Omid - Challenge 209

data-challenges
advanced-exercises
🔰 Question International Business Machines Central Processing Unit Artificial Intelligence Power Query Power BI Text IBM
Published

March 24, 2026

Illustration for Omid - Challenge 209

Challenge Description

🔰 Question International Business Machines Central Processing Unit Artificial Intelligence Power Query Power BI Text IBM

Solutions

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)

path = "files/CH-209 Combining the columns.xlsx"
input = read_excel(path, range = "B2:B7")
test  = read_excel(path, range = "E2:E7")

result = input %>% 
  mutate(rn = row_number()) %>%
  separate_rows(Text, sep = " ") %>%
  mutate(Text = str_sub(Text, 1, 1)) %>%
  summarise(Text = paste(Text, collapse = ""), .by = rn) %>%
  select(-rn)

all.equal(result, test)
#> [1] TRUE

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

    • Aggregates or ranks values at the relevant grouping level

    • 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 pandas as pd

path = "CH-209 Combining the columns.xlsx"
input = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="B", skiprows=1, nrows=6)
test = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="E", skiprows=1, nrows=6).rename(columns=lambda col: col.split(".")[0] if "." in col else col)

input["Text"] = input["Text"].apply(lambda x: ''.join(w[0] for w in x.split()))
print(input.equals(test)) #True

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

    • Applies the rule iteratively until the output stabilizes

  • 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.