Omid - Challenge 320

data-challenges
advanced-exercises
🔰 Remove the initial caracters and zeoros to convert the IDs into numbers
Published

March 24, 2026

Illustration for Omid - Challenge 320

Challenge Description

🔰 Remove the initial caracters and zeoros to convert the IDs into numbers

Solutions

library(tidyverse)
library(readxl)

path = "files/300-399/320/CH-320 Text Cleaning.xlsx"
input = read_excel(path, range = "B1:B7")
test  = read_excel(path, range = "C1:C7")

result = input %>%
  transmute(`Result ID` = parse_number(`Question ID`))

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

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

  • 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 = "300-399/320/CH-320 Text Cleaning.xlsx"
input = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="B", nrows=7)
test = pd.read_excel(path, usecols="C", nrows=7)

result = pd.DataFrame({
    'Result ID': input.iloc[:, 0].str.extract(r'(\d+)').astype(int).iloc[:, 0]
})

print(result.equals(test)) # True

  • Logic:

    • Reads the workbook ranges needed for the challenge

  • 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 business rule is readable, but the workbook still requires careful implementation to reach the expected layout.