WIP draft of pairs-and-dicts concept

[colinleach]

The inventory-management exercise from Python might work with this.

[depial]

I took a quick look at the inventory-management exercise, and I think it's a great fit for the topic. Everything else also looks good!

Edit: I just realized that inventory-management is implemented how I would have done it so ignore the comment below :D

Just a side note: I might have written inventory-management a little differently so people could get the chance to use the get method (I don't know why I like that method so much).

[BethanyG]

@depial -- as the author of both Inventory Management (dictionaries) and Mecha Munch Management (dictionary methods) in Python, I am going to chime in here.

I, too think dict.get() is fabulous, but there was so much to go over in dictionaries that we moved get() to the follow-on exercise that covered methods. Both exercises are very very similar, but Mecha Much requires the student to do a bit more thinking around nested dictionaries and other data structures within a dictionary, as well as working with creation and access methods.

Edit: Just saw your note. ;-) These decisions are all difficult when planning a syllabus! It is really hard not to have enormous scope creep -- especially in early concepts and data structures.

[colinleach]

I don't currently have plans for Dict methods. I'll need to look into it, but I suspect there may be fewer in Julia than in Python. Or maybe it's just the functions vs object-method difference that makes them less visibly in Julia (plus Python being at least a decade ahead on documentation!).

Whatever, writing concepts is much easier than finding good exercises, so if we can bring in Mecha Munch Management I'm cool with it.

[depial]

@BethanyG Thanks! You've cleared up the only lingering question (about scope) I'd had about this one.

@colinleach I wouldn't say it's a high priority to do the dictionary methods concept, but it sounds interesting if not for only my thinking Julia's get! and pop! add some fun functionality.

[colinleach]

Let's remember that we should maybe approve/merge #809 before submitting more exercises. That would make our job easier (or at least quicker).

[depial]

@colinleach I started a review on PR #809 with a comment. I'm not sure if you had any other input on that though

[colinleach]

I started a review on #809 with a comment

Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. The only comment I can see in that PR is from Bethany.

No other input, so I assume silence implies consent in this context.

[depial]

I've made another comment with a picture of the first review. Can you see that one?