jimflores5 / instant_nerdle_class_project

Instant Nerdle Project

This repository contains two applications: A console app and a Flask application. The main branch contains the web app, while the console-app branch contains the terminal application.

Background

Many students are/were into the Wordle fad, and one adaptation of this game is Nerdle. Nerdle works just like Wordle, but instead of letters, players must arrange numbers and mathematical operators (+-*/=) to create a true expression (e.g. 9 - 12/4 = 6).

An adaptation to the adaptation is Instant Nerdle (https://instant.nerdlegame.com/). In this case, players know all the numbers and operators, but not their correct order. Players get one attempt to enter the correct equation.

Project

Instant Nerdle is a great example of algorithmic thinking! This could serve as a nice culminating project for your coding class.

1. If possible, play a round of Instant Nerdle with your students, then identify the goal of the project - to write a program that solves any Instant Nerdle puzzle!
2. Ask your students to brainstorm ideas about what steps their program needs to take, the order for those steps, how to collect user input, etc.
3. Watch in amazement as your students code many different ways to accomplish the task!

Note

Python has an eval() function that will evaluate an equation entered as a string (e.g. '2 + 3 * 5'). However, spend time in class emphasizing why using eval() is a BAD idea, since it severely compromises the security of the program.

Flask Setup

This repository provides a rough solution for the project. To run the Flask application, you will need to create a virtual environment, activate it, and then install Flask.

For this project, I used nerdle-env as the environment name, which matches the first line in the .gitignore file. Feel free to change this as you see fit!

After cloning this repo, use the command line interface to navigate into the project folder, then enter the following commands.

Mac

python3 -m venv nerdle-env
. nerdle-env/bin/activate
pip3 install Flask

Windows (GitBash)

py -3 -m venv nerdle-env
. nerdle-env/Scripts/activate
pip install Flask