Learn Challenge: Automated Area Updater | Visualization and Automation in Architectural Workflows

Automating the process of updating room areas based on new dimensions can save you significant time in architectural projects. Suppose you have a list of rooms, each with a name, length, width, and area. When you receive updated measurements for some rooms, you want a function that produces a new list reflecting the recalculated areas, without altering the original data. This approach ensures accuracy in your documentation and streamlines revision workflows.


              123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839
            
# Hardcoded list of rooms with their current dimensions and area
rooms = [
    {"name": "Living Room", "length": 6.0, "width": 4.0, "area": 24.0},
    {"name": "Kitchen", "length": 3.5, "width": 2.5, "area": 8.75},
    {"name": "Bedroom", "length": 4.5, "width": 3.0, "area": 13.5},
    {"name": "Bathroom", "length": 2.0, "width": 1.8, "area": 3.6},
]

def update_room_areas(rooms, updated_dimensions):
    """
    Returns a new list of rooms with updated dimensions and recalculated area.
    - rooms: list of dicts, each with 'name', 'length', 'width', 'area'
    - updated_dimensions: dict mapping room names to new (length, width)
    """
    updated_rooms = []
    for room in rooms:
        name = room["name"]
        if name in updated_dimensions:
            length, width = updated_dimensions[name]
            area = length * width
            updated_room = {
                "name": name,
                "length": length,
                "width": width,
                "area": area
            }
        else:
            updated_room = room.copy()
        updated_rooms.append(updated_room)
    return updated_rooms

# Example usage:
new_dims = {
    "Living Room": (6.2, 4.1),
    "Bathroom": (2.2, 2.0)
}
updated = update_room_areas(rooms, new_dims)
for room in updated:
    print(room)

This function checks each room in your list. If updated dimensions are provided for that room, it recalculates the area and constructs a new dictionary; otherwise, it copies the original data. This ensures that only the rooms with changes are affected, and no information is lost for others. With this workflow, you can efficiently handle design revisions and keep your area calculations accurate.

Task

Swipe to start coding

Write a function update_room_areas that:

Accepts two arguments: a list of room dictionaries (each with "name", "length", "width", "area") and a dictionary mapping room names to new (length, width) tuples.
Returns a new list of room dictionaries, updating the dimensions and recalculating the area for any room found in the update dictionary.
Leaves rooms not listed in the update dictionary unchanged.

Test your function with this input:

rooms = [
    {"name": "Studio", "length": 5.0, "width": 4.0, "area": 20.0},
    {"name": "Hallway", "length": 6.0, "width": 1.5, "area": 9.0},
    {"name": "Office", "length": 3.0, "width": 3.5, "area": 10.5},
]
updates = {
    "Studio": (5.2, 4.1),
    "Office": (3.2, 3.7)
}

Your returned list should reflect the updated dimensions and areas for "Studio" and "Office", while "Hallway" remains unchanged.

Solution

Everything was clear?

Thanks for your feedback!

Section 3. Chapter 3

single

Ask AI

Ask anything or try one of the suggested questions to begin our chat

Suggested prompts:

Can you explain how the function handles rooms that aren't in the updated_dimensions dictionary?

What happens if I provide updated dimensions for a room that doesn't exist in the original list?

Can you show how to add a new room to the list with this approach?

Swipe to show menu


              123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839
            
# Hardcoded list of rooms with their current dimensions and area
rooms = [
    {"name": "Living Room", "length": 6.0, "width": 4.0, "area": 24.0},
    {"name": "Kitchen", "length": 3.5, "width": 2.5, "area": 8.75},
    {"name": "Bedroom", "length": 4.5, "width": 3.0, "area": 13.5},
    {"name": "Bathroom", "length": 2.0, "width": 1.8, "area": 3.6},
]

def update_room_areas(rooms, updated_dimensions):
    """
    Returns a new list of rooms with updated dimensions and recalculated area.
    - rooms: list of dicts, each with 'name', 'length', 'width', 'area'
    - updated_dimensions: dict mapping room names to new (length, width)
    """
    updated_rooms = []
    for room in rooms:
        name = room["name"]
        if name in updated_dimensions:
            length, width = updated_dimensions[name]
            area = length * width
            updated_room = {
                "name": name,
                "length": length,
                "width": width,
                "area": area
            }
        else:
            updated_room = room.copy()
        updated_rooms.append(updated_room)
    return updated_rooms

# Example usage:
new_dims = {
    "Living Room": (6.2, 4.1),
    "Bathroom": (2.2, 2.0)
}
updated = update_room_areas(rooms, new_dims)
for room in updated:
    print(room)