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Level 6 / Project 13 - Batch Window Controller

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— This project — — Flashcards — —

Focus

  • load window scheduling controls

Why this project exists

This project gives you level-appropriate practice in a realistic operations context. Goal: run the baseline, alter behavior, break one assumption, recover safely, and explain the fix.

Run (copy/paste)

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

cd <repo-root>/projects/level-6/13-batch-window-controller
python project.py --input data/sample_input.txt --output data/output_summary.json
pytest -q

Expected terminal output

{
  "windows_created": 4,
  "overlaps_found": 1,
  "gaps": [{"start": "...", "end": "..."}, ...],
  "windows": [...]
}

Expected artifacts

  • data/output_summary.json — window analysis with overlaps and gaps
  • Passing tests (pytest -q → 6+ passed)
  • Updated notes.md

Alter it (required)

  1. Add a merge_overlaps function that combines overlapping windows into a single window.
  2. Add a --auto-fill-gaps flag that creates new pending windows for any detected gaps.
  3. Add a duration column showing each window's length in hours.
  4. Re-run script and tests after each change.

Break it (required)

  1. Create a window where end < start and observe the validation error.
  2. Create three windows that all overlap each other and check all pairs are detected.
  3. Try to transition a window to an invalid status (e.g. "cancelled").

Fix it (required)

  1. Add validation rejecting end <= start windows.
  2. Ensure overlap detection handles more than 2 windows overlapping.
  3. Add status validation with a clear error message.

Explain it (teach-back)

  1. Why are overlapping processing windows dangerous in data pipelines?
  2. What is a "gap" in batch processing, and what data does it leave unprocessed?
  3. How do real ETL systems prevent double-processing?
  4. What is the interval scheduling problem and how does it relate to this project?

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.

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