20 Python Programming Projects for Undergraduates

Engaging project ideas complete with explanations and sample solutions

physical objects and scenery related to programming workspaces

Highlights

Wide-ranging Projects: Cover beginning to advanced levels from games and utilities to data analysis.
Practical Solutions: Each project includes sample code and implementation ideas.
Scalable Complexity: Projects easily adapted to different levels of skills and learning objectives.

Project Ideas and Solutions

1. Number Guessing Game

Description

This project generates a random number within a specified range. The player attempts to guess the number with feedback provided on whether their guess is too high or too low.

Sample Code

import random

def number_guessing_game():
    number_to_guess = random.randint(1, 100)
    guess = None
    attempts = 0
    while guess != number_to_guess:
        guess = int(input("Guess a number between 1 and 100: "))
        attempts += 1
        if guess < number_to_guess:
            print("Too low!")
        elif guess > number_to_guess:
            print("Too high!")
    print(f"Congratulations! You guessed the number in {attempts} attempts.")

number_guessing_game()

2. Basic Calculator

Description

Build a simple calculator that performs basic arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Sample Code

def calculator():
    while True:
        print("1. Addition")
        print("2. Subtraction")
        print("3. Multiplication")
        print("4. Division")
        print("5. Exit")
        choice = input("Enter your choice: ")
        if choice == '5':
            break
        if choice in ['1', '2', '3', '4']:
            num1 = float(input("Enter first number: "))
            num2 = float(input("Enter second number: "))
            if choice == '1':
                print(f"{num1} + {num2} = {num1 + num2}")
            elif choice == '2':
                print(f"{num1} - {num2} = {num1 - num2}")
            elif choice == '3':
                print(f"{num1} * {num2} = {num1 * num2}")
            elif choice == '4':
                if num2 != 0:
                    print(f"{num1} / {num2} = {num1 / num2}")
                else:
                    print("Error: Division by zero.")
        else:
            print("Invalid choice.")
            
calculator()

3. Rock, Paper, Scissors Game

Description

Create a game where the player competes against the computer. The computer randomly selects rock, paper, or scissors and the winner is determined based on standard rules.

Sample Code

import random

def rock_paper_scissors():
    choices = ['rock', 'paper', 'scissors']
    while True:
        user_choice = input("Enter rock, paper, or scissors (or quit to exit): ").lower()
        if user_choice == 'quit':
            break
        if user_choice not in choices:
            print("Invalid choice, try again.")
            continue
        computer_choice = random.choice(choices)
        print(f"Computer chose: {computer_choice}")
        if user_choice == computer_choice:
            print("It's a tie!")
        elif (user_choice == 'rock' and computer_choice == 'scissors') or \
             (user_choice == 'paper' and computer_choice == 'rock') or \
             (user_choice == 'scissors' and computer_choice == 'paper'):
            print("You win!")
        else:
            print("You lose!")
            
rock_paper_scissors()

4. Simple To-Do List Application

Description

Develop a program to manage tasks. Users can add new tasks, delete specific tasks, and view a list of pending tasks.

Sample Code

def todo_list():
    tasks = []
    while True:
        print("\n1. Add Task")
        print("2. Delete Task")
        print("3. View Tasks")
        print("4. Exit")
        choice = input("Enter your choice: ")
        if choice == '1':
            task = input("Enter a new task: ")
            tasks.append(task)
        elif choice == '2':
            try:
                task_num = int(input("Enter task number to delete: "))
                del tasks[task_num - 1]
            except (IndexError, ValueError):
                print("Invalid task number.")
        elif choice == '3':
            print("To-Do List:")
            for i, task in enumerate(tasks, start=1):
                print(f"{i}. {task}")
        elif choice == '4':
            break
        else:
            print("Invalid option.")
            
todo_list()

5. Dice Rolling Simulator

Description

Simulate dice rolls by generating random numbers between 1 and 6. The user can roll the dice repeatedly until they choose to exit.

Sample Code

import random

def dice_rolling_simulator():
    while True:
        choice = input("Roll the dice? (yes/no): ").lower()
        if choice == 'yes':
            print(f"You rolled a: {random.randint(1, 6)}")
        elif choice == 'no':
            break
        else:
            print("Please answer with yes or no.")
            
dice_rolling_simulator()

6. Email Slicer

Description

This project takes an email address and extracts the username and the domain, introducing string manipulation techniques.

Sample Code

def email_slicer():
    email = input("Enter your email address: ")
    try:
        username, domain = email.split("@")
        print(f"Username: {username}")
        print(f"Domain: {domain}")
    except ValueError:
        print("Invalid email address.")

email_slicer()

7. Number to Words Converter

Description

Convert a given numerical value into its equivalent English word representation, practicing conversion logic and recursion or loop-based solutions.

Sample Code

import num2words  # Ensure you have installed this library using pip

def number_to_words():
    try:
        number = int(input("Enter a number to convert: "))
        words = num2words.num2words(number)
        print(f"{number} in words is: {words}")
    except Exception as e:
        print("Error converting number to words:", e)

number_to_words()

8. Contact List Manager

Description

Create a console-based application that allows users to store and manage contacts including names, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Sample Code

def contact_list_manager():
    contacts = {}
    while True:
        print("\n1. Add Contact")
        print("2. View Contacts")
        print("3. Exit")
        choice = input("Enter choice: ")
        if choice == '1':
            name = input("Contact name: ")
            phone = input("Phone number: ")
            email = input("Email: ")
            contacts[name] = {'phone': phone, 'email': email}
        elif choice == '2':
            for name, info in contacts.items():
                print(f"Name: {name} | Phone: {info['phone']} | Email: {info['email']}")
        elif choice == '3':
            break
        else:
            print("Invalid option.")

contact_list_manager()

9. Password Generator

Description

Generate a secure, randomized password based on user-defined length and such options as inclusion of uppercase letters, numbers, or special characters.

Sample Code

import random
import string

def password_generator():
    length = int(input("Enter password length: "))
    use_upper = input("Include uppercase letters? (yes/no): ").lower() == 'yes'
    use_numbers = input("Include numbers? (yes/no): ").lower() == 'yes'
    use_special = input("Include special characters? (yes/no): ").lower() == 'yes'
    
    characters = string.ascii_lowercase
    if use_upper:
        characters += string.ascii_uppercase
    if use_numbers:
        characters += string.digits
    if use_special:
        characters += string.punctuation
    
    password = ''.join(random.choice(characters) for _ in range(length))
    print("Generated password:", password)

password_generator()

10. Web Scraper

Description

Create a script that fetches content from websites and extracts useful information. Use libraries like requests and BeautifulSoup for web scraping.

Sample Code

import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup

def web_scraper():
    url = input("Enter a URL: ")
    response = requests.get(url)
    soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, 'html.parser')
    print(soup.prettify())
    
web_scraper()

11. Tic Tac Toe Game

Description

Develop a two-player Tic Tac Toe game that tracks moves on a simple board and checks win conditions.

Sample Code

def tic_tac_toe():
    board = [' ' for _ in range(9)]
    current_player = 'X'
    
    def print_board():
        print(f"{board[0]} | {board[1]} | {board[2]}")
        print("--+---+--")
        print(f"{board[3]} | {board[4]} | {board[5]}")
        print("--+---+--")
        print(f"{board[6]} | {board[7]} | {board[8]}")
    
    for _ in range(9):
        print_board()
        move = int(input(f"Player {current_player}, choose your position (1-9): ")) - 1
        if board[move] == ' ':
            board[move] = current_player
            # Check win conditions here if desired.
            current_player = 'O' if current_player == 'X' else 'X'
        else:
            print("Invalid move, try again.")
    print_board()
    
tic_tac_toe()

12. Digital Clock

Description

Build a digital clock using Tkinter that shows the current time and can also be extended to include an alarm feature.

Sample Code

import tkinter as tk
import time

def digital_clock():
    root = tk.Tk()
    root.title("Digital Clock")
    clock_label = tk.Label(root, font=("Arial", 48), bg="black", fg="white")
    clock_label.pack(expand=True, fill="both")
    
    def update_time():
        current_time = time.strftime("%H:%M:%S")
        clock_label.config(text=current_time)
        clock_label.after(1000, update_time)
    
    update_time()
    root.mainloop()
    
digital_clock()

13. Chatbot

Description

Create a simple text-based chatbot using Python. The bot responds based on a set of predefined keywords.

Sample Code

def chatbot():
    responses = {
        "hello": "Hi! How can I help you?",
        "bye": "Goodbye!",
        "thanks": "You're welcome!"
    }
    while True:
        user_input = input("You: ").lower()
        if user_input == "quit":
            break
        print("Bot:", responses.get(user_input, "Sorry, I do not understand that."))

chatbot()

14. Currency Converter

Description

Design a converter to change currencies based on predefined exchange rates. It illustrates the use of arithmetic operations and user input.

Sample Code

def currency_converter():
    exchange_rates = {"USD": 1, "EUR": 0.88, "GBP": 0.76}
    while True:
        currency = input("Enter currency (USD, EUR, GBP) or exit: ").upper()
        if currency == "EXIT":
            break
        amount = float(input(f"Enter amount in {currency}: "))
        for curr, rate in exchange_rates.items():
            if curr != currency:
                converted = amount * exchange_rates[currency] / rate
                print(f"{amount} {currency} = {converted:.2f} {curr}")

currency_converter()

15. Hangman Game

Description

Implement the classic Hangman game where a random word is selected and the player guesses letters until the word is revealed or tries run out.

Sample Code

import random

def hangman():
    words = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
    word = random.choice(words)
    display = ['_' for _ in word]
    attempts = 6
    guessed_letters = set()
    
    while attempts > 0 and '_' in display:
        print("Current word:", " ".join(display))
        guess = input("Guess a letter or the full word: ").lower()
        if len(guess) == 1:
            if guess in guessed_letters:
                print("Already guessed!")
            elif guess in word:
                for index, letter in enumerate(word):
                    if letter == guess:
                        display[index] = guess
            else:
                attempts -= 1
                print(f"Wrong guess! Attempts left: {attempts}")
            guessed_letters.add(guess)
        elif guess == word:
            display = list(word)
            break
        else:
            attempts -= 1
            print(f"Wrong guess! Attempts left: {attempts}")
    if '_' not in display:
        print("Congratulations, you guessed the word:", word)
    else:
        print("Out of attempts! The word was:", word)

hangman()

16. Simple Stopwatch

Description

Develop a stopwatch with functionalities to start, stop, and reset. This project uses time management operations with loops.

Sample Code

import time

def stopwatch():
    start_time = None
    elapsed = 0
    while True:
        print("\n1. Start\n2. Stop\n3. Reset\n4. Exit")
        choice = input("Choose an option: ")
        if choice == '1' and start_time is None:
            start_time = time.time()
            print("Stopwatch started!")
        elif choice == '2' and start_time is not None:
            elapsed += time.time() - start_time
            start_time = None
            print(f"Elapsed time: {elapsed:.2f} seconds")
        elif choice == '3':
            start_time = None
            elapsed = 0
            print("Stopwatch reset.")
        elif choice == '4':
            break
        else:
            print("Invalid option or stopwatch already running/stopped.")

stopwatch()

17. Text Adventure Game

Description

Create an interactive text-based adventure game with multiple story paths. Users make choices that influence the outcome.

Sample Code

def text_adventure():
    print("Welcome to the Adventure Game!")
    current_room = "start"
    while True:
        if current_room == "start":
            choice = input("You are in a dark room. Choose direction (north/east): ").lower()
            if choice == "north":
                current_room = "hallway"
            elif choice == "east":
                current_room = "garden"
            else:
                print("Invalid direction.")
        elif current_room == "hallway":
            print("You are in a long hallway.")
            if input("Go back? (yes/no): ").lower() == "yes":
                current_room = "start"
            else:
                print("You continue and reach a dead end.")
                break
        elif current_room == "garden":
            print("You are in a beautiful garden with a pond.")
            if input("Go back? (yes/no): ").lower() == "yes":
                current_room = "start"
            else:
                break
    print("Game over.")

text_adventure()

18. Machine Learning Recommendation System (Basic)

Description

This advanced project lets students explore building a recommendation engine for movies or products using machine learning libraries like scikit-learn.

Implementation Guidelines

Start with a dataset, perform data preprocessing, and utilize collaborative filtering or content-based filtering techniques to recommend items.

# Pseudocode Outline
# 1. Import libraries such as pandas, scikit-learn
# 2. Load and clean dataset (e.g., movie ratings)
# 3. Use a model like KNN or a clustering algorithm for recommendations
# 4. Output recommended items based on similarity measure

19. Automated File Organizer

Description

Develop a script that automatically organizes files in a directory based on their file types (like images, documents, etc.).

Sample Code

import os
import shutil

def organize_files(directory):
    file_types = {"Images": (".jpg", ".png", ".gif"),
                  "Documents": (".pdf", ".docx", ".txt"),
                  "Videos": (".mp4", ".mov")}
    
    for filename in os.listdir(directory):
        file_path = os.path.join(directory, filename)
        if os.path.isfile(file_path):
            for folder, extensions in file_types.items():
                if filename.lower().endswith(extensions):
                    target_folder = os.path.join(directory, folder)
                    if not os.path.exists(target_folder):
                        os.makedirs(target_folder)
                    shutil.move(file_path, target_folder)
                    break

# Example usage:
# organize_files("/path/to/your/directory")

20. AI-Powered Chatbot

Description

Implement a more advanced chatbot using natural language processing techniques. Integrate libraries like NLTK or even deep learning models if desired.

Implementation Guidelines

Focus on training a simple conversational model or using pre-trained language models to handle basic queries interactively.

# Pseudocode Outline:
# 1. Use the NLTK library for basic NLP
# 2. Define intents and response mappings
# 3. Create a loop accepting user input and matching it to the most similar intent
# 4. Respond accordingly

Project Overview Table

Project	Description	Key Skills
Number Guessing Game	Random number generation and user feedback	Loops, Conditionals, Random Module
Basic Calculator	Perform arithmetic operations	Functions, User Input, Arithmetic
Rock, Paper, Scissors	Classic game with random choices	Random Module, Conditional Logic
To-Do List App	Manage and display tasks	Data Structures, Loops, User Input
Dice Rolling Simulator	Simulate dice rolls using random numbers	Random Module, Loops
Email Slicer	Extract username and domain from email	String Manipulation
Number to Words	Convert numbers into their word equivalents	Conversion Logic, Libraries
Contact List	Manage a simple contact directory	Dictionaries, User Input
Password Generator	Create secure passwords	Random, String Handling
Web Scraper	Extract data from websites	Requests, BeautifulSoup
Tic Tac Toe	Game logic for two players	Lists, Loops, Conditionals
Digital Clock	Display a live clock using GUI	TKinter, Time
Chatbot	Interactive response system	Conditional Logic, Dictionaries
Currency Converter	Convert between various currencies	Arithmetic, User Input
Hangman Game	Word guess game with limited attempts	Loops, String Manipulation
Simple Stopwatch	Track elapsed time with start/stop functions	Time Module, Loops
Text Adventure Game	Interactive narrative game	Control Flow, Input
ML Recommendation System	Analyze and recommend items based on data	Scikit-learn, Data Preprocessing
File Organizer	Auto-sorting files by type	OS, Shutil
AI-Powered Chatbot	Advanced NLP based interactive system	NLP, Machine Learning