Programming Challenge: Holiday String Manipulation (Dec 26, 2024)

[Jessica Brown]

Objective:
Create a program that generates custom holiday messages by combining templates and user input. The program should also allow the user to shuffle the words for fun.

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Requirements:

1. The program should provide a set of predefined holiday message templates, such as:

   • "Happy {holiday}, {name}! May your {wish} come true this season!"
   • "Wishing you a {adjective} {holiday}, {name}. Stay {wish} and joyful!"

2. The program must:

   • Ask the user for inputs like the holiday name, their name, an adjective, and a wish.
   • Fill the templates with the user-provided data.
   • Display the final messages.

3. Add a "word shuffle" feature:

   • Randomly shuffle all the words in the final message and display it.

4. Ensure the program is interactive and user-friendly.

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Bonus Challenges:

1. Allow the user to save the generated messages to a text file.
2. Implement a "retry" option to allow the user to create another message without restarting the program.

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Example Output:

Choose a holiday template:
1. "Happy {holiday}, {name}! May your {wish} come true this season!"
2. "Wishing you a {adjective} {holiday}, {name}. Stay {wish} and joyful!"

Enter your choice: 1
Enter the holiday name: Christmas
Enter your name: Jessica
Enter an adjective: wonderful
Enter a wish: dreams

Generated Message:
"Happy Christmas, Jessica! May your dreams come true this season!"

Shuffled Words:
"come this May Jessica! true season dreams your Christmas, Happy"

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Programming Languages:

You can complete this challenge in any programming language of your choice. Share your solution once you're done, and I can review it or suggest improvements!

[Jessica Brown]

Here is an example of a solution in JavaScript:

 

const readline = require('readline');
const fs = require('fs');
const rl = readline.createInterface({
  input: process.stdin,
  output: process.stdout
});

const templates = [
  "Happy {holiday}, {name}! May your {wish} come true this season!",
  "Wishing you a {adjective} {holiday}, {name}. Stay {wish} and joyful!"
];

function getUserInput(prompt) {
  return new Promise((resolve) => {
    rl.question(prompt, (answer) => {
      resolve(answer);
    });
  });
}

function generateMessage(template, holiday, name, adjective, wish) {
  return template
    .replace('{holiday}', holiday)
    .replace('{name}', name)
    .replace('{adjective}', adjective)
    .replace('{wish}', wish);
}

function shuffleMessage(message) {
  const words = message.split(' ');
  for (let i = words.length - 1; i > 0; i--) {
    const j = Math.floor(Math.random() * (i + 1));
    [words[i], words[j]] = [words[j], words[i]];
  }
  return words.join(' ');
}

async function main() {
  while (true) {
    console.log("\nChoose a holiday template:");
    templates.forEach((template, index) => {
      console.log(`${index + 1}. ${template}`);
    });

    const choice = parseInt(await getUserInput("\nEnter your choice: "), 10);
    if (isNaN(choice) || choice < 1 || choice > templates.length) {
      console.log("Invalid choice. Please choose a valid template number.");
      continue;
    }

    const holiday = await getUserInput("Enter the holiday name: ");
    const name = await getUserInput("Enter your name: ");
    const adjective = await getUserInput("Enter an adjective: ");
    const wish = await getUserInput("Enter a wish: ");

    const message = generateMessage(templates[choice - 1], holiday, name, adjective, wish);

    console.log("\nGenerated Message:");
    console.log(message);

    console.log("\nShuffled Words:");
    console.log(shuffleMessage(message));

    const saveOption = await getUserInput("\nWould you like to save the message to a text file? (yes/no): ");
    if (saveOption.toLowerCase() === 'yes') {
      fs.appendFileSync("holiday_message.txt", message + "\n");
      console.log("Message saved to holiday_message.txt.");
    }

    const retry = await getUserInput("\nWould you like to create another message? (yes/no): ");
    if (retry.toLowerCase() !== 'yes') {
      console.log("\nThank you for using the Holiday Message Generator! Happy Holidays!");
      break;
    }
  }
  rl.close();
}

main();