Crispo - Excel Challenge 29 2024

excel-challenges
weekly-exercises
Easy Sunday Excel Challenge
Published

July 21, 2024

Illustration for Crispo - Excel Challenge 29 2024

Challenge Description

Easy Sunday Excel Challenge

⭐ ⭐Assume Start (1st of Month) & End (Last day of Month)

Solutions

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)

path = "files/Excel Challange 21st July.xlsx"
input = read_excel(path, range = "D2:F6")
test  = read_excel(path, range = "G2:H6")

result = input %>%
  mutate(month = match(`Expected Start Month`, month.name),
         `Start Date` = make_date(year(now()), month, 1)) %>%
  mutate(`End Date` = `Start Date` + months(`Duration (Months)`)- days(1)) %>%
  select(`Start Date`, `End Date`) %>%
  mutate(across(everything(), as.POSIXct)) 

identical(result, test)
# [1] TRUE

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook range needed for the challenge

    • Builds the intermediate helper columns that drive the final answer

  • 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
import datetime
import calendar

path = "files/Excel Challange 21st July.xlsx"
input_data = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="D:F", skiprows=1, nrows=4)
test = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="G:H", skiprows=1, nrows=4)

month_dict = {month: index for index, month in enumerate(calendar.month_name) if month}

result = input_data.copy()
result['Expected Start Month'] = result['Expected Start Month'].str.strip() # May had extra space at the end :D
result['month'] = result['Expected Start Month'].apply(lambda x: month_dict[x])
result['Start Date'] = result.apply(lambda row: datetime.datetime(datetime.datetime.now().year, row['month'], 1), axis=1)
result['End Date'] = result.apply(lambda row: row['Start Date'] + pd.DateOffset(months=row['Duration (Months)']) - pd.DateOffset(days=1), axis=1)
result = result[['Start Date', 'End Date']].apply(pd.to_datetime)

print(result.equals(test))  # True

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook range needed for the challenge

    • Applies the rule iteratively until the output is complete

  • 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.