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Code the Dream

At Code the Dream, we envision a world in which tech innovation comes from all of us and benefits all of us.

Python Advanced Pre-Work

Thank you for applying to Code the Dream! To complete your application, submit this pre-work assignment following the instructions on this page.

Overview

This project demonstrates that you have the Python foundations needed for Python for Data Analysis. You’ll build a small command-line tool that fetches real data from a public API, processes it, and lets a user interact with it.

The requirements below describe what your finished project should do, but how you get there is up to you. Follow the outlined steps and plan before you code.

Check out the rubric before diving into the project.

Step 1 – Choose an API

Choose one of the three options below. All are free, require no API key, and return data that works well for this project.

Option 1: Countries (countries.dev)

A database of every country in the world, with data on population, area, region, languages, capital city, and more.

  • Base endpoint: https://countries.dev/countries
  • CLI ideas: filter countries by region, find the largest or most populous country, compare two countries side by side
  • Docs: https://countries.dev/docs

A search API for books and authors. Query by author, title, or subject and get a list of matching books with publication year, subject tags, and page count.

  • Base endpoint: https://openlibrary.org/search.json?author=tolkien
  • CLI ideas: search for books by author or subject, filter by decade, look up a specific title
  • Docs: https://openlibrary.org/developers/api

Option 3: PokeAPI

A complete Pokémon database with stats (HP, attack, defense, speed, special attack, special defense), types, and abilities for every Pokémon.

  • Base endpoint: https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/pokemon/{name} (look up one Pokémon at a time by name)
  • CLI ideas: look up a Pokémon by name, compare the stats of two Pokémon, filter a list by type
  • Docs: https://pokeapi.co/docs/v2

Note: Unlike the other two options, PokeAPI requires a separate HTTP request for each Pokémon you want data on. This is a common real-world API pattern, but it’s worth knowing before you start. Look up “looping API requests Python” if you haven’t done this before.

Step 2 – Explore Your API

Open your API’s base URL directly in a browser and read the raw JSON response before opening your code editor. You’re looking to answer four questions:

  1. Is the top-level response a list, or a dict with a list inside it?
  2. What fields does each record have?
  3. Are any fields nested — dicts inside dicts, or lists inside dicts?
  4. Are any fields missing or null for some records?

Write your answers down. You’ll use them in the next step.

Tip: Install a browser extension like JSON Formatter to make raw JSON easier to read.

Step 3 – Plan Your Project

Before writing any code, write a one-paragraph description of what your finished tool will do. Be specific: what input will the user provide, what data will come back, and how will it be formatted? For example:

“A user runs the program and is prompted to enter a region name. The tool fetches all countries from the countries.dev API, filters to those in the matching region, and prints each country’s name, population, and area in a readable format. If the user enters an empty string or a region with no matches, the program prints a helpful message instead of crashing.”

Once you’ve written your description, check it against the rubric. Ask yourself:

  • Does my plan use at least 3 fields from the API?
  • Does it include at least one meaningful user interaction?
  • Have I accounted for at least two error cases?
  • Will my plan naturally lead to organized, modular code, or am I planning to put everything in main()?

If your plan doesn’t satisfy the rubric on paper, it won’t satisfy it in code. Adjust before you start.

Step 4 – Build

API Integration

  • Fetch live data using the requests library
  • Parse the response into a list of dictionaries
  • Use at least 3 fields from the API in your program

CLI Functionality

  • Accept user input via input() or argparse
  • Implement at least one meaningful interaction: filtering by a field, looking up a specific record, or comparing two records side by side
  • Display results in readable, formatted output — not raw dictionary output

Error Handling

  • Wrap network calls in try/except blocks
  • Handle unexpected user input (empty input, no matching results, invalid types where applicable) without crashing

Code Quality

  • Organize logic into functions with single responsibilities
  • Avoid putting everything in main(). Fetching, processing, and displaying should be separate functions

Deliverables

A GitHub repository containing:

  • main.py and any supporting modules
  • requirements.txt
  • README.md describing what your tool does, which API you used, and how to run it

Step 5 – Submit

Once you are done, confirm that your project meets the rubric requirements, then use the form below to submit: