Laboratory 10

Laboratory Objectives

1. Explore and use various tools such as: GitHub, VirtualBox, Tuffix, Linux Terminal, and Atom.
2. Write a Python program using:
   1. threading
3. Run and test a Python program.

Getting Started

1. Setting Up Python Environment

   • Verify Python Installation:
   • Open your terminal (Command Prompt for Windows, Terminal for macOS/Linux).
   • Type python --version and press Enter.
   • You should see the installed Python version displayed.

2. Configuring Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

   • Install Python Extension:
   • Open VS Code.
   • Go to the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
   • Search for “Python” in the Extensions Marketplace.
   • Click “Install” on the Python extension by Microsoft.

3. Running Python in VS Code

   • Create a New Python File:
   • In VS Code, open a folder where you want to save your Python projects.
   • Click on File > New File or press Ctrl+N to create a new file.
   • Save the file with a .py extension (e.g., hello.py).

Program Instructions

1. Write a Python program that performs as a Tuffy Titan Warehouse Robot. Think of the warehouse similar to a large Amazon Fulfillment Center with thousands of robots moving around the facility to fill up a physical shopping cart. A user via the web or an app selects several items they want to purchase. The list is sent to a robot clerk, who in turns dispatches several robots that fetch the items and bring them back to the cart. The robots work simultaneous i.e. in parallel with each other. Once all the items are returned to the cart the items in the cart get shipped out for delivery. The Tuffy Titan Warehouse Robot will simulate this workflow using multiple threads (each fetch robot will use a different thread).

2. Your are given an inventory.dat file which contains a dictionary of inventory items. The data structure and file contents is as follows:

   inventory dictionary:
      key: item number as a string
      value : item list
   
   item list:
      element 0: item description as a string
      element 1: seconds as an integer
   
   actual file contents:
   {
   "101": ["Notebook Paper", 2],
   "102": ["Pencils", 2],
   "103": ["Pens", 6],
   "104": ["Graph Paper", 1],
   "105": ["Paper Clips", 1],
   "106": ["Staples", 4],
   "107": ["Stapler", 7],
   "108": ["3 Ring Binder", 1],
   "109": ["Printer Paper", 1],
   "110": ["Notepad", 1]
   }
   

3. Create a bots module to meet the following requirements:

   1. Create a file named bots.py.
      1. Define a function named bot_clerk to meet the following requirements:
         1. Take an items list as a positional parameter. This a list of item numbers to be fetched and placed in the cart. Example format is ['101','102','103'].
         2. Define a cart list and a thread lock. All bots will use the same cart and lock.
         3. Separate the items that have been passed to the clerk into 3 robot fetcher lists (for simplification, we will assume each clerk will have a maximum of 3 robots). The algorithm to separate the items should follow this:
            1. item 1 goes to robot fetcher list 1
            2. item 2 goes to robot fetcher list 2
            3. item 3 goes to robot fetcher list 3
            4. item 4 goes to robot fetcher list 1
            5. item 5 goes to robot fetcher list 2
            6. item 6 goes to robot fetcher list 3
            7. item 7 goes to robot fetcher list 1
            8. etcetera
         4. Launch each robot fetcher using a new thread and passing it the robot fetcher list (1 through 3 respectively), the cart list, and the lock.
         5. Return the cart list to the calling program. The final cart list should have all the items that were fetched and in the order that they were placed in the cart.
      2. Define a function named bot_fetcher to meet the following requirements:
         1. Take an items list as a positional parameter. This a list of item numbers to be fetched and placed in the cart. Example format is ['101','102','103'].
         2. Take a cart list as a positional parameter. This is a list of items that have been placed in the cart. Example format is [['109', 'Printer Paper'], ['102', 'Pencils']].
         3. Take a thread lock as a positional parameter.
         4. Loop through each item in the item list.
         5. Sleep for the number of seconds corresponding to the item from the inventory (this simulates the robot going out into a particular zone in the warehouse and returning to the cart, the farther the zone the larger the seconds).
         6. Append the item number and description to the cart list using the format ['102', 'Pencils'] (this simulates the robot dropping the item in the cart). Ensure that proper locks are placed around this task to ensure that no other robots are appending at the same time.

4. You do not need to submit a main.py program but it is suggested that you create one and use the below typical input and output to call the bot_clerk function as you are developing the bots module.

5. Typical input and output for the bot_clerk function (the input is what is passed to the function and the output is what is returned):

   INPUT  : []
   OUTPUT : []
   
   INPUT  : ['104']
   OUTPUT : [['104', 'Graph Paper']]
   
   INPUT  : ['106','109','102']
   OUTPUT : [['109', 'Printer Paper'], ['102', 'Pencils'], ['106', 'Staples']]
   
   INPUT  : ['103','108','102','110','106']
   OUTPUT : [['108', '3 Ring Binder'],['102', 'Pencils'],['106', 'Staples'],['103', 'Pens'],['110', 'Notepad']]
   
   INPUT  : ['106','102','108','109','103','101','110','104','107','105']
   OUTPUT : [['108', '3 Ring Binder'], ['102', 'Pencils'], ['101', 'Notebook Paper'], ['106', 'Staples'], ['109', 'Printer Paper'], ['110', 'Notepad'], ['105', 'Paper Clips'], ['103', 'Pens'], ['104', 'Graph Paper'], ['107', 'Stapler']]
   
   

6. Run the unit testing program to ensure that your program runs as expected. NOTE: This may take approximately 45 seconds to complete due to the many sleeps that will be executed. It may appear to hang at the end, however it is actually going through the complete process a second time after the unit test finishes - be patient

   For Linux and Mac users

   ./test.sh or source ./test.sh
   

   For windows users

   ./win_test.bat
   

   The unit testing will output the results of a series of tests using specific input and expected output. Any error will provide information on where the expected output is different from the actual output. You will need to edit your source code to fix the error and run ./test.sh or ./win_test.bat repeatedly until it passes all the test.

Submission

Submit a zip file containing all the code files on canvas

Naming Convention: _.zip

You should have the following files:

bots.py
main.py
test.sh
win_test.bat
test.txt
test.py

Grading

1. All points add up to a total of 100 points possible as detailed below. Partial credit will be given where applicable.

Points	Description
50	Environment setup and Lab Submission
5	bots.py file submitted contains the bots module and meets the program requirements
5	unit test passes Test01_EMPTY_ITEM
10	unit test passes Test02_ONE_ITEM
10	unit test passes Test03_THREE_ITEMS
10	unit test passes Test04_FIVE_ITEMS
10	unit test passes Test05_TEN_ITEMS