📊 Section 7: Add a Quick Stats Display Method

📝 Summary (What you will do)

In this section, you will create a clean, readable stats line for each pet. You will:

  • Build a short_stats() method that returns a formatted string
  • Use a tiny helper (bar) to draw a simple stat bar
  • Practice string formatting so numbers line up neatly

This makes the terminal UI easy to scan during gameplay.

✅ Checklist (You must complete these)

  • Open pet_manager.py
  • Find class Animal
  • Locate the leveling methods (_gain_xp, _xp_to_next)
  • Right after those methods, add the UI helper shown below
  • Type the code by hand so you understand how it works

✅ No new constants/settings are added in this section, so you do not need to edit the top-of-file constants.

🎓 Core Concepts (New learning for this section)

1) Formatting readable output

When a program prints values, the output should be easy to read quickly.
We use formatted strings (f"...") so we can:

  • Insert values directly into the text
  • Align numbers to the same width
  • Combine words, numbers, and symbols in one clean line

2) Tiny helper functions

The bar helper is a small function that turns a number into a visual bar.
It keeps the main return statement readable by hiding the repeated math.

3) Representing “full” vs “empty” visually

We use two characters:

  • █ for filled blocks
  • · for empty blocks

This creates a quick progress bar for each stat so you can glance at a pet’s status without reading every number.

💻 Code to Write (Type this by hand in pet_manager.py)

Directions:

  1. Open pet_manager.py
  2. Find class Animal
  3. Scroll to the leveling methods (_gain_xp, _xp_to_next)
  4. Right after those methods, type the following code by hand:

Code image: s07-code

🧠 Code Review & Key Concepts (What important lines do)

The bar helper

bar = lambda v: "█" * (v // 10) + "·" * (10 - v // 10)

This converts a stat into a 10-character bar:

  • The number of █ blocks is based on the value
  • The remaining spaces are filled with · dots

Aligned numbers

f"Hunger:{self._hunger:3d}"

The :3d makes the number always 3 characters wide, so the columns line up.

A single readable line

return (f"{self._name} (Lv {self._level}) | " ...

The method returns one clean line that includes name, level, and three stat bars.
This is what the dashboard will use to show each pet at a glance.

🧪 Test File: s07_test.py

✅ Create this file

Create a new file in the same folder as pet_manager.py called:

s07_test.py

💻 Code to write in s07_test.py

Code image: s07-test

🧠 What this test is doing (and how it works)

  • We create TestAnimal so we can instantiate an Animal
  • We set stats to known values so the output is predictable
  • We call short_stats() and print the result
  • You should see the pet name, level, and three bars in one line

✅ Run the test:

python s07_test.py

If the line looks clean and the bars match the stats, your UI helper works.