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Level 0 / Project 01 - Terminal Hello Lab

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Before You Start

Recall these prerequisites before diving in: - Can you create a variable and print its value? (name = "Ada" then print(name)) - Can you use an f-string to combine text and variables? (f"Hello, {name}")

Estimated time: 15 minutes

Learn Your Way

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Focus

  • print output, variables, and command execution basics

Why this project exists

Your very first Python script. You will print text to the terminal, use variables to store data, and see how f-strings build dynamic output. Every programmer starts here.

Run (copy/paste)

Use <repo-root> as the folder containing this repository's README.md.

cd <repo-root>/projects/level-0/01-terminal-hello-lab
python project.py
pytest -q

The program will ask for your name and learning day, then print output.

Expected terminal output

What is your name? Ada
What day of your Python journey is it? 7
****************************************
         TERMINAL HELLO LAB
****************************************

Hello, Ada! Welcome to Python.
    Day 7 of your Python journey.

Fun fact: Python is named after Monty Python,
not the snake!

--- Your Info Card ---
  name: Ada
  language: Python
  learning_day: 7
  greeting: Hello, Ada! Welcome to Python.
5 passed

Expected artifacts

  • Passing tests
  • Updated notes.md

Worked Example

Here is a similar (but different) problem, solved step by step.

Problem: Write a function that builds a welcome message with the current date.

Step 1: Think about what we need. We need a name, today's date, and a formatted string.

from datetime import date

def build_welcome(name):
    today = date.today().strftime("%B %d, %Y")
    return f"Welcome, {name}! Today is {today}."

Step 2: Think about the output. What should this look like?

print(build_welcome("Marcus"))
# Welcome, Marcus! Today is January 15, 2026.

Step 3: Think about edge cases. What if name is empty?

def build_welcome(name):
    if not name or not name.strip():
        name = "friend"
    today = date.today().strftime("%B %d, %Y")
    return f"Welcome, {name}! Today is {today}."

The thought process: Start with the simplest version that works. Then add a guard for bad input. This is the pattern you will use in this project and every project after it.

Checkpoint: Baseline code runs and all tests pass. Commit your work before continuing.

Alter it (required) — Extension

  1. Add a build_greeting_box() function that wraps the greeting in a box made of +, -, and | characters.
  2. Ask the user if they want UPPERCASE output. If they type "yes", print everything in upper case.
  3. Re-run script and tests.

Break it (required) — Core

  1. Type nothing when asked for your name (just press Enter) -- what happens to the greeting and banner?
  2. Type only spaces as your name -- does build_banner() handle it or crash?
  3. Try typing letters instead of a number for the day -- what error do you get?

Fix it (required) — Core

  1. Add a guard in greet() that returns a default message for empty names.
  2. Add a check that the day is a valid positive number, with a helpful error message.
  3. Add a test that verifies empty-name handling.

Checkpoint: All modifications done, tests still pass. Good time to review your changes.

Explain it (teach-back)

  1. What does f"Hello, {name}!" do differently from "Hello, " + name + "!"?
  2. Why does build_banner() use len(text) + 4 for the border width?
  3. How does the if __name__ == "__main__" guard work and why is it needed?
  4. Where would greeting templates be used in real software (email systems, CLI tools)?

Mastery check

You can move on when you can: - run baseline without docs, - explain one core function line-by-line, - break and recover in one session, - keep tests passing after your change.

Stuck? Ask AI

If you are stuck after trying for 20 minutes, use one of these prompts. They are designed to help you learn without giving away the answer.

  • "I am working on Terminal Hello Lab. I got this error: [paste error]. Can you explain what this error means without giving me the fix?"
  • "I am trying to build a banner with asterisks. I know I need len() and string multiplication, but my output looks wrong. Can you give me a hint about what I might be calculating incorrectly?"
  • "Can you explain f-strings with a simple example that is different from my project?"
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