Programming Labs — the five-level collection

How to use this section: labs are where concepts become skill. Each level names the units it requires — do not start a lab whose concepts you haven’t met (the syllabus is the map). Attempt each lab from its task list alone; the complete solution and explanation come after your attempt, and the testing checklist is the referee.

The five levels

Level	Units first	Labs	The territory
1 — Beginner	01–04	8	first programs, I/O, arithmetic, decisions — no loops yet
2 — Basic	04–06	8	menus, validation, counted and sentinel loops, patterns
3 — Intermediate	07–09	8	functions and decomposition, arrays and `vector`, collection statistics
4 — Advanced	10–15	10	algorithms, strings, files, pointers, records, classes
5 — Integrated	12–16	8	multi-concept systems — the capstone rehearsal tier

The fifteen-part shape

Every lab below carries the same fifteen parts — this is the contract:

Scenario — the realistic situation and who the software serves
Problem statement — the precise task in one paragraph
Learning objectives — what you can do afterwards
Requirements — numbered, testable statements
Input — the exact input contract
Output — the exact output contract
Constraints — the limits and honesty rules (ranges, error handling)
Example — one worked run
Test cases — normal, boundary, invalid (the Debugging module’s three families)
Student tasks — the build order
Hints — graded, one at a time
Extension challenges — for after the checklist passes
Complete solution — full, compilable code
Solution explanation — why, not just what
Testing checklist — the pass/fail list before you move on

The protocol

Read the whole lab before typing anything. Requirements and constraints are the contract.
Build in task order — every task ends in a running program. The tasks are compiled, not aspirational.
Test with the given cases before inventing your own. Then invent your own — the boundary rows are where marks and bugs live.
Open the solution only after the checklist is green — or after two honest failed attempts (then diff your version against it; the diff is the lesson).
Log the bugs you hit in the bug journal — the Debugging Challenge Lab’s Phase 3 discipline applies course-wide.

The progress checklist

Level 1: L1-01 ☐ · L1-02 ☐ · L1-03 ☐ · L1-04 ☐ · L1-05 ☐ · L1-06 ☐ · L1-07 ☐ · L1-08 ☐
Level 2: L2-09 ☐ · L2-10 ☐ · L2-11 ☐ · L2-12 ☐ · L2-13 ☐ · L2-14 ☐ · L2-15 ☐ · L2-16 ☐
Level 3: L3-17 ☐ · L3-18 ☐ · L3-19 ☐ · L3-20 ☐ · L3-21 ☐ · L3-22 ☐ · L3-23 ☐ · L3-24 ☐
Level 4: L4-25 ☐ · L4-26 ☐ · L4-27 ☐ · L4-28 ☐ · L4-29 ☐ · L4-30 ☐ · L4-31 ☐ · L4-32 ☐ · L4-33 ☐ · L4-34 ☐
Level 5: L5-35 ☐ · L5-36 ☐ · L5-37 ☐ · L5-38 ☐ · L5-39 ☐ · L5-40 ☐ · L5-41 ☐ · L5-42 ☐

Level index

#	Lab	Context	Core concepts
Level 1 — Beginner
L1-01	The Canteen Receipt	billing	cout, arithmetic
L1-02	Student ID Card	student systems	cout, string output
L1-03	Temperature Desk	utility conversion	cin, arithmetic
L1-04	Market Money	small business	arithmetic, formatting
L1-05	Cinema Pass	billing rules	if/else-if
L1-06	Load Shedding Checker	utility schedule	switch
L1-07	Admission Desk	student systems	compound conditions
L1-08	Word Wizard	text analysis	getline, char counting
Level 2 — Basic
L2-09	The Menu Canteen	billing	do-while menus
L2-10	Fee Counter	student fees	sentinel sums
L2-11	Utility Bill Desk	utility calculation	tiered loops + validation
L2-12	Quiz Machine	student practice	counters, do-while
L2-13	Number Properties Desk	algorithmic	digit loops
L2-14	Pattern Press	pattern printing	nested loops
L2-15	Stock Take	inventory	counted input loops
L2-16	Guess Desk	algorithmic	loops + decisions
Level 3 — Intermediate
L3-17	Marks Analyzer	student systems	vectors, statistics
L3-18	Payroll Desk	small business	parallel vectors, functions
L3-19	Temperature Station	data processing	min/max/average over collections
L3-20	Word Frequency Counter	text analysis	parallel arrays, searching
L3-21	Queue Simulator	scheduling	array shifting, simulation
L3-22	Voting Booth	record management	frequency counting, validation
L3-23	Matrix Marks Grid	student systems	2D arrays
L3-24	Inventory Reorder	inventory	vectors, searching, thresholds
Level 4 — Advanced
L4-25	The Sorting Desk	algorithmic	sorting algorithms, comparisons
L4-26	Dictionary Lookups	text analysis	binary search, strings
L4-27	Recursion Workshop	algorithmic	recursion, call stack
L4-28	Text Toolkit Pro	text analysis	string algorithms, cctype
L4-29	The Persistent Gradebook	student systems	file I/O, CSV
L4-30	The Library Ledger	library systems	file records, search
L4-31	The Safe Ledger	record management	pointers, dynamic arrays
L4-32	The Student Registry	student systems	structs, records
L4-33	The Fee Account Family	banking simulation	classes, encapsulation
L4-34	The Course Catalogue	student systems	vectors of objects, design
Level 5 — Integrated
L5-35	The Expense Tracker Pro	small business	files + functions + validation
L5-36	The Bank Simulation	banking simulation	classes + files + vectors
L5-37	The Library Management System	library systems	classes + files + search
L5-38	The Scheduling Desk	scheduling	sorting + structs + files
L5-39	The Survey Analyzer	data processing	files + statistics + validation
L5-40	The Inventory Control System	inventory	structs + files + reports
L5-41	The Contact Book	record management	search + sort + files
L5-42	The Result Processing System	student systems	everything — the capstone rehearsal

— Engr. Dr. Muhammad Nadeem Majeed, Professor, Department of Data Science (PUCIT), University of the Punjab, Lahore · About the instructor