[Baypiggies] Code/Idea Review (WARNING: SPOILER)

Glen Jarvis glen at glenjarvis.com
Sun Dec 16 01:01:00 CET 2007


Tony,
    The challenge start off with such a basic level, there is NO  
programming level necessary. In fact, I imagine most people solve  
riddle zero without writing any code. Although it wasn't necessary, I  
wrote a small program just so I could have a program for every riddle.

    In riddle zero, we have a photo of three numbers. That alone  
doesn't give us much of a clue. BUT, look at the hint that is given:  
"Hint: Try to change the url address."

The URL address for this riddle is "http://www.pythonchallenge.com/pc/ 
def/0.html."

Hmm.. there's a file called 0.html that is being served on the  
internet. And, there is a photo of three numbers. I wonder what URL  
they would want us to try? You can type this URL without any python  
knowledge. What do you think the answer is? I bet this gets you  
started. And, the message that you receive is another clue.

Warmest Regards,




Glen Jarvis
--
415-680-3964
glen at glenjarvis.com
http://www.glenjarvis.com

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -M. Gandhi


On Dec 15, 2007, at 11:58 AM, Tony Cappellini wrote:

> Hello Glen,
>
> Welcome to the Bay Aeea and baypiggies!
> Regarding the python challenge- I hadn't seen this before, and I have
> no web programming experience.
> I am quite surprised to find this statement in the FAQ for the  
> python challenge
>
> "What level of Python knowledge is required for solving the riddles?
> The riddles are designed to be solvable by Python newcomers and yet
> challenging even for Python experts. If you don't know how to do a
> certain thing in Python or you are referenced to an unfamiliar module
> - treat it as an opportunity to learn it. Google is your friend."
>
> I find it hard to believe that someone new to python would be able to
> solve #0  without having extensive web programming experience.
> Ill have to look at the  other riddles.
>
>
>
>
> On Dec 15, 2007 11:23 AM, Glen Jarvis <glen at glenjarvis.com> wrote:
>> As a recent transplant to the Bay Area, I must say that I never
>> realized how much of a geek haven this was. I knew it would be richer
>> in geeks, but I did not know moving here would be one of the smartest
>> decisions I ever made!
>>
>> I went to my second Bay Piggies meeting. And, I had an incredible
>> time. JJ was absolutely awesome and allowed me to ride with him. And,
>> he, his co-worker, several people he socialized with, and myself had
>> some incredible conversations for several hours. You can't help but
>> genuinely like all of these guys. They're fun to talk to, smart, and
>> just 'get it' instead of getting board or eyes glassing over.
>>
>> And, I'm usually a very big duck in a little puddle. At BayPIGgies,
>> I'm an itty bitty new duckling, wet behind the ears. And, there are
>> so many people who genuinely want to help.
>>
>> I learned two really incredible things this time: PEP-8 and the
>> Python Challenge. Because of the talk, I discovered the Python
>> Challenge (http://www.pythonchallenge.com/). What a great way to
>> challenge ourselves. The first two (0, and 1) were real easy
>> challenges. However, instead of just marching on, I am trying to be a
>> code nazi. I want to keep the code for each of these challenges, I
>> want it to pass a PEP-8 level code review, and I want it to be the
>> most 'intelligent' choice for the objective.
>>
>> In challenge 1, I was able to create some python code fairly quickly
>> to translate the text enough to catch the gist fairly quickly.
>> However, as a typical non-python coder, I used a loop instead of
>> string.maketrans(). After reading the string module help, I was able
>> to keep reducing and rewriting this until it was closer to what I
>> thought the challenge wanted us to do.
>>
>> I would like it, if you don't mind, if you gave me a thorough peer
>> review for such a small piece of code. I want to know anytime I break
>> convention with PEP-8. Also, if I received replies like "crap code,
>> dude." that, unfortunately is not helpful. What would be helpful if I
>> heard *why* it was crap so I could learn from it. The same is true
>> for "cool code." That doesn't tell me what my weaknesses or strengths
>> are.
>>
>> I believe lines 6 and 7 can be reduced to be more readable and better
>> written. If any (or all) can oblige, I would love to learn. Be
>> warned, however, that this is a solution to the second Python
>> Challenge. You should do the first two challenges yourself so there
>> are no spoilers.
>>
>> I *heart* BayPIGgies!
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>>
>> Glen
>> Chief Gumby on a Bicycle (i.e., the dork who has a busted shoulder)
>> --
>> 415-680-3964
>> glen at glenjarvis.com
>> http://www.glenjarvis.com
>>
>> "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -M. Gandhi
>>
>>
>> 1  #!/usr/bin/env python
>> 2
>> 3  import sys
>> 4  import string
>> 5
>> 6  alpha_list=map(chr, range(ord('a'), ord('z') + 1))
>> 7  alphabet_=string.join(alpha_list, '')
>> 8
>> 9  re_map=alphabet_[2:] + alphabet_[:2]
>> 10
>> 11 trans_table = string.maketrans( alphabet_, re_map)
>> 12
>> 13 print "g  fmnc wms bgblr rpylqjyrc gr zw fylb. rfyrq ufyr
>> amknsrcpq ypc dmp. bmgle gr gl zw fylb gq glcddgagclr ylb rfyr'q ufw
>> rfgq rcvr gq qm jmle. sqgle qrpgle.kyicrpylq() gq pcamkkclbcb. lmu
>> ynnjw ml rfc spj.".translate(trans_table)
>>
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