Cardiff School of Computer Science and Informatics
Coursework Assessment Pro-forma
Module Code: CMT115
Module Title: Programming Coursework Using Python
Assessment Title: Written Assessment
Date Set: 22nd October 2019
Submission date and Time: 9th December 2019 at 9:30AM
Return Date: 13th January 2020
This coursework is worth 60% of the total marks available for this module.
If coursework is submitted late (and where there are no extenuating
circumstances):
1. If the assessment is submitted no later than 24 hours after the deadline,
the mark for the assessment will be capped at the minimum pass mark;
2. If the assessment is submitted more than 24 hours after the deadline,
a mark of 0 will be given for the assessment.
Your submission must include the official Coursework Submission Cover
sheet, which can be found here:
https://docs.cs.cf.ac.uk/downloads/coursework/Coversheet.pdf
Submission Instructions
Description Type Name
Cover sheet One pdf file [Student number].pdf
Code for Q1 One Python file Q1 [Student number].py
Code for Q2 One Python file Q2 [Student number].py
Any code submitted will be run on a system equivalent to that available
on the laptops provided to the students, using Python3, and must be submitted
as stipulated in the instructions above. The code should run without
any change.
Any deviation from the submission instructions above (including the
number and types of files submitted) may result in a mark of zero for the
assessment or question part.
Assignment
This coursework asks you to simulate a simple processing system and generate
the data for the simulation. The processing system is comprised of
three identical processors that process randomly generated tasks.
In the following, a description of the simulation data and of the system
is given.
Simulation Data
The data required to run the simulation represents different tasks that need
to be carried out by a processor. Each task is characterised by the following
properties.
ID : A string of six characters. Each character is randomly chosen (uniform
probability) from letters (’a’-’z’ and ’A’-’Z’), digits (’0’-’9’) and some
special characters (’@’, ’ ’, ’#’, ’*’, ’-’, and ’&’).
Arrival : A random real value generated by a uniform distribution from 0
to 100.
Duration : A random value generated by an exponential distribution of
parameter 1, rounded up.
Simulated System
The system is comprised of a clock and three identical processors.
At the beginning, the clock is set to zero and the processors are not
busy and are, therefore, available. The following message is displayed in the
console:
** SYSTEM INITIALISED **
As the clock advances, the tasks enter the system at their specified arrival
time. In the rare eventuality of multiple tasks arriving at the same time,
the processing order is indifferent and the tasks are processed one at the
time. Without loss of generality, from now on it is assumed that only one
task enters the system.
When a task enters the system, the following message is displayed:
2
** [CLOCK] : Task [TASK ID] with duration [TASK DURATION] enters
the system.
where [CLOCK] is the current clock’s value, [TASK ID] is the incumbent
task’s ID and [TASK DURATION] is its duration.
Next, the system checks the ID of the entering task. If the ID does not
satisfy at least 3 of the following rules, the task is automatically discarded:
• At least one lowercase letter.
• At least one uppercase letter.
• At least one digit.
• At least one among the special characters.
If a task is discarded, the following message is displayed:
** Task [TASK ID] unfeasible and discarded.
Otherwise, if the task’s ID passes the filter, the following message is displayed:
** Task [TASK ID] accepted.
Then, the task needs to be assigned to a processor. If a processor is
available, then the task is assigned to it, the processor is busy for the whole
duration of the task and it becomes available when it ends. Otherwise,
the task must be put on hold and assigned to the first available processor
according to a FIFO strategy.
When a task is put on hold the message displayed is:
** Task [TASK ID] on hold.
On the other hand, when a task is assigned to a processor the following
message is displayed:
** [CLOCK] : Task [TASK ID] assigned to processor [PROCESSOR #].
where [PROCESSOR #] is the processor number, i.e., either 1, 2 or 3.
When a task is completed, the message displayed is:
** [CLOCK] : Task [TASK ID] completed.
Finally, when all the tasks have been processed and completed, the simulation
ends and the following message is displayed:
** [CLOCK] : SIMULATION COMPLETED. **
Questions
Provide code to answer the questions below.
1. Write the code that randomly generates a simulation dataset, according
to the description provided above. A simulation dataset is
comprised of 100 tasks. The code must store the dataset in an SQL
database (using sqlite3). Provide the code that creates the SQL database
in Python. Please note that the submission does not include any
database.
2. Write the code that simulates the processing system according to the
description provided above. The simulator should acquire the simulation
dataset (tasks) from an SQL database (built using sqlite3) and
store it in a queue. The system check on the task IDs must be carried
out using regular expressions. At each step of the simulation, the
simulation clock should be updated to the next significant event, e.g.,
task arrival, task processing completion.
Learning Outcomes Assessed
• Use the Python programming language to complete programming tasks.
• Demonstrate familiarity with basic programming concepts and data
structures
• Implement Abstract Data Structures in an Object-Oriented style
• Apply regular expressions.
• Design, implement and utilise relational databases.
Criteria for assessment
Credit will be awarded against the criteria of functionality and code quality:
Functionality: Does the code perform the required task correctly and accurately?
Code quality: Is the code elegant and well-written; easy to run; simplified
by the use of built-in languages features where appropriate; readable
and easy to follow; properly commented? Are appropriate functions
defined and written to enable reuse?
The mark breakdown for each part is given in the following.
Question 1
• Functionality: Correct generation of tasks’ properties. 10 marks
• Functionality: Correct creation of SQL database and storage of tasks.
5 marks
• Code quality. 5 marks
Question 2
• Functionality: Correct loading of dataset from SQL database. 5 marks
• Functionality: Correct system check on task IDs. 5 marks
• Functionality: Correct use of data structures. 5 marks
• Functionality: Correct execution of the simulation and console outputs.
15 marks
• Functionality: Parsimonious clock update. 5 marks
• Code quality. 5 marks
For each item evaluated, partial marks can be assigned as illustrated in
the following table.
Distinction
(70-100%)
Merit (60-69%) Pass (50-59%) Fail (0-49%)
Functionality Fully working
Feedback on your coursework will address the above criteria.
Individual feedback will be returned by the end of week 12.
Group feedback will be provided in the revision lecture in week 12 and
via model solutions directly after all student submissions have been made.