Omid - Challenge 125

data-challenges
advanced-exercises
🔰 Result Question ID M5 MN1 PQ145 RS802 FF201
Published

March 24, 2026

Illustration for Omid - Challenge 125

Challenge Description

🔰 Result Question ID M5 MN1 PQ145 RS802 FF201

Solutions

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)

path = "files/CH-125 Pad middle.xlsx"
input = read_excel(path, range = "B2:B9")
test  = read_excel(path, range = "D2:D9")

innix_pad = function(string) {
  letters = str_extract(string, "[A-Z]+")
  numbers = str_extract(string, "[0-9]+")
  pad_num = 6  - nchar(letters)
  return(paste0(letters, str_pad(numbers, pad_num, side = "left", pad = "0")))
}

result = input %>%
  mutate(ID = map_chr(ID, innix_pad))
all.equal(result, test)
#> [1] TRUE

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

    • Builds the intermediate columns that drive the final result

    • Parses the text patterns directly instead of relying on manual cleanup

  • Strengths:

    • The R solution stays close to the workbook rule and keeps the transformation compact.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • The code assumes the sheet structure and source ranges remain stable.

  • Gem:

    • The strongest part of the solution is choosing the right intermediate representation before shaping the final output.
import re
import pandas as pd

path = "CH-125 Pad middle.xlsx"
input = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="B", skiprows=1, nrows=8)
test = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="D", skiprows=1, nrows=8).rename(columns=lambda x: x.replace(".1", ""))

def innix_pad(string):
    letters, numbers = re.findall(r"[A-Z]+|[0-9]+", string)
    return f"{letters}{numbers.zfill(6 - len(letters))}"

input = input.map(innix_pad)

print(input.equals(test)) # True

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

    • Parses the text patterns directly instead of relying on manual cleanup

  • Strengths:

    • The Python version follows the same rule in a direct dataframe-oriented implementation.

  • Areas for Improvement:

    • The code assumes the workbook layout remains stable, so any sheet redesign would require small adjustments.

  • Gem:

    • The implementation stays close to the original workbook rule instead of adding unnecessary abstraction.

Difficulty Level

This task is moderate:

  • The core logic is clear, but the correct transformation pattern is not obvious from the raw input.

  • The challenge combines multiple reshaping, grouping, or parsing steps.