Overview

{i} Updates! See below... Now scheduler has much better error reporting, reader.py will show you the line and column number of any errors in the input files.

Scheduler is a python script that creates Instructional Lab Schedules from a set of text files. By default, the program creates a summary page that has a 12-up view of all the schedules, and detail pages (8.5" x 5") for each of the individual schedules that are suitable for labeling the lab rooms (please print these on green cardstock).

Configuration

This is an example of the layout of an input file (called '103_4320.txt'): 

M,12:05 301     Ojalvo    14:00
M,14:25 302     Carmody   16:20
M,16:35 303     Ojalvo    18:30
M,19:05 304     N/A       21:00

T,7:45  305     Carmody    9:40
T,9:55  306     Zeng      11:50
T,12:05 307     Zeng      14:00
...

and so on...

Input files must be named in the form <lab num>_<room num>.txt. The first column has a comma (',') with no space on either side separating the day of the week and the start time. Times are in 24-hour format. Columns are separated by any amount of tabs or spaces but cannot span lines. Lines that begin with a pound-sign ('#') will be ignored. Blank lines are also allowed, so please include them between days for readability.

{i} As of 2010-9-16, the config file is actually parsed and not just sliced-and-diced with string subscripting as it was before. Errors are found out much more effectively this way. Another addition is that the parser allows for section numbers to be prefixed with parenthetical course numbers. An example: 

T,14:25 (321)301        Dhorkah         17:25
T,19:00 (321)302        Dhorkah         22:00

W,14:25 (623)301        McDermott       17:25
W,19:00 (623)303        McDermott       22:00

This is handy for rooms that are used for multiple labs.

Usage

To run the script just execute it from the command line (it takes no arguments). An example of the output: 

[cwilson@trogdor]$ ./scheduler.py 
Generating summary in [summary.ps]...DONE
Generating individual in [103_4320.ps]...DONE
Generating individual in [104_3328.ps]...DONE
Generating individual in [201_4314.ps]...DONE
Generating individual in [207_4310.ps]...DONE

Windows: 

C:\Documents and Settings\user\Desktop\scheduler> scheduler.py
Generating summary in [summary.ps]...DONE
Generating individual in [103_4320.ps]...DONE
Generating individual in [104_3328.ps]...DONE
Generating individual in [201_4314.ps]...DONE
Generating individual in [207_4310.ps]...DONE

There is also a mode for making single signs. 

[cwilson@trogdor]$ ./scheduler.py 103_4320.txt 103_4320.ps
(there's no output)

I've also added a makefile to make all PS files do: 

[cwilson@trogdor]$ make

to also make PNG images, do: 

[cwilson@trogdor]$ make img

(you'll need ImageMagic, GhostScript, GNU Make, and bash).

Download

sha1sum 

9dd18becb771aad9ecc929a77b6b0be447b99bc2  scheduler.zip

Bugs/Questions/Comments

Please contact cwilson@physics.wisc.edu