CST8002 Programming Language Research Project

Algonquin College — Winter 2026

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Overview

This repository documents a four-part iterative software development project completed as part of CST8002 Programming Language Research Project at Algonquin College. The project explores Python as a programming language through progressively advanced real-world applications, using a shorebird monitoring dataset published by Parks Canada.

Each practical project builds directly on top of the previous one, demonstrating the ability to refactor, extend, and maintain a growing codebase across multiple releases while applying industry-standard software engineering practices.

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Dataset

Migratory Shorebird Habitat Use — Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (2011–2017)

• Source: Parks Canada / Open Government Canada
• Format: CSV
• Fields: Site Identification, Area, Visit Date, Start Time, Species Code, Count

Parks Canada. (Oct. 1, 2017). Migratory Shorebird Habitat Use - Pacific Rim. open.canada.ca. [Online].
Available at: https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/e0aa39b6-67c0-4863-bdad-d74e73870697. [Accessed: Feb. 18, 2026].

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Project Progression

Practical Project 1 — Foundation & Language Exploration
        ↓
Practical Project 2 — N-Layered Terminal CRUD Application
        ↓
Practical Project 3 — Flask MVC Web Application
        ↓
Practical Project 4 — Advanced Feature Extension (Search & Filter)

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Practical Project 1 — Language Research & Foundation

Branch: main | Tag: V1.0

What Was Built

An introductory Python program that established familiarity with the language syntax, data types, control structures, and basic file handling.

Key Skills Demonstrated

• Python syntax and language fundamentals
• Reading and parsing CSV files using Python's built-in csv module
• Basic input/output and console interaction
• GitHub repository setup and version control workflow

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Practical Project 2 — N-Layered Terminal CRUD Application

Branch: project2 | Tag: V2.0 V2.01

What Was Built

A fully functional terminal-based CRUD application for managing shorebird monitoring records, structured using a four-layer N-layered architecture.

Architecture

Presentation Layer  →  __main__.py         (console menu & user interaction)
Business Layer      →  record_memory_storage.py  (in-memory data management)
Persistence Layer   →  file_handler.py     (CSV file I/O)
Model Layer         →  shorebird_monitoring_record.py  (entity/DTO class)

Features Implemented

• Load dataset from CSV file into memory on startup
• Display all records in a formatted table
• Display a single record by index
• Display a range of records
• Create a new record
• Edit an existing record
• Delete a record with confirmation
• Save in-memory records to a new CSV file with a UUID-generated filename
• Reload the dataset from the original file at runtime

Key Skills Demonstrated

• N-Layered software architecture and Separation of Concerns
• Object-Oriented Programming — entity class with getters and setters
• CSV file reading and writing using Python's csv module
• UUID generation using Python's uuid module
• Input validation and error handling
• Python packaging — organised code into packages using __init__.py
• Unit testing using pytest
• Docstring documentation for all classes, methods, and constants
• IEEE-formatted references in source code and report
• Iterative development with descriptive Git commits

Tech Stack

Tool	Version
Python	3.14.2
pip	26.0.1
pytest	9.0.2
IDE	Visual Studio Code
OS	Windows 11
Version Control	Git + GitHub

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Practical Project 3 — Flask MVC Web Application

Branch: project3 | Tag: V3.0 V3.1 V3.2 V3.3

What Was Built

A fully functional MVC web application that migrated the terminal CRUD application from Project 2 into a browser-based interface using the Flask web framework. All existing business, persistence, and model layers were reused without modification.

Architecture

View        →  presentation/templates/   (Jinja2 HTML templates)
Controller  →  presentation/routes.py    (Flask URL route functions)
Model       →  business/ + persistence/ + model/  (reused from Project 2)

Folder Structure

PracticalProject03/
│   run.py
└── myapp/
    │   __init__.py
    ├── model/
    │       shorebird_monitoring_record.py
    ├── business/
    │       record_memory_storage.py
    ├── persistence/
    │       file_handler.py
    └── presentation/
        │   routes.py
        └── templates/
                base.html
                index.html
                view_one.html
                create.html
                edit.html
                delete.html

Routes Implemented

URL	Method	Feature
/	GET	View all records
/view/<index>	GET	View one record
/create	GET / POST	Create a new record
/edit/<index>	GET / POST	Edit an existing record
/delete/<index>	GET / POST	Delete a record with confirmation
/reload	GET	Reload dataset from CSV file
/save	GET	Save records to UUID-named CSV file

Key Skills Demonstrated

• Flask MVC web framework setup and configuration
• Jinja2 templating — template inheritance, loops, conditionals, url_for()
• HTTP request handling — GET and POST methods
• Flask flash messaging with session cookie signing
• Refactoring a terminal application into a web application
• Reusing existing layered architecture with zero modification to lower layers
• HTML form design and user input handling
• Iterative Git commits per MVC layer

Tech Stack

Tool	Version
Python	3.14.3
Flask	3.1.3
Werkzeug	3.1.7
Jinja2	built into Flask
IDE	Visual Studio Code
OS	Windows 11
Version Control	Git + GitHub

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Practical Project 4 — Advanced Feature: Search & Filter

Branch: project4 | Tag: V4.0

What Was Built

An extension of the Project 3 Flask MVC web application with an advanced Search and Filter feature, allowing users to filter shorebird monitoring records by multiple columns simultaneously at runtime.

Feature Selected

Option B — Search or Filter records based on multiple columns at the same time

Filter Columns Supported

• Site Identification
• Area
• Visit Date

Key Skills Demonstrated

• Extending an existing MVC web application with a new feature
• Multi-column filtering logic in the Business Layer
• Passing filter parameters via HTTP GET request query strings
• Cascading dropdown menus using Jinja2 templates
• Dynamic filtering of in-memory data without a database
• Iterative refactoring per MVC layer with Git commits per step

Tech Stack

Tool	Version
Python	3.14.3
Flask	3.1.3
Werkzeug	3.1.7
Jinja2	built into Flask
IDE	Visual Studio Code
OS	Windows 11
Version Control	Git + GitHub

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Skills Summary

Category	Skills
Languages	Python 3.14
Web Framework	Flask, Jinja2
Architecture	N-Layered, MVC
OOP Concepts	Classes, Inheritance, Polymorphism, Encapsulation
File Handling	CSV read/write, UUID filename generation
Testing	pytest unit testing
Version Control	Git branching, commits, tagging, GitHub
Documentation	Python docstrings, IEEE-formatted references
Tools	Visual Studio Code, pip, Windows 11

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Repository Structure

CST8002_PracticalProject_010_AnnabelCheng/
├── PracticalProject01/
├── PracticalProject02/
├── PracticalProject03/
└── PracticalProject04/

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How to Run (Project 3 & 4)

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/c-annabel/CST8002_PracticalProject_010_AnnabelCheng.git

# Navigate to the project folder
cd PracticalProject03   # or PracticalProject04

# Install Flask
pip install flask

# Run the application
python run.py

Then open your browser and go to:

http://127.0.0.1:5000

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Academic Integrity

All source code in this repository is the original work of Annabel Cheng, written as part of coursework at Algonquin College. External learning resources are documented using IEEE reference style within each source file and project report. AI writing assistance (Claude by Anthropic) was used to help format and polish docstring documentation only — all functional source code was written by the author.

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CST8002 Section 010 — Professor Stanley Pieda — Algonquin College, Winter 2026