Page 2 of 8~104 min topic

Data: tables and simple plots

Define the study table and plot input contract

Page 2 hardens the boundary around the study-hours table plus hours-vs-pass plot so bad inputs fail before the interesting algorithm runs.

~13 min this pageData contract

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Define what may enter

The accepted input remains: a small CSV with one learner per row (hours, passed). Keep parsing and normalization in functions that do not score, train, or call a model. That split lets a test fail the boundary without blaming the core logic. The user-facing decision stays: inspect typical hours, an extreme value, and the hours/pass relationship.

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Reject at the boundary

import pandas as pd
REQUIRED={'hours','passed'}
def load(path):
    df=pd.read_csv(path)
    missing=REQUIRED-set(df.columns)
    if missing: raise ValueError(missing)
    return df
print(sorted(REQUIRED))

Expected evidence: hours, passed. If the contract is silent on a bad value, later debugging will look like an algorithm bug when it is really a data bug.

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Keep transforms testable

Write one assertion for a neighboring valid input to the study table and plot so tightening the boundary does not over-reject. Document field names and types the way a teammate would need them on day two of data-tables-and-plots—not as comments you plan to delete.

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Lab notebook: name the fields

List every field in four-row study.csv with hours and passed columns and mark each as required, optional, or forbidden. Required fields must fail loudly when missing; optional fields need defaults you can quote in a test; forbidden fields (secrets, raw PII, path escapes) must never be accepted silently. This list is the contract for the study table and plot.

Add one sentence about encoding, units, or timezones if relevant to a small CSV with one learner per row (hours, passed). Contracts that ignore units create “correct” programs that still ship wrong decisions when someone tries to inspect typical hours, an extreme value, and the hours/pass relationship.

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Worked judgment

Write the error string you want for the most likely bad input. Prefer ValueError('threshold out of range')-style messages over generic invalid input. The contract’s job is to make wrong column names, or a plot that saves without axis labels harder to confuse with a model or algorithm bug later.

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Why this stage matters for the study table and plot

At the data contract stage for data-tables-and-plots, the job is narrower than finishing a product demo. You are creating one progressive evidence piece about four-row study.csv with hours and passed columns that later pages inherit without redefining success. Keep that fixture small enough to inspect by hand, keep outputs copy-pasteable as text, and refuse to narrate this baseline as if it were a production SLA: hand-computed mean of the four-row fixture.

For this page specifically, success looks like malformed inputs rejected with field-named errors while still centering the user decision to inspect typical hours, an extreme value, and the hours/pass relationship. If you cannot point to a file, command, or assertion that proves that for the study table and plot, stay on this page instead of advancing.

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Before you start

Why this matters

Invent one malformed input that the study-hours table plus hours-vs-pass plot might accidentally accept. Predict the exception or rejection message. After you run the contract code, compare your prediction with the real failure text.

In the wild

See how this idea shows up as a product and a company — then come back to the lesson. Skills transfer across vendors.

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Page assessment

Answer from memory. Completion is saved from this evidence, not from opening the next page.

1. Which malformed values die before core logic?
2. Can transform and prediction/search be tested separately?
3. Does the error name the violated field or shape?
4. Is the accepted input still exactly: a small CSV with one learner per row (hours, passed)?

All responses are required.