diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 91a9b66b..ab9e02ee 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -7,16 +7,16 @@ Thank you so much for your interest in contributing to the Python track! **We a
`exercsim/Python` is one of the many tracks on [exercism][exercism-website]. This repo holds all the instructions, tests, code, & support files for Python *exercises* currently under development or implemented & available for students.
-Exercises are grouped into **concept** exercises which teach the [Python syllabus][python-syllabus], and **practice** exercises, which are unlocked by progressing in the syllabus tree. Practice exercises are open-ended, and can be used to practice concepts learned, try out new techniques, and _play_. These two exercise groupings can be found in the track [config.json][config-json], and under the `python/exercises` directory.
+Exercises are grouped into **concept** exercises which teach the [Python syllabus][python-syllabus], and **practice** exercises, which are unlocked by progressing in the syllabus tree. Concept exercises are constrained to a small set of language or syntax features. Practice exercises are open-ended, and can be used to practice concepts learned, try out new techniques, and _play_. These two exercise groupings can be found in the track [config.json][config-json], and under the `python/exercises` directory.
## π **Did you find a bug?**
-It's not uncommon that people discover typos, confusing directions, or incorrect implementations of certain tests or code examples. Or you might have a great suggestion for a hint to aid students (π ) , see optimizations for exemplar or test code, find some missing test cases to add, or want to correct factual and/or logical errors. Or maybe you have a great idea for an exercise or feature.
+It's not uncommon that people discover typos, confusing directions, or incorrect implementations of certain tests or code examples. Or you might have a great suggestion for a hint to aid students (π ) , see optimizations for exemplar or test code, find missing test cases to add, or want to correct factual and/or logical errors. Or maybe you have a great idea for an exercise or feature ( β ).
_Our track is always a work in progress!_ ππ
-Please π [Open an issue][open-an-issue] π , and let us know what you've found.
+Please π [Open an issue][open-an-issue] π , and let us know what you have found or suggest.
@@ -29,9 +29,9 @@ Please π [Open an issue][open-an-issue] π , and let us know wh
3οΈβ£ Contributions from our [help wanted][help-wanted] issue list,
4οΈβ£ Larger (_and previously agreed-upon_) contributions from recent & regular (_within the last 6 months_) contributors.
-When in doubt, π [Open an issue][open-an-issue] π. We will happily discuss your proposed change. π
+When in doubt, π [Open an issue][open-an-issue] π. We will happily discuss your proposed change. π
-But let's talk before you take a whole lot of time implementing anything.
+But let's talk before you take a whole lot of time or energy implementing anything.
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ But let's talk before you take a whole lot of time implementing anything.
β¨ π¦ Here is the good stuff:
-[Track Structure][exercism-track-structure] **|** [Tasks][exercism-tasks] **|** [Concepts][exercism-concepts] **|** [Concept Exercises][concept-exercises] **|** [Practice Exercises][practice-exercises] **|** [Presentation][exercise-presentation] **|** [ Style Guide for Writing][exercism-writing-style] **|** [Markdown Specification][exercism-markdown-specification]
+[Track Structure][exercism-track-structure] **|** [Tasks][exercism-tasks] **|** [Concepts][exercism-concepts] **|** [Concept Exercises][concept-exercises] **|** [Practice Exercises][practice-exercises] **|** [Presentation][exercise-presentation] **|** [Writing Style Guide][exercism-writing-style] **|** [Markdown Specification][exercism-markdown-specification]
Web-formatted πΈοΈ versions are available in the [contributing section][website-contributing-section] of exercsim.org.
@@ -49,7 +49,8 @@ Web-formatted πΈοΈ versions are available in the [contributing s
-ππ If you have not already done so, please take a moment to read our [Code of Conduct][exercism-code-of-conduct] & [Being a Good Community Member][being-a-good-community-member]. It might also be helpful to take a look at [The words that we use][the-words-that-we-use].
+ππ If you have not already done so, please take a moment to read our [Code of Conduct][exercism-code-of-conduct] & [Being a Good Community Member][being-a-good-community-member] documents.
+It might also be helpful to take a look at [The words that we use][the-words-that-we-use].
Some defined roles in our community: [Community Member][being-a-good-community-member] **|** [Contributors][exercism-contributors] **|** [Mentors][exercism-mentors] **|** [Maintainers][exercism-track-maintainers] **|** [Admins][exercism-admins]
@@ -60,67 +61,85 @@ Some defined roles in our community: [Community Member][being-a-good-community-
-- Maintainers are happy to review your work and help you out. π π But they may be in a different timezone, or tied up π§Ά with other tasks. **Please wait at least 72 hours before pinging them.** They will review your request as soon as they are able to.
+- Maintainers are happy to review your work and help you. π π
+ - They may be in a different timezone β , or tied up π§Ά with other tasks. They will review your request as soon as they are able to.
+ - **Please wait at least 72 hours before pinging.**
- If you'd like in-progress feedback or discussion, please mark your Pull Request as a `[draft]`
- Pull requests should be focused on a single exercise, issue, or change.
-- Pull Request titles and descriptions should make clear **what** has changed and **why**. Please link π to any related issues the PR addresses.
-- π [An issue should be opened][open-an-issue] π _**before**_ creating a Pull Request making significant or breaking changes to an existing exercise.
- - The same holds true for changes across multiple exercises.
+- Pull Request titles and descriptions should make clear **what** has changed and **why**.
+ - Please link π to any related issues the PR addresses.
+- π [Open an issue][open-an-issue] π and discussed _**before**_ creating a Pull Request making significant or breaking changes to an existing exercise.
+ - The same rule holds true for changes across multiple exercises.
- It is best to discuss changes with π§° maintainers before doing a lot of work.
-- Follow coding standards found in [PEP8][PEP8] ( ["For Humans" version here][pep8-for-humans]. We do have some more specific requirements. More on that a little later.
+- Follow coding standards found in [PEP8][PEP8] (["For Humans" version here][pep8-for-humans]).
+ - We do have some more specific requirements. More on that a little later.
- All files should have a proper [EOL][EOL] at the end. This means one carriage return at the end of the final line of text in files.
- Otherwise, watch out β οΈ for trailing spaces, extra blank lines, extra spaces, and spaces in blank lines.
-- The CI is going to run **a lot** of checks on your PR. Pay attention to the failures, try to understand and fix them. If you need help, comment in the PR or issue. ππ½ββοΈ The maintainers are happy to help troubleshoot.
+- The CI is going to run **a lot** of checks on your PR. Pay attention to the failures, try to understand and fix them.
+ - If you need help, comment in the PR or issue. ππ½ββοΈ The maintainers are happy to help troubleshoot.
- β οΈ **Before committing** β οΈ
+ β οΈ **Before committing** β οΈ
-- Run `configlet fmt` and `configlet lint` before committing if [config.json](config-json) has been modified.
-- Run [flake8][flake8] to ensure all Python code conforms to general style standards.
+- Run `configlet fmt` and `configlet lint` if the track [config.json](config-json) has been modified.
+- Run [Prettier][prettier] on all markdown files.
+- Run [flake8][flake8] to ensure all Python code files conform to general code style standards.
+- Run [???] to help format your code
- Run `test/check-exercises.py [EXERCISE]` to check if your test changes function correctly.
-- If you modified or created a `hints.md` file, [regenerate the README](#generating-exercise-readmes)
+- Run the `example.py` or `exemplar.py` file against the test file to ensure that it passes without error.
+- If you modified or created a `hints.md` file for a practice exercise, [regenerate](#generating-exercise-readmes) it.
-## A Little More on Prose Writing Style and Standards
+## π A Little More on Prose Writing Style and Standards
-Non-code content (_exercise introductions & instructions, hints, concept write-ups, documentation etc._) should be written in [American English][american-english]. We strive to watch [the words we use][the-words-we-use].
+Non-code content (_exercise introductions & instructions, hints, concept write-ups, documentation etc._) should be written in [American English][american-english]. We strive to watch [the words we use][the-words-that-we-use].
When a word or phrase usage is contested | ambiguous, we default to what is best understood by our international community of learners, even if it "sounds a little weird" to a "native" American English speaker.
-Our documents use [Markdown][markdown-language], with certain [alterations][exercism-markdown-widgets] & [additions][exercism-internal-linking]. Here is our full [Markdown Specification][exercism-markdown-specification]. We format/lint our Markdown with [Prettier][prettier].
+Our documents use [Markdown][markdown-language], with certain [alterations][exercism-markdown-widgets] & [additions][exercism-internal-linking]. Here is our full [Markdown Specification][exercism-markdown-specification]. π We format/lint our Markdown with [Prettier][prettier]. β¨
-## A Little More on Exercises
+## Little More on Coding Standards
+
+
+## ποΈ A Little More on Exercises ππ½ββοΈ
+
- Each exercise must be self-contained. Please do not use or reference files that reside outside the given exercise directory. "Outside" files will not be included if a student fetches the exercise via the CLI.
-- Each exercise/problem should include a complete test suite, an example/exemplar solution, and a stub file ready for student implementation.
+- Each exercise/problem should include a complete test suite, an example/exemplar solution, and a stub file ready for student implementation.
- See [Concept Exercise Anatomy][concept-exercise-anatomy], or [Practice Exercise Anatomy][practice-exercise-anatomy] depending on which type of exercise you are contributing to.
-- For **practice exercise**, descriptions and instructions come from a centralized, cross-track [problem specifications][problem-specifications] repository.
+
+ Concept Exercise Checklist
>
+
+
+
+
+
+ Practice Exercise Checklist
>
+
+
+- **Practice exercise**, descriptions and instructions come from a centralized, cross-track [problem specifications][problem-specifications] repository.
- Any updates or changes need to be proposed/approved in `problem-specifications` first.
- If Python-specific changes become necessary, they need to be appended to the canonical instructions by creating a `instructions.append.md` file in this (`exercism/Python`) repository.
-- **Practice Exericse Test Suits** for many practice exercises are similarly [auto-generated][##Auto-Generated Test Files and Test Templates] from data in [problem specifications][problem-specifications].
+- Practice Exercise **Test Suits** for many practice exercises are similarly [auto-generated][##Auto-Generated Test Files and Test Templates] from data in [problem specifications][problem-specifications].
- Any changes to them need to be proposed/discussed in the `problem-specifications` repository and approved by **3 track maintainers**, since changes could potentially affect many (_or all_) exercism language tracks.
- If Python-specific test changes become necessary, they can be appended to the exercise `tests.toml` file. π [**Please file an issue**][open-an-issue] π and check with maintainers before adding any Python-specific tests.
-## Python Coding Standards
-
-
-
@@ -128,12 +147,14 @@ Our documents use [Markdown][markdown-language], with certain [alterations][exer
-Exercises on this track officially support Python >= `3.8` Track tooling (`test runners`, `analyzers`, and r`epresenters`) all run on Python `3.9`.
+This track officially supports Python >= `3.8` The track `test runner`, `analyzer`, and `representer` run in docker on `python:3.9-slim`.
-* All exercises going forward should be written for compatibility with Python >= `3.8`,.
-* Version backward _incompatibility_ (*e.g* an exercise using a `3.8` or `3.9` only feature) should be clearly notied in any exercise introduction or notes.
+Although the majority of test cases are written using `unittest.TestCase`,
-* _Most_ exercises will work with Python 3.6+, and _many_ are compatible with Python 2.7+. Please do not change existing exercises to add new `3.6`+ features without consulting with a maintainer first.
+* All exercises should be written for compatibility with Python >= `3.8`,.
+* Version backward _incompatibility_ (*e.g* an exercise using a `3.8` or `3.9` **only** feature) should be clearly noted in any exercise introduction or notes.
+
+* _Most_ exercises will work with Python `3.6+`, and _many_ are compatible with Python 2.7+. Please do not change existing exercises to add new `3.6`+ features without consulting with a maintainer first.
- All test suites and example solutions must work in all Python versions that we currently support. When in doubt about a feature, please check with maintainers.