Python Project

This is a 2-3 person assignment worth 120 points. Team assignments are here.

60 points for the project.  60 points for the presentation.

Your Python Project Plan is due March 15 by 11:00PM via Sakai (5 pts extra credit).

It should be 1/2-1 page long and include:
  1. Team member names (2-3 individuals)
  2. Plan for a project:  If you are going to do a canned topic from below, this can be one line.  If you are making up your own thing, please give me enough detail to understand how feasible it is.
  3. Outline of steps to be completed and target dates:
    1. descriptions of steps that can be completed and checked individually
    2. dates for the steps to be completed: I will be checking your progess in class. The final project is not an assignment to start the evening it is due!

Project Presentation

Groups will present in class on April 24 or 26. Check here to see when you present.

Grading Rubric

Key items that should be included:

  1. Total Length: 5 minutes plus 3-4 minutes for questions
  2. Show your Python code and describe what your functions do
    1. You won't have time to go through your code line by line
    2. Focus on the sections of code that perform the key functions of your program
    3. What data structures (i.e. lists, dictionaries, etc.) did you use?
    4. How were these data structures used? (i.e. loops, functions, etc.)
  3. Demonstrate how your program works
    1. Play the game or show some examples
    2. Make sure the program runs on the computer you'll be using (I recommend you use one of your own computers for the presentation, bring a VGA adapter if needed)
    3. Mention if there is anything else your program does that you didn't have time to demonstrate

Project code and additional files due April 26 by 11:00PM via Sakai

The program should begin with a comment including your names, a brief description of what the program does and information on any help you received on the project.  If it is entirely your own work, say so.  If anyone helped either of you, identify them by name and describe how they helped.  Also identify how you helped others. 

One partner should submit the file or files for your project.  If you have multiple project files, combine them into a .zip file.

Note special requirements due to this being a possibly large and open-ended project:  Include a README.txt file that explains how to run your program in detail, with all the steps to get going, in order.  In particular with multiple files, what IS the main program?  You do not need to repeat explicit prompts in your program.  In general make sure you turn in every file you need to run your program.  For instance you have a graphics program and use graphics.py, turn in graphics.py.  An exception is if you need special packages installed.  In such a case be sure to mention it in the instructions, including how to download and install.

In addition, everyone should separately submit a personal file log.txt. Include in the file

  1. Roughly how long you worked for the project (including class time)
  2. Briefly, how it went for you, for instance what was the hardest part to get working.
  3. Who your partner(s) was/were.  
  4. Give an indication of how things went with each partner.  Was working together a good thing? Approximate the percentage of work done by each team member.
This is an open ended assignment.  You can do a graphics program, a dynamic web program, or some other Python program.  Some very different (and increasingly more difficult) possibilities are mentioned below.
 
If you would like to do something else, read the section on Alternatives at the end.  Some things are feasible and others are not.  You may not have enough experience to know the difference.  Also it is important to find a way to break the project into a sequence of steps where you can check yourself before adding too much.  Particularly if you suggest a unique project, discuss this all with me before you make your written submission of a plan!

Project Ideas

For the following three project ideas, a grade of 50/60 project points will be given for a program that correctly satisfies the minimum requirements.  Better grades will be given to projects that implement one or more enhancements and a nice user interface.  I suggest you write a little bit of the program at a time, and test it after each small feature is added.

Hangman

Code the classic hangman game, where the computer selects a word randomly from a list, and the player guesses letters, with a limit for the number of wrong letter guesses, displayed somehow.  Correct guesses need to be indicated positionally.  For instance for the secret word "program", if the player has correctly guessed nothing, display underscores for all 7 letters:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Later if the user has correctly selected r, you should display something like
_ r _ _ r _ _
and then if g is selected,
_ r _ g r _ _
.... This display is the trickiest part of a basic version.

The basic version needs neither the web nor graphics, so you can do it on any kind of computer.

Enhancements after you get a basic text version working: 

A Graphics Game: Find the Hole

The program should use Zelle's graphics.  Use a random number generator  to select a point and a perhaps radius around that point. These determine the target 'hole' and are not revealed to the player.   The user is then permitted to click around on the screen to “find the hole”.  You should show each point the user tries immediately after the click.  Once the user selects a point that is within the chosen radius of the mystery point, the circle should appear.  There should be a message announcing how many steps it took.  Clicking to find the hole should stop after the hole is found. The easiest way to do this is with while loop to drive the repeated search for the hidden circle.  The loop should stop when the hidden circle is located.

Hint:   If the distance between the hidden center and the latest mouse click is less than the radius of your mystery circle, then the circle is "found".  The bounce2.py example  program has a function getShift to calculate the difference (dx, dy) in the coordinates of two points.  You can either directly use or modify getShift to calculate the distance from the Pythagorean Theorem:   (dx*dx + dy*dy)**.5

Here are some enhancements to the hole finding game:

Automate an analytical pipeline

Using Python modules like pandas, ggplot, and matplotlib, automate a data analysis pipeline that takes data in a particular format, applies several functions written by you to process, summarize, and plot the data. Output tables and figures of interest. If you are doing research with a professor, this is a great opportunity to apply what you have learned to data of interest to you and your mentor. Also, feel free to scour the internet for data of interest. Here are some examples: Be sure to discuss your analysis plan with me before turning in your Project Plan. I am more likely to accept a proposal if multiple functions are planned and your code is generalized to accept any input file with a specified structure. Just a long fixed sequence of steps and hardcoded input is not likely to be accepted.

Alternatives ....

Are these too lame or canned or not your style? Suggest something different to me! You can start by discussing it orally with me, but before final approval, make a written specification for yourself and me, about as specific as what is given for the problems above. The Project Plan is due as stated in the schedule. I am more likely to accept a proposal if it includes a new use of a while-loop or for-loop. Just a a long fixed sequence of steps, even with if statements, is not likely to be accepted.