Group 20 - gradecalculatorpy

Submitting Author: Chen Lin (@CChCheChen), Edward Yukun Zhang (@yukunzGIT), Shirley Zhang (@shlrley) All current maintainers: (@CChCheChen, @yukunzGIT, @shlrley) Package Name: gradecalculatorpy One-Line Description of Package: A python package to help you calculate your grade for a course, and what grade you need on an assignment to obtain a target overall course grade. Repository Link: https://github.com/UBC-MDS/gradecalculatorpy Version submitted: v1.0.0 Editor: TBD
Reviewer 1: Stephen Zaiatc
Reviewer 2: Elena Ganacheva Reviewer 3: Samson Bakos
Archive: TBD
Version accepted: TBD Date accepted (month/day/year): TBD

Description

Include a brief paragraph describing what your package does:

Scope

Please indicate which category or categories this package falls under:
- [ ] Data retrieval
- [ ] Data extraction
- [ ] Data munging
- [ ] Data deposition
- [ ] Reproducibility
- [ ] Geospatial
- [x] Education
- [ ] Data visualization*

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For all submissions, explain how the and why the package falls under the categories you indicated above. In your explanation, please address the following points (briefly, 1-2 sentences for each):
- Who is the target audience and what are scientific applications of this package?
  - Our target audience is students who would like to have an easy way to keep track of their grades for their courses, and be able to calculate the grades needed for assignments in order to obtain their goal final course grade.
  - Our package does not have many scientific applications, as it is mainly intended for an individual's personal use. However, one could use it to generate data which could be used to create visualizations/look at trends (i.e looking at a student's assignment grades over time).
- Are there other Python packages that accomplish the same thing? If so, how does yours differ?
  - There is a package called schoolutils which allows the user to enter course assignments and grades, and to calculate their current grade for the course. However, it does not provide a function which calculates what grade a student would need on a final assignment to get a target course grade.
  - There is also a package called uol-grades-calculator, however it performs grade calculations specific to courses in the BSc Computer Science degree at the University of London. Our package on the other hand is generalizable to any course in any university.
  - Finally, there is a package called GradeBot, which includes a function that allows you to find the grade you need on a final exam to get the grade you want. However it is not actively maintained and does not appear to be functional after you install it.
- If you made a pre-submission enquiry, please paste the link to the corresponding issue, forum post, or other discussion, or @tag the editor you contacted:
  - N/A

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Package Review

Please check off boxes as applicable, and elaborate in comments below. Your review is not limited to these topics, as described in the reviewer guide

[x] As the reviewer I confirm that there are no conflicts of interest for me to review this work (If you are unsure whether you are in conflict, please speak to your editor before starting your review).

Documentation

The package includes all the following forms of documentation:

[x] A statement of need clearly stating problems the software is designed to solve and its target audience in README.
[x] Installation instructions: for the development version of the package and any non-standard dependencies in README.
[x] Vignette(s) demonstrating major functionality that runs successfully locally.
[x] Function Documentation: for all user-facing functions.
[x] Examples for all user-facing functions.
Examples could be extended to show more outputs
[x] Community guidelines including contribution guidelines in the README or CONTRIBUTING.
[ ] Metadata including author(s), author e-mail(s), a url, and any other relevant metadata e.g., in a pyproject.toml file or elsewhere.
Author emails for contact missing

Readme file requirements The package meets the readme requirements below:

[x] Package has a README.md file in the root directory.

The README should include, from top to bottom:

[x] The package name
[ ] Badges for:
- [ ] Continuous integration and test coverage,
- [ ] Docs building (if you have a documentation website),
- [ ] A repostatus.org badge,
- [ ] Python versions supported,
- [ ] Current package version (on PyPI / Conda).
Badges are missing

NOTE: If the README has many more badges, you might want to consider using a table for badges: see this example. Such a table should be more wide than high. (Note that the a badge for pyOpenSci peer-review will be provided upon acceptance.)

[x] Short description of package goals.
[x] Package installation instructions
[ ] Any additional setup required to use the package (authentication tokens, etc.)
N/A?
[x] Descriptive links to all vignettes. If the package is small, there may only be a need for one vignette which could be placed in the README.md file.
- [x] Brief demonstration of package usage (as it makes sense - links to vignettes could also suffice here if package description is clear)
[x] Link to your documentation website.
[x] If applicable, how the package compares to other similar packages and/or how it relates to other packages in the scientific ecosystem.
[ ] Citation information

Usability

Reviewers are encouraged to submit suggestions (or pull requests) that will improve the usability of the package as a whole. Package structure should follow general community best-practices. In general please consider whether:

[x] Package documentation is clear and easy to find and use.
[x] The need for the package is clear
[x] All functions have documentation and associated examples for use
[x] The package is easy to install

Functionality

[x] Installation: Installation succeeds as documented.
[x] Functionality: Any functional claims of the software been confirmed.
[x] Performance: Any performance claims of the software been confirmed.
[ ] Automated tests: Tests cover essential functions of the package and a reasonable range of inputs and conditions. All tests pass on the local machine.
According to documentation tests only work on Windows OS due to pathnames
[x] Continuous Integration: Has continuous integration setup (We suggest using Github actions but any CI platform is acceptable for review)
[x] Packaging guidelines: The package conforms to the pyOpenSci packaging guidelines. A few notable highlights to look at:
- [x] Package supports modern versions of Python and not End of life versions.
- [x] Code format is standard throughout package and follows PEP 8 guidelines (CI tests for linting pass)

For packages also submitting to JOSS

N/A

[ ] The package has an obvious research application according to JOSS's definition in their submission requirements.

Note: Be sure to check this carefully, as JOSS's submission requirements and scope differ from pyOpenSci's in terms of what types of packages are accepted.

The package contains a paper.md matching JOSS's requirements with:

[ ] A short summary describing the high-level functionality of the software
[ ] Authors: A list of authors with their affiliations
[ ] A statement of need clearly stating problems the software is designed to solve and its target audience.
[ ] References: With DOIs for all those that have one (e.g. papers, datasets, software).

Final approval (post-review)

[ ] The author has responded to my review and made changes to my satisfaction. I recommend approving this package.

Estimated hours spent reviewing:

~1hr

Review Comments

Solid package overall with good, useful functionality
Demonstration notebook (used in the presentation I believe) was very useful as additional documentation
(optional) examples in documentation could be extended to show outputs if possible, or at least description of expected outputs for functions that write to files. Use cases/ syntax is shown but not expected outputs
(optional) include emails for contact in pyproject.toml
ReadMe badges are missing
Citation info missing
Extend testing to work for Mac OS, i.e. include an if statement for each main-stream OS with a logical statement that detects OS (something like this https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1854/how-to-identify-which-os-python-is-running-on)

Package Review

Please check off boxes as applicable, and elaborate in comments below. Your review is not limited to these topics, as described in the reviewer guide

[x] As the reviewer I confirm that there are no conflicts of interest for me to review this work (If you are unsure whether you are in conflict, please speak to your editor before starting your review).

Documentation

The package includes all the following forms of documentation:

[x] A statement of need clearly stating problems the software is designed to solve and its target audience in README.
[x] Installation instructions: for the development version of the package and any non-standard dependencies in README.
[x] Vignette(s) demonstrating major functionality that runs successfully locally.
[x] Function Documentation: for all user-facing functions.
[x] Examples for all user-facing functions.
[x] Community guidelines including contribution guidelines in the README or CONTRIBUTING.
[ ] Metadata including author(s), author e-mail(s), a url, and any other relevant metadata e.g., in a pyproject.toml file or elsewhere.

Readme file requirements The package meets the readme requirements below:

[x] Package has a README.md file in the root directory.

The README should include, from top to bottom:

[x] The package name
[ ] Badges for:
- [ ] Continuous integration and test coverage,
- [ ] Docs building (if you have a documentation website),
- [ ] A repostatus.org badge,
- [ ] Python versions supported,
- [ ] Current package version (on PyPI / Conda).

[x] Short description of package goals.
[x] Package installation instructions
[ ] Any additional setup required to use the package (authentication tokens, etc.)
[x] Descriptive links to all vignettes. If the package is small, there may only be a need for one vignette which could be placed in the README.md file.
- [x] Brief demonstration of package usage (as it makes sense - links to vignettes could also suffice here if package description is clear)
[x] Link to your documentation website.
[x] If applicable, how the package compares to other similar packages and/or how it relates to other packages in the scientific ecosystem.
[ ] Citation information

Usability

[x] Package documentation is clear and easy to find and use.
[x] The need for the package is clear
[x] All functions have documentation and associated examples for use
[x] The package is easy to install

Functionality

[x] Installation: Installation succeeds as documented.
[x] Functionality: Any functional claims of the software been confirmed.
[x] Performance: Any performance claims of the software been confirmed.
[ ] Automated tests: Tests cover essential functions of the package and a reasonable range of inputs and conditions. All tests pass on the local machine.
[x] Continuous Integration: Has continuous integration setup (We suggest using Github actions but any CI platform is acceptable for review)
[x] Packaging guidelines: The package conforms to the pyOpenSci packaging guidelines. A few notable highlights to look at:
- [x] Package supports modern versions of Python and not End of life versions.
- [x] Code format is standard throughout package and follows PEP 8 guidelines (CI tests for linting pass)

For packages also submitting to JOSS N/A

[ ] The package has an obvious research application according to JOSS's definition in their submission requirements.

Note: Be sure to check this carefully, as JOSS's submission requirements and scope differ from pyOpenSci's in terms of what types of packages are accepted.

The package contains a paper.md matching JOSS's requirements with:

[ ] A short summary describing the high-level functionality of the software
[ ] Authors: A list of authors with their affiliations
[ ] A statement of need clearly stating problems the software is designed to solve and its target audience.
[ ] References: With DOIs for all those that have one (e.g. papers, datasets, software).

Final approval (post-review)

[ ] The author has responded to my review and made changes to my satisfaction. I recommend approving this package.

Estimated hours spent reviewing:

Review Comments

Package is specific and easy to understand though the use case a little limited.
It seems like the package only works on Windows which is a big limitation
It seems like the vignette on ReadthDocs has an error in it
I like the interactive aspect so people without much coding knowledge can also use it
I am unclear why csvs were chosen instead of dataframes with the option to export/import

Package Review

Please check off boxes as applicable, and elaborate in comments below. Your review is not limited to these topics, as described in the reviewer guide

[x] As the reviewer I confirm that there are no conflicts of interest for me to review this work (If you are unsure whether you are in conflict, please speak to your editor before starting your review).

Documentation

The package includes all the following forms of documentation:

[x] A statement of need clearly stating problems the software is designed to solve and its target audience in README.
[x] Installation instructions: for the development version of the package and any non-standard dependencies in README.
[ ] Vignette(s) demonstrating major functionality that runs successfully locally.
[x] Function Documentation: for all user-facing functions.
[ ] Examples for all user-facing functions.
[x] Community guidelines including contribution guidelines in the README or CONTRIBUTING.
[x] Metadata including author(s), author e-mail(s), a url, and any other relevant metadata e.g., in a pyproject.toml file or elsewhere.

Readme file requirements The package meets the readme requirements below:

[x] Package has a README.md file in the root directory.

The README should include, from top to bottom:

[x] The package name
[ ] Badges for:
- [ ] Continuous integration and test coverage,
- [ ] Docs building (if you have a documentation website),
- [ ] A repostatus.org badge,
- [ ] Python versions supported,
- [ ] Current package version (on PyPI / Conda).

[x] Short description of package goals.
[x] Package installation instructions
[x] Any additional setup required to use the package (authentication tokens, etc.)
[ ] Descriptive links to all vignettes. If the package is small, there may only be a need for one vignette which could be placed in the README.md file.
- [ ] Brief demonstration of package usage (as it makes sense - links to vignettes could also suffice here if package description is clear)
[x] Link to your documentation website.
[x] If applicable, how the package compares to other similar packages and/or how it relates to other packages in the scientific ecosystem.
[ ] Citation information

Usability

[x] Package documentation is clear and easy to find and use.
[x] The need for the package is clear
[x] All functions have documentation and associated examples for use
[x] The package is easy to install

Functionality

[x] Installation: Installation succeeds as documented.
[x] Functionality: Any functional claims of the software been confirmed.
[x] Performance: Any performance claims of the software been confirmed.
[ ] Automated tests: Tests cover essential functions of the package and a reasonable range of inputs and conditions. All tests pass on the local machine.
[x] Continuous Integration: Has continuous integration setup (We suggest using Github actions but any CI platform is acceptable for review)
[x] Packaging guidelines: The package conforms to the pyOpenSci packaging guidelines. A few notable highlights to look at:
- [x] Package supports modern versions of Python and not End of life versions.
- [ ] Code format is standard throughout package and follows PEP 8 guidelines (CI tests for linting pass)

For packages also submitting to JOSS

[ ] The package has an obvious research application according to JOSS's definition in their submission requirements.

Note: Be sure to check this carefully, as JOSS's submission requirements and scope differ from pyOpenSci's in terms of what types of packages are accepted.

The package contains a paper.md matching JOSS's requirements with:

[ ] A short summary describing the high-level functionality of the software
[ ] Authors: A list of authors with their affiliations
[ ] A statement of need clearly stating problems the software is designed to solve and its target audience.
[ ] References: With DOIs for all those that have one (e.g. papers, datasets, software).

Final approval (post-review)

[ ] The author has responded to my review and made changes to my satisfaction. I recommend approving this package.

Estimated hours spent reviewing: 3

Review Comments

I had the pleasure to review this package. The use case is very relevant to students, and overall, the package did what it claims to do. There was sufficient documentation and the scripts were easy to comprehend. Well done!

Here are some constructive feedback as suggestions for improvement:

In the README file, the authors could provide more detailed examples of the UI and prompts, rather than just some sample function calls and "follow the prompts that show up on the screen". Examples of the format of the final output would be beneficial to the audience as well.
In the code of conduct, use an UBC email address instead of an UCLA email address.
Change the filename of "CONDUCT.md" to "CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md" so that it passes that line item in the Community Standards under the Insights tab of GitHub.
Change the filename of "LICENSE" to "LICENSE.md".
Suggestion: don't end every prompt with a question mark as it may not be grammatically correct, eg. "Input weight(%) of dsci524 component #1 as integer?"
Suggestion: when using update_assignment_grade(), if the component name doesn't exist in the course, an error message should be displayed, not simply ignoring the function call.
Suggestion: be consistent with the use of the words "component" and "assignment" as not all components are necessarily assignments. When using "construct_course()", it prompts for the names of each "component", but when updating a grade, the function used is called "update_assignment_grade()", and when "predict_final()" is called, the error message says "Please update all your assignment scores except the final."
The "predict_final()" function assumes that the last component is always the exam, which may not always be true in real life. Would be ideal if some flexibility could be permitted.

UBC-MDS / software-review-2023