🔒 Dictionaries

[hexed pebble]

Hello, to be honest first I wanted to ask how do I get better at this. I keep getting demotivated because it feels like if you don't have that problem - solving skill you will get nowhere in programming languages and second of all I am trying to solve this exercise, but I am stuck with the last part of the exercise.

Write a program that first reads two dictionaries articles1 and articles2 (see previous question).
To do this, use the function read_articles() from the previous exercise.
Now create the dictionary articles3 by merging articles1 and articles2.
Please note: For identical item names, the quantities must be added together.
Print the two read dictionaries and the merged dictionary.
Then print the merged dictionary sorted by article name.

[stiff ice]

@hexed pebble

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[hexed pebble]

I am sorry it's in dutch

[final nimbus]

Hi, can you copy paste the code so I can translate it to english and figure out names easily ?

[hexed pebble]

def lees_artikels():
naam = str(input('Geef artikelnaam (<Enter> om te stoppen): '))
artikels = dict()
while naam!= '':
artikels[naam] =int(input('Geef aantal: '))
naam = str(input('Geef artikelnaam ( <Enter> om te stoppen): '))
return artikels

def print_artikels(artikell):
for key,value in artikell.items():
print(key,'{:10}'.format(value))

def main():
print('Lees artikels1: ')
artikel1 = lees_artikels()
print('Lees artikels2: ')
artikel2 = lees_artikels()
print('artikels1:',artikel1)
print('artikels2:',artikel2)
print('artikels1: ')
print_artikels(artikel1)
print('artikels2: ')
print_artikels(artikel2)

if name == 'main':
main()

[stiff ice]

Hey @hexed pebble!

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[still moat]

Hello

[hollow kite]

Taking it away from programming first, if you had two box full of balls which steps would you take to merge them into a single box?
Like, if you were manually sorting these into a single box

[hexed pebble]

def leesartikels():
    naam = str(input('Geef artikelnaam (<Enter> om te stoppen): '))
    artikels = dict()
    while naam!= '':
        artikels[naam] =int(input('Geef aantal: '))
        naam = str(input('Geef artikelnaam ( <Enter> om te stoppen): '))
    return artikels

def printartikels(artikell):
    for key,value in artikell.items():
        print(key,'{:10}'.format(value))


def main():
    print('Lees artikels1: ')
    artikel1 = leesartikels()
    print('Lees artikels2: ')
    artikel2 = leesartikels()
    print('artikels1:',artikel1)
    print('artikels2:',artikel2)
    print('artikels1: ')
    print_artikels(artikel1)
    print('artikels2: ')
    print_artikels(artikel2)

if __name == '__main':
    main()

[hexed pebble]

well I would sort all colors together and then merge them into a single box

so same colors with each other

or did I misunderstood your question?

[hollow kite]

Try to beak down into individual, sequential steps

as if you were giving instructions to someone, with one instruction per line

[hexed pebble]

idk how to break this down even more if you just want to sort it, you just bring the same colors together and then merge it into another box

[hollow kite]

Which operations do you have to execute?
In which order do you have to execute them?

Explain what to do in order to "bring the same colors together"

[hexed pebble]

well if the color of the ball you see is the same you add them together

[hollow kite]

as obvious as it might sound, you have to make your instructions as detailed as possible

[hollow kite]

"is the same" as what? In which order do you have to do things?

[hexed pebble]

so if the color of the ball is the same as the color of another ball you add them together

and if not you just add it to the box

[still moat]

if you are struggling with solving such exercises, I would suggest to go to basics and re-learn the concepts of it. There is great book for it called - an introduction to programming using python.

when I was starting to solve problems on leetcode, I would struggle a lot, with the python language itself, I would know how to solve the questions in real world, like on paper, but not with code, and once I read the book and solved the tasks in the book, it easier.

so your question looks like one from leetcode. so thats my take for your question.

[hollow kite]

Which two balls? Just looking at any two random balls once is enough to do it? Do you have to look at all possible combinations multiple times each?

[hexed pebble]

so you have to look at the balls of the first box and the first box, and if you see that the ball or balls of the first box has/have the same color as the balls of the second box you add them together

[hexed pebble]

hmm I see, I am struggling with the problems myself

[still moat]

I see

[hollow kite]

Try to write that as a Python function now

[hexed pebble]

im actually still confused thoug

[still moat]

are the inputs int:int ?

[final nimbus]

you pretty much just make the sum of how many balls in this case are the same, u have 2 greens on the left and 2 greens on the right, so 2 per dictionary. translates to {'green': 4}

and so on with all of the others

[hexed pebble]

yes

[final nimbus]

if u want i made a code example for your case

[hexed pebble]

I want to be able to understand how to think like it keeps demotivating me because I really don’t know how to think for programming exercises

[still moat]

I would say it will not help. He needs to write the code himself. and first he needs to solve it in his head and than implement it in code

[final nimbus]

well tbh I kinda felt the same way when I started but hey even if I sometimes struggled for like several minutes to hours but at some point end up figuring it out

thats where u get satisfaction

and get better

[final nimbus]

thats why I didnt directly paste the code

[still moat]

ah ok ok)

[hexed pebble]

yeah but I also don’t have a lot of time left for my exam too yk

I like this

[final nimbus]

ooh if its for an exam thats another topic then

[hexed pebble]

but I just feel like I am not improving

Even doing a ton of exercises alr

[hollow kite]

you have to format instructions in small, atomic steps that are so simple, isolated and leave no room for ambiguity, even beyond the point of just "leave no confusion" or "nobody could possibly misunderstand them", into "you can turn off your brain and do what's written in the instructions and it'll work"

[still moat]

another thing that could help is writing down the inputs in paper and trying to solve it there, like step by step, thus you will have the solution on your head, and you can try to implement it to code

[hollow kite]

so you have to look at the balls of the first box and the first box, and if you see that the ball or balls of the first box has/have the same color as the balls of the second box you add them together
instead of abstract instructions like "look at the balls", "see if ... has same color", "add them together", you should try to write more clear instructions like

• Look at each ball in the first box and pick it up in your left hand
• • Look at each other ball in the first box and pick it up in your right hand
• • • Compare if the balls in your hands have the same color
• • • • If so, put the ball in your right hand in the new box
• • • • Otherwise, put the ball in your right hand back where you got it from
• • Put the ball in your left hand in the new box

[hexed pebble]

I see what you’re trying to say yeah I have tried it but sometimes I really really don’t know how to start or I just get stuck

[hexed pebble]

Ah that’s what you meant ya

[hollow kite]

try to convert that to a function, then modify the instructions to take into account the second box, then adjust the function based on the new instructions (in that order)

(that way it's looking at the boxes in a way closer to lists of strings than dictionaries of string -> integers though)

[stiff ice]

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