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Welcome to Bookbot

This is (perhaps?) your first ever Python project, and almost certainly your first one on Boot.dev. Congratulations!

We're building Book Bot - a Python program that analyzes novels and prints a statistical report of the word and character usage found within. Our learning goals are to:

  • Configure a professional Python development environment on your local computer
  • Practice building a full project from scratch
  • Learn how to use a professional code editor (VS Code)

Here's a quick demo (you might want to fullscreen):

Click to play video

for Windows Users

Our automated tests run in Linux/macOS environments. If you're on Windows, run the Boot.dev CLI from WSL2, not a plain Windows terminal.

Boot.dev CLI

Throughout this course, you'll be using the Boot.dev CLI to run our tests (which are just CLI commands) against your local environment. Install it now if you don't already have it. All the instructions and troubleshooting info are on the GitHub page.

Make sure the Boot.dev CLI install worked:

bootdev --version

If you're stuck, reach out in the help forums of the Discord.

Once the bootdev command is working, log in and follow the instructions:

bootdev login

Run vs. Submit

Lessons have a series of commands that run on your local machine, and tests that check the results. There are two modes for running commands with the CLI: run and submit.

  1. bootdev run <id>: Runs the commands and shows the results. This is useful for debugging, but it won't tell you explicitly whether you've passed the tests.
  2. bootdev run <id> -s: Runs the commands in submit mode and gives you pass/fail feedback. On success, it also marks the lesson as complete on the website.

On some lessons, failed submissions can affect your sharpshooter spree. On others, there's no penalty on failure. Read each lesson's instructions carefully and follow the submit flow it asks for.

You can copy the commands with the lesson ID ready to go from the test panel.

Assignment

Once you have the CLI installed and you're logged in, copy and paste the submit command from the right into your terminal and execute it. There's no penalty on failure for this lesson.