Crispo - Excel Challenge 52 2024

excel-challenges
weekly-exercises
Easy Sunday Excel Challenge
Published

December 29, 2024

Illustration for Crispo - Excel Challenge 52 2024

Challenge Description

Easy Sunday Excel Challenge

⭐ ⭐Split the group of texts into single characters

Solutions

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)

path = "files/Excel Challenge 29th Dec.xlsx"
input = read_excel(path, range = "B2:B9")
test  = read_excel(path, range = "D2:D15")

result = input %>%
  separate_rows(Problem, sep = "") %>%
  filter(Problem != "")

all.equal(result, test, check.attributes = FALSE)
#> [1] TRUE

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook range needed for the challenge

  • Strengths:

    • The R solution stays compact and mirrors the workbook logic closely.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • The code assumes the workbook layout and named ranges remain stable.

  • Gem:

    • The best part of the solution is choosing a tidy intermediate shape before producing the final answer.
import pandas as pd

path = "files/Excel Challenge 29th Dec.xlsx"
input = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="B", skiprows=1, nrows=8)
test = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="D", skiprows=1, nrows=14)

input = input.dropna().assign(Problem=input['Problem'].str.split('')).explode('Problem').query('Problem != ""').reset_index(drop=True)

print(input['Problem'].equals(test['Solution Required'])) # True

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook range needed for the challenge

    • Builds the intermediate helper columns that drive the final answer

  • Strengths:

    • The Python version keeps the same rule in a direct pandas-oriented workflow.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • As with the R version, any workbook layout change would require small adjustments.

  • Gem:

    • The implementation stays close to the stated challenge instead of adding unnecessary complexity.

Difficulty Level

This task is easy to moderate:

  • The business rule is readable, but the workbook still needs a few careful transformation steps.