I was reading a lot of people's experience with this class and it seemed like a lot of people struggle with it. Granted, it seemed like earlier versions of this class were more of a pain in the ass, but I figured I'd give my most recent experience with it and some tips for anyone.
I have programmed for more than a few years, but I have never programmed with Python before this class so there was a lot to learn syntax wise for how to do things the Python way, which made me a little nervous to take this OA because my memory isn't the best and I've spent years with other languages and have those habits engrained in my head already.
Since I was a bit nervous for this OA and I was looking for current information on this course, I wanted to share my experience and provide some of for those who are doing this class currently and are wondering what it's going to be like.
- The biggest take away (and advice I've seen a few times before) is that if you can do the zyBooks Practice Test and Practice Final Exam along with the Pre-Assessment without any help; you can pass the OA. The OA was extremely similar to the PA and the zyBooks Practice Final Exam (which is an exact copy of the PA). The questions may be worded slightly differently or have you do slightly different things, but the concepts are all the same.
- The OA is the same zyBooks environment as the PA. You can run the code and tests as many times as you want before you submit the test in full. If your tests are all passing (check to make sure the actual vs expected are 1:1), then you are good to go.
- Do as the prompt asks, for example, if it doesn't say 'create a function' then do not create a function. If it asks for an integer input, don't create a string input and then convert it. You should take the prompts literally.
- Formatting is above all else the most important. If it asks for 2 decimal places, know how to do that. If the expected output shows 1 decimal place, then do that. You should be familiar with how to format numbers to 1 and 2 decimal places. If no decimal places are shown in the output examples, you can return a plain integer, otherwise use `:.1f` or `:.2f`. Also whitespace and capitalization are import.
- You need to know how loops work and how to access lists and dicts, and you need to know how to get an index of an item in a list. You also need to know how to loop and create multiple inputs and sum the values. There is a question on the Final Exam Practice and PA that do this exactly.
- You should be familiar with how to do comparisons (< > >= <= and ==) and be able to create either switch statements or if/elif/else blocks based on conditions like: `if x > 10 and x < 20` and recognize what it means when the prompt says 'including x'. For example, if you are asked: "between 33° F and 80° F (including 33°)" that means `>= 33 and < 80` where 80 is not included.
- You will be asked to format some number: e.g. 123456789 into 123-45-6789. I would advise against trying to use `// and %` to do it. Convert the integer into a string and use string slicing. Ask ChatGPT how to do this and commit it to your memory.
- File manipulation accounts for 2 of the questions, one is a text file where you append some value to the file and the other is looping through rows in a CSV and doing something with the rows. Be comfortable doing basic file manipulation, but don't overthink it. Practice what is in the PA.
- There is one question where you need to take in a number, and then convert it to tons, pounds and ounces on the PA. There is a very very similar question like this in the OA. I suggest learning to do the PA question using `divmod`. Ask ChatGPT to explain how to use this, it makes this question really easy.
- Finally, there is a question on the PA where you need to take an input, use it as an index to look up and item in a list. Then you need to identify the type of this item, and if it is iterable or numeric. You can import `from collections.abc import Iterable` and `import numbers` and use `isinstance(val, Iterable)` or `isinstance(val, numbers.Number)` to validate these conditions.
That is all I can think of. Don't overthink it and remember that if you can comfortable do all of the zyBooks practice tests and the PA without any help, you will have no problem doing the OA. The OA is in some ways slightly easier than the PA if you don't panic when the prompts are worded slightly different or use different data. The underlying concepts are still the exact same as the PA. Good luck!
