Assignments > Project 1: UNCA Course Lookup

Project overview

As a class, you will build a terminal app for searching UNCA course sections and planning a schedule. The app uses Python and Textual. You will begin with small, independent tasks, then connect those pieces to the app.

The starter project is in the project01-fall2026 repository. Find tasks in the issue tracker and read the README for setup and a preview of the app.

1. What you are required to do

Complete three Round 1 issues and submit one pull request (PR) for each issue. Each PR must implement its issue and include tests. Work on one issue at a time, in your own branch. Do not edit another student’s files or another issue’s files unless your instructor asks you to.

Claim an issue

1. Open the project’s GitHub Issues page.
2. Filter by the “Round” label (for the first round, select Round 1).
3. Choose an issue that has no assignee. Read its requirements and confirm it is still unassigned before claiming it.
4. Assign the issue to yourself. If GitHub will not let you assign it, comment that you want to claim it and ask your instructor to assign it.
5. Start as soon as possible. Open a finished, review-ready PR within 7 calendar days of claiming the issue. If you are blocked, comment on the issue before the 7 days are up and explain what you tried and what is blocking you.
   • If you do not open a review-ready PR within 7 days, the instructor may unassign the issue so another student can claim it. Keep the issue updated as you work.

All PRs must be submitted, approved, and merged into main by the deadline

These are suggested checkpoints to help you make steady progress:

PR	Suggested submission date
First PR	Before Thursday, October 8, 2026
Second PR	Before Thursday, October 15, 2026
Third PR	Before Thursday, October 22, 2026

Hard deadline: Tuesday, October 27, 2026. All three PRs must be approved and merged into main by this date. Therefore, Oct 23 is the very last day you should be submitting to allow for me to review your code, provide comments if necessary, and allow you to merge. A PR is not complete until it is ready for review (all tests and linters pass). If you are getting stuck, it is your responsibility to attend office hours and ask questions – most problems are small, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. This stuff can be confusing!

2. Get started

1. Accept the GitHub assignment and open your team’s repository.
2. Follow the setup steps in that repository’s README.
3. Read your assigned issue and the relevant sections of docs/contracts.md.
4. Read course_lookup/tui/README.md for a widget issue.
5. Start a branch from the latest main. Use one branch per issue and include your name, such as issue-14-<your_name>. Do not commit directly to main.

For your first issue, start with:

git checkout main
git pull
git checkout -b issue-14-<your_name>

Replace the example branch name with one for your issue and your name.

3. Start each work day by saving and updating your branch

Before you begin work each day, save any changes from your last session in a commit on your issue branch. Then update your branch with the latest main:

git status
git add path/to/your/changed_file.py path/to/your/test_file.py
git commit -m "Work on issue 14"
git checkout main
git pull
git checkout issue-14-<your_name>
git rebase main

Replace the example file paths, issue number, and branch name with your own. If git status shows no changes to commit, skip git add and git commit; do not make an empty commit. Run these commands from the project repository. If a rebase reports conflicts, resolve them, stage the resolved files, and run git rebase --continue. If you have already pushed this branch to GitHub, update it after rebasing with git push --force-with-lease. Ask your instructor for help if you are unsure how to resolve a conflict.

4. Complete and check your issue

• Follow the acceptance criteria in your issue.

• Add tests in the test file named in your issue. Use make_course to build test courses and cover normal behavior, edge cases, and unknown data where relevant.

• Run your test file while you work. For example:

  poetry run pytest tests/test_filters_identity.py

• Before opening a PR, run the full test suite and both code checks from the README:

  poetry run pytest
  poetry run black --check course_lookup tests
  poetry run flake8 course_lookup tests

• Fix any failures before you submit. If Black reports formatting changes, run poetry run black course_lookup tests, then run all three checks again.

5. Submit a pull request

Use this checklist for each issue:

## What changed
Describe the code change.

## Why
Explain how it meets the issue requirements.

## How I tested it
List the tests and checks you ran, and why those test cases cover the behavior.

## Issue
Closes #14

Do not merge your PR unless your instructor tells you to. The instructor reviews and merges the work. See CONTRIBUTING.md in the project repository for the complete PR instructions.

Sarah will review each review-ready PR within two business days. If a PR needs revisions, Sarah will review your updated PR within two business. Submitting a PR is not the same thing as completing the PR. Completeness is necessary to receive any credit.

6. AI and outside-help policy

You may use AI tools such as ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot to:

• Explain a Python concept, an error message, or a part of the starter code.
• Brainstorm an approach or suggest edge cases for your tests.
• Review code you wrote and point out possible problems.
• Generate a small example or code snippet that you adapt and understand.

You may discuss concepts and debugging strategies with classmates, but each student must write and understand their own issue’s implementation and tests.

Do not ask an AI tool or another person to complete the whole issue, generate the entire implementation or test suite, or make design decisions you cannot explain. Do not submit code you cannot explain. You are responsible for checking that all suggestions are correct and that your tests and code checks pass.

If you use an AI tool, disclose it in your PR description: name the tool and briefly say what you used it for (for example, “ChatGPT helped me understand a pytest error; I wrote and verified the fix”). If you did not use AI, write “AI assistance: none.” Be prepared to explain your code and tests during review.

Grading

• Your project grade is based on completing your three issues, the quality and correctness of your code and tests, and your contribution to the class app.
• Submit your PRs by the suggested checkpoints when possible.
• This is a hard deadline and no late work will be accepted.
• This project is worth 20% of your grade.