Description
Overview
In this assignment, you will be given ZERO instruction in HOW to accomplish it! The actual requirements are
very simple to satisfy. This is a test of how well you can research the topic and satisfy the conditions of this
Assignment on your own. This is how much of the real world works – you’ll be thrown into situations that are
full of unknowns, and you’ll need to come up with a solution!
You are becoming a computer scientist, not a technician: you will learn how to handle ANY language thrown
at you, not just the ones you are spoon-fed, by learning good research habits and techniques. The more
problems you encounter and solve, the greater problem set you’ll be able to infer solutions to from your
background of knowledge.
This is by far the easiest assignment in this course – it’s worth the least points, with the most time to
accomplish it. You will use what you’ve learned here in later courses at OSU.
Specificaons
For this assignment, you will create a script in the Python language. You can read more about Python here:
http://www.python.org/ (http://www.python.org/)
All execution, compiling, and testing of this script should ONLY be done in the bash prompt on our class
server!
Your script must satisfy the following requirements:
1. Be contained in one single file, called “mypython.py”.
2. When executed, create 3 files in the same directory as your script, each named differently (the name of
the files is up to you), which remain there after your script finishes executing. Each of these 3 files must
contain exactly 10 random characters from the lowercase alphabet, with no spaces (“hoehdgwkdq”, for
example). The final (eleventh) character of each file MUST be a newline character. Thus, running wc
(wordcount) against your files in the following manner must return 11:
$ cat myfile
gkwjhcfikf
$ wc -c myfile
11 myfile
3. When executed, output sent to stdout should first print out the contents of the 3 files it is creating in
exactly the format given below.
4. After the file contents of all three files have been printed, print out two random integers each on a
separate line (whose range is from 1 to 42, inclusive).
5. Finally, on the last (sixth) line, print out the product of the two numbers.
You do not have to parse and read the data back in from the files created in step 2 in order to complete step
3. For step 3, just dump the contents that you already randomly generated in your program directly onto the
screen, if that’s the easiest way for you. I recommend that you look into sys.stdout.write() for outputting text,
as it will allow you to control newlines better.
The graders will simply be checking for the above requirements to assign your grade, using the exact format
shown below. Further, no help on this assignment will be provided by the Instructor or TAs at any time.
You can choose to use Python 2 or Python 3. The TAs will try all three of these commands to find one that
works with your script:
$ python mypython.py
$ python2.7 mypython.py
$ python3 mypython.py
Python is NOT a topic that will be covered on the Final.
Example Output
Here’s an example of the script being run. All output is random except for the last line (since it’s the product
of the 4th and 5th lines), and your output must match the format shown here:
$ python mypython.py
vwdzwuxwvh
nibqaackrp
pxeugdqnwc
8
10
80
Hints
I HIGHY recommend that you develop this program directly on our server, instead of one your personal
machine. Doing so will prevent you from having problems transferring the program back and forth, which can
cause compatibility issues.
If you do see ^M characters all over your files, try this command:
% dos2unix bustedFile
Total Points: 32.0
Some Rubric
Criteria Ratings Pts
32.0 pts
What to Turn In and When
Please submit simply your Python script. As our Syllabus says, please be aware that neither the Instructor
nor the TA(s) are alerted to comments added to the text boxes in Canvas that are alongside your
assignment submissions, and they may not be seen. No notifications (email or otherwise) are sent out when
these comments are added, so we aren’t aware that you have added content! If you need to make a metacomment about this assignment, please include it in a #comment near the top of the script itself, or email the
person directly who will be grading it (see the Home page for grading responsibilities).
The due date given below is the last minute that this can be turned in for full credit. The “available until” date
is NOT the due date, but instead closes off submissions for this assignment automatically once 48 hours
past the due date has been reached, in accordance with our Syllabus Grading policies.
Grading
Note that this assignment is PASS/FAIL, meaning all of the points are awarded or not awarded based on
whether or not you accomplish ALL of the requirements! If you do not accomplish all of them, you will
receive a zero. But of course you’ll accomplish them, because this Assignment is really easy! It’s practically
extra credit!
Remember that this will be graded only on os1, in a bash prompt. Make sure your code works there!
The TAs will use this exact set of instructions: ProgramPy Grading.pdf to grade your submission.
Works 32.0 pts
Full Marks
28.8 pts
1 day late
24.0 pts
Two days late