Python Resource Pack 8

Python Resource Pack 8 is a set of coding challenges designed to support the teaching and learning of the Python programming language.

This pack is designed for those who have some experience of programming in Python, such as completing the exercises in Resource Packs 1 - 7. It is suitable for teaching Python in schools at AS and A Level, for tutors and learners in adult learning classes or for the hobbyist learning at home.

As part of the higher-level learning and exam preparation for which the pack is designed, these challenges necessitate a greater degree of design and coding ability than the challenges in Resource Packs 6 and 7. Emphasis is placed on the system life cycle and program documentation by requiring:

• Full design prior to coding (system flowchart, program flowchart, pseudocode, data dictionary).
• Full validation so only valid data can be entered by the user.
• Meaningful names for variables, procedures and functions.
• Full error trapping.
• Fully commented code.
• Complete evidence of the program being tested during development (Alpha Testing or White Box Testing).
• Complete evidence of the program being tested post development (Beta Testing or Black Box Testing).
• The pack is designed to support learning that has previously taken place in the classroom, via self-directed study, or by following tutorials.

The pack contains five challenges, each consisting of:

• A pdf file with one or more coding challenges and, in some cases, supplementary extension work.
• Fully commented example solutions to the challenge or challenges and any extensions.

The following topics are introduced:

• The datetime module, and specifically date() and datetime() within it.
• The dateutil add-on module, and specifically relativedelta() within it.

The challenges are designed so that self-directed research will be required to complete them; they are not a cut-and-paste tutorial.