homework_6.md

Homework 6

Workshop 6 introduces modules, imports, and simple composition patterns. Complete the tasks in a new file (for example, homework_6.py) so you can run everything together.

Task 1: Utility Pairing

• Create a module-level function square(number) that returns the number squared.
• Create another function shift_and_square(number, offset) that adds the offset to the number, then calls square and returns the result.
• Demonstrate both functions by printing at least two sample calculations.

Task 2: Banking Flow Composition

• Reuse the idea from workshop_6/composition.py to model a simple payment attempt.
• Implement check_balance() that randomly returns True or False (use random.choice).
• Implement complete_transaction() that prints a confirmation message and returns a dictionary describing the order.
• Implement place_order() that only calls complete_transaction() when check_balance() returns True; otherwise, it returns a dictionary with a failed status. Include an order_id and total in both success and failure paths (use None for failed orders if needed).
• Run the place_order() function three times, collect the results in a list, and print a human-readable summary for each attempt.

Task 3: Module Import Practice

• Create a separate file named helpers.py that contains the square and shift_and_square functions from Task 1.
• In homework_6.py, import helpers and demonstrate the functions via the module namespace (helpers.square, helpers.shift_and_square).
• Explain in a short comment why keeping helper functions in a separate module can make larger projects easier to manage.

Task 4: Defensive Composition

• Write a function safe_place_order(max_attempts=3) that tries to call place_order() until it receives a success or exhausts max_attempts.
• Track and print each attempt number and outcome.
• Return the successful order or None if every attempt fails.

Optional Stretch Goals

• Extend complete_transaction() to accept **kwargs for additional metadata (for example, coupon="SAVE10").
• Add a simple logger function that timestamps each step using datetime and prints a consistent prefix.
• Write a mini-test section that imports helpers and asserts the output of square() and shift_and_square() for a few inputs.