Python Lab: Simple DBs

In this lab, you’ll be working on a simple “database” system consisting of dictionaries. The idea here is to understand some basic CRUD actions and how you can use data abstractions (dictionaries in this case) to represent redundant, similar data under a unified structure.

You’ll have to do some research about some Python syntax for this!

You can complete the Python lab by simply running your code and getting your outputs in the Jupyter notebook.

# Our "database" is a list of dictionaries, each representing a record (e.g., a student)
# Lists allow us to store multiple records in a single variable, making it easy to manage collections of data.
db = [
    {"name": "Alice", "age": 16, "grade": "A"},
    {"name": "Bob", "age": 17, "grade": "B"},
    {"name": "Charlie", "age": 16, "grade": "C"}
]

# Lists provide order and allow us to add, remove, or update records efficiently.
# Each element in the list is a dictionary, which abstracts the details of each student.

# Function to display all records
def display_db(database):
    print("All records in the list:")
    for i, record in enumerate(database):
        print(f"Index {i}: {record}")

# Function to add a new record (students: implement input and append logic)
def add_record(database):
    # TODO: Prompt user for name, age, and grade, then append to database (list)
    # Use list's append() method to add new records.
    name = input("Enter name: ")
    age = int(input("Enter age: "))
    grade = input("Enter grade: ")
    new_record = {"name": name, "age": age, "grade": grade}
    database.append(new_record)
    print("Record added.", new_record) 

# Function to find a record by name (students: implement search logic)
def find_record(database, search_name):
    # TODO: Search for a record with matching name and print it
    # You can loop through the list to find the matching dictionary.
    for record in database:
        if record["name"] == search_name:
            print("Record found:", record)
            return

# Function to update a record (students: implement update logic)
def update_record(database, search_name):
    # TODO: Find record by name and update its fields
    # Use list indexing to access and update the dictionary.
    for record in database:
        if record["name"] == search_name:
            new_age = int(input(f"Enter new age for {search_name} (current: {record['age']}): "))
            new_grade = input(f"Enter new grade for {search_name} (current: {record['grade']}): ")
            record["age"] = new_age
            record["grade"] = new_grade
            print("Record updated:", record)
            return

# Function to delete a record (students: implement delete logic)
def delete_record(database, search_name):
    # TODO: Remove record with matching name from database
    # Use list methods like remove() or del to delete a record.
    for record in database:
        if record["name"] == search_name:
            database.remove(record)
            print("Record deleted:", record)
            return

# Example usage
display_db(db)
# Students: Uncomment and complete the following as you implement
add_record(db)
find_record(db, "Alice")
update_record(db, "Bob")
delete_record(db, "Charlie")

All records in the list:
Index 0: {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 16, 'grade': 'A'}
Index 1: {'name': 'Bob', 'age': 17, 'grade': 'B'}
Index 2: {'name': 'Charlie', 'age': 16, 'grade': 'C'}
Record added. {'name': 'John', 'age': 66, 'grade': '35'}
Record found: {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 16, 'grade': 'A'}
Record updated: {'name': 'Bob', 'age': 18, 'grade': 'A'}
Record deleted: {'name': 'Charlie', 'age': 16, 'grade': 'C'}