JSON Inventory Reports in Python

Table of Contents

1. Challenge

   Explore the project and reporting goal

   Welcome to this lab! You are going to complete a small Python reporting utility that reads nested inventory data and turns it into useful reorder information for a store manager. info> This lab experience was developed by the Pluralsight team using an internally developed AI tool. All sections were verified by human experts for accuracy prior to publications. However, content may still contain errors or inaccuracies, and we recommend independent verification.
   
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2. Challenge

   Load and traverse nested inventory data

   This step establishes the data-processing foundation for the rest of the lab. Before you can summarize or report anything, you need to read the inventory file into memory and understand how to move through its nested structure.

3. Challenge

   Extract nested fields and build summaries

   This step moves from simple traversal into focused data extraction and summarization. Once you can identify the low-stock products, the next question is what information a manager actually needs in order to act.

4. Challenge

   Assemble and export the report payload

   This step is where the application begins to feel complete. Up to now, each helper has produced one focused output: a filtered list, a list of emails, a totals dictionary, or a list of display lines.

5. Challenge

   Present the results and wire the application flow

   The final step turns a collection of helpers into an actual command-line application. A useful script does more than compute a result silently; it usually presents a summary to the user and coordinates its own workflow from input to output. You've built all the pieces of the reporting workflow. Now it's time to run the application and see everything working together.

   Run the application from the Terminal tab:

   python3 -m restock_reporter.app
   

   Verify the console output:

   • Includes the warehouse name.
   • Includes the low-stock product count.
   • Includes a comma-separated list of supplier email addresses.
   • Includes an Items: section with a bullet for each low-stock product.

   Example output:

   Warehouse: Central Depot
   Low-stock products: 4
   Supplier emails: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
   Items:
   - APL-01 | Apples | qty 12 | reorder at 15
   ...
   

   Verify the report file:

   • The application creates:

     output/restock_report.json
     

   • The JSON file contains the following keys:
     • warehouse
     • low_stock_count
     • supplier_emails
     • items
     • section_totals

   Perform a final sanity check:

   • The warehouse name in the console matches the warehouse name in the JSON file.
   • The value of low_stock_count matches the number of entries in items.
   • The supplier email list contains no duplicates.
   • The section totals look reasonable based on the inventory data.

   If all of these checks pass, you've successfully completed the restock reporting workflow from end-to-end.