance permission (as described in the section Using Advanced Python Concepts)?

  3. Are variable name choices reasonable? Single letter variable names should be avoided except as the index of a for loop (e.g., i and j). As was explained in zyBooks and in class, one should meaningful variable names for better code readability and clarity.

  4. Are the docstrings actually meaningful and clear, or are they just placeholders, as in the example shown here:

    def add_em(param1, param2):
   """
   this is a placeholder docstring, worse than useless
   """
   return param1 + param2

    Specifically, docstrings should describe:

    • input parameter and its type
    • return value and its type

  5. Did the student hard-code specific return values for specific test cases shown by the autograder (that's bad), or did they actually make a good faith effort to understand the problem and provide a solution (that's good)?

  6. Are all resolved pass or TODO or FIXME comments removed from the code?

If you have questions about this, please ask on Piazza.

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Workflow Recommendations

We very highly recommend that you start working on this project early on. This is a large task ahead of you and good time management will help you complete this on time. Remember: you have more than two weeks to work on this, so don't leave things until the last minute. The deadlines are extremely firm.

As you are reading project instructions, each time you come across an edge case or a specific value that you need to check/test, immediately add an assert statement to your test file. Add a comment above it to remind you what part of the instructions you are testing.

We highly recommend developing your code incrementally: as soon as you add an option or a new condition, immediately run your code to verify that it works as intended.

Use the assert statements to check that your code returns the expected value and is of a correct type. Use it especially to test the edge cases (e.g., when to return -1 or 0, what to do when the input is empty).

We highly encourage you to add your own tests to check each function specification and to verify the correctness of your implementation.

If you see an AssertionError, check the line number that the error message pointed to. In IDLE, you can select the "Show Line Numbers" option from the top "Options" menu.

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Submission Checklist

Long before each checkpoint deadline, walk through these steps:

  • run your files to ensure that they are free from syntax errors.
  • verify that the function names are correct - check them again.
  • check that each function has a proper docstring directly underneath each function signature
  • make sure that the main program only has the necessary import (it's just one import instruction)
  • check all default values! We will test that you are using them.
  • be sure that you test for the invalid 'arguments'/'input values' in each function (use the assert statements).
  • at a minimum, include three assert statements for each function that returns a value
  • submit all properly-named Python files to Gradescope

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Asking for Staff Help

This assignment is supposed to be like an exam in that it is supposed to test your knowledge and understanding of the course material, so it is supposed to be your own work. Make sure that you read and follow the instructions carefully.

Office Hours will be different for the project

You may find that:

  • Staff are far more overwhelmed with questions and they might not even get to your question.
  • Staff will expect you to be more self-reliant.
  • Staff will not debug your code for you.
  • Staff will not cover material that was already covered in the zyBook or lecture.

If you ask questions about the project during office hours, first be very sure that:

  1. You have read all of the instructions completely and thoroughly.
  2. Do not ask questions that are already clearly covered in the instructions. You may ask clarifying questions about the instructions if they are unclear, or seem to be contradictory.
  3. If your question is about an error on the autograder, do not ask questions about it unless you have first completely read the message from the autograder, thought about it, and can explain what you have already tried.

Go in with the expectation that:

  1. Staff will not respond to your questions as thoroughly and in as much detail as they have in the past.
  2. Staff may help clarify the requirements—if they are unclear or ambiguous—but not if you are simply not putting in the work to read the instructoins.
  3. Staff will not be helping you understanding how to meet those requirements.
  4. Debugging is a skill you were expected to learn and practice during the weeks leading up to this project. Now, you need to demonstrate whether you have learned that skill or not.

It's actually best to have your questions or clarifications be made as a public post on Piazza (so everyone can benefit).

Posts have to follow the forum guidelines - no publicly shared code/solutions! Violation of the forum guidelines will result in a deduction of 10% of your grade per violation.

  • Make sure to submit your code to Gradescope before posting something on the forum (if necessary, we can load your submission for reference).
  • No posts after the final submission is due (i.e. after {{site.checkpoint3 | date: "%a, %b %d, %H:%M" }}).
  • Do not email the TAs/ULAs/instructor directly: again - use Piazza instead. Emails sent directly to the staff may be left unopened and unanswered.
  • If you are asking a question that is too open-ended, we cannot guarantee that we can provide you with a hint. We will try and give you as much help as we can, but in the end we cannot provide any solutions to you. Again, this project is supposed to be your own work.

Updates

If there are any updates to be given, they will be announced on Piazza. Make it a habit to check Piazza frequently (or subscribe to the posts to be notified via email).