Exercise - Write code to read and save new ourAnimals array data

20 minutes

In this exercise, you develop the data entry validation loops for each pet characteristic and then store the new ourAnimals array data. The detailed tasks that you complete during this exercise are:

Read and validate species: build a loop and the inner code structure used to enter and validate the pet species.
Construct pet ID: write the code that uses petCount and the species name to construct the petID value.
Read and validate age: build a loop and the inner code structure used to enter and validate the pet's age.
Read and validate physical description: build a loop and the inner code structure used to enter a physical description of the pet.
Read and validate personality description: build a loop and the inner code structure used to enter a description of the pet's personality.
Read and validate nickname: build a loop and the inner code structure used to enter a nickname for the pet.
Verification test: perform verification tests for the code that you develop in this exercise.

Important

You must complete the previous exercise in this module before starting this exercise.

Build loop to read and validate the pet species

In this task, you create a do loop that iterates until the user enters a valid species name, either dog or cat. You reuse your voidable string readResult to capture the Console.ReadLine() input. You also reuse the animalSpecies string variable that you used when generating your sample data. You add a new Boolean variable named validEntry to your app. You use validEntry in an expression that's evaluated as an exit criteria for your do loop.

Ensure that Visual Studio Code is open, and that your Program.cs file is visible in the Editor.
Locate the while (anotherPet == "y" && petCount < maxPets) statement, and then add a blank code line at the top code block.
On the blank code line that you created, to declare validEntry with an initial value of false, enter the following code:
```
bool validEntry = false;
```
On the line below the declaration of validEntry, to create a do loop for species data entry, enter the following code:
```
// get species (cat or dog) - string animalSpecies is a required field 
do
{
} while (validEntry == false);
```
Inside the code block of your do statement, to create a display prompt and read the user input, enter the following code:
```
Console.WriteLine("\n\rEnter 'dog' or 'cat' to begin a new entry");
readResult = Console.ReadLine();
```
To ensure that the value of readResult is NOT null before assigning the value of readResult to animalSpecies, enter the following code:
```
if (readResult != null)
{
    animalSpecies = readResult.ToLower();

}
```
On the line below the animalSpecies value assignment, to ensure that animalSpecies contains a valid species name, enter the following code:
```
if (animalSpecies != "dog" && animalSpecies != "cat")
{
    validEntry = false;
}
else
{
    validEntry = true;
}
```

Compare your completed species name data entry loop with the following code:

// get species (cat or dog) - string animalSpecies is a required field 
do
{
    Console.WriteLine("\n\rEnter 'dog' or 'cat' to begin a new entry");
    readResult = Console.ReadLine();
    if (readResult != null)
    {
        animalSpecies = readResult.ToLower();
        if (animalSpecies != "dog" && animalSpecies != "cat")
        {
            //Console.WriteLine($"You entered: {animalSpecies}.");
            validEntry = false;
        }
        else
        {
            validEntry = true;
        }
    }
} while (validEntry == false);

On the Visual Studio Code File menu, select Save.
Open the Integrated Terminal panel in Visual Studio Code and enter the command to Build your program.

If any Build errors or warnings were reported, fix the issues before continuing.

Construct the animal ID value

In this task, you use the animalSpecies and petCount variables to create the value that you assign to animalID.

Add a blank code line below the code block of your species name data entry loop.

To create and assign the animalID value, enter the following code:

// build the animal the ID number - for example C1, C2, D3 (for Cat 1, Cat 2, Dog 3)
animalID = animalSpecies.Substring(0, 1) + (petCount + 1).ToString();

On the Visual Studio Code File menu, select Save.

Build loop to read and validate the pet's age

In this task, you create a do loop that iterates until the user enters either a ? or a valid integer that represents the age of the pet in years. You reuse the voidable string readResult to capture the Console.ReadLine() input. You also reuse the animalAge string variable that you used when generating the sample data. To test whether or not the animalAge string represents a valid integer, you use the validEntry Boolean. You declare a new integer variable named petAge to store the numeric value. Once again, the validEntry Boolean is used in the expression that's evaluated as an exit criteria for our do loop.

Add a blank code line below the line used to assign a value to our animalID variable.

To create a do loop for age data entry, enter the following code:

// get the pet's age. can be ? at initial entry. 
do
{
} while (validEntry == false);

Inside the code block of your do statement, to declare an integer variable named petAge, enter the following code:
```
int petAge;
```
On the line below the declaration of petAge, to display a message prompt and read the user input, enter the following code:
```
Console.WriteLine("Enter the pet's age or enter ? if unknown");
readResult = Console.ReadLine();
```
To ensure that the value of readResult isn't null before assigning the value of readResult to animalAge, enter the following code:
```
if (readResult != null)
{
    animalAge = readResult;

}
```
On the line below the animalAge value assignment, to check whether the user entered ? before testing for a valid integer, enter the following code:
```
if (animalAge != "?")
{
    validEntry = int.TryParse(animalAge, out petAge);
}
else
{
    validEntry = true;
}
```

Compare your completed age data entry loop with the following code:

// get the pet's age. can be ? at initial entry.
do
{
    int petAge;
    Console.WriteLine("Enter the pet's age or enter ? if unknown");
    readResult = Console.ReadLine();
    if (readResult != null)
    {
        animalAge = readResult;
        if (animalAge != "?")
        {
            validEntry = int.TryParse(animalAge, out petAge);
        }
        else
        {
            validEntry = true;
        }
    }
} while (validEntry == false);

On the Visual Studio Code File menu, select Save.
Open the Integrated Terminal panel in Visual Studio Code and enter the command to Build your program.

If any Build errors or warnings were reported, fix the issues before continuing.

Build loop to read and validate the pet's physical description

In this task, you create a do loop that iterates until the user enters a string value that represents a physical description of a pet. You reuse the voidable string readResult to capture the Console.ReadLine() input. You also reuse the animalPhysicalDescription string variable that you used when generating the sample data. You use the value assigned to animalPhysicalDescription in the expression that's evaluated as an exit criteria for our do loop.

Add a blank code line below the code block of your age data entry loop.

To create a do loop for physical description data entry, enter the following code:

// get a description of the pet's physical appearance/condition - animalPhysicalDescription can be blank.
do
{
} while (animalPhysicalDescription == "");

Inside the code block of your do statement, to create a display prompt and read the user input, enter the following code:

Console.WriteLine("Enter a physical description of the pet (size, color, gender, weight, housebroken)");
readResult = Console.ReadLine();

To ensure that the value of readResult isn't null before assigning the value of readResult to animalPhysicalDescription, enter the following code:
```
if (readResult != null)
{
    animalPhysicalDescription = readResult.ToLower();

}
```
To assign a value of "tbd" to animalPhysicalDescription when the value entered is "", enter the following code:
```
if (animalPhysicalDescription == "")
{
    animalPhysicalDescription = "tbd";
}
```

Compare your completed physical description data entry loop with the following code:

// get a description of the pet's physical appearance/condition - animalPhysicalDescription can be blank.
do
{
    Console.WriteLine("Enter a physical description of the pet (size, color, gender, weight, housebroken)");
    readResult = Console.ReadLine();
    if (readResult != null)
    {
        animalPhysicalDescription = readResult.ToLower();
        if (animalPhysicalDescription == "")
        {
            animalPhysicalDescription = "tbd";
        }
    }
} while (animalPhysicalDescription == "");

On the Visual Studio Code File menu, select Save.
Open the Integrated Terminal panel in Visual Studio Code and enter the command to Build your program.

If any Build errors or warnings were reported, fix the issues before continuing.

Build loop to read and validate the pet's personality description

In this task, you create a do loop that iterates until the user enters a string value that represents a description of a pet's personality. You reuse the voidable string readResult to capture the Console.ReadLine() input. You also reuse the animalPersonalityDescription string variable that you used when generating the sample data. You use the value assigned to animalPersonalityDescription in the expression that's evaluated as an exit criteria for our do loop.

Add a blank code line below the code block of your physical description data entry loop.

To create a do loop for personality description data entry, enter the following code:

// get a description of the pet's personality - animalPersonalityDescription can be blank.
do
{
} while (animalPersonalityDescription == "");

Inside the code block of your do statement, to create a display prompt and read the user input, enter the following code:

Console.WriteLine("Enter a description of the pet's personality (likes or dislikes, tricks, energy level)");
readResult = Console.ReadLine();

To ensure that the value of readResult isn't null before assigning the value of readResult to animalPersonalityDescription, enter the following code:
```
if (readResult != null)
{
    animalPersonalityDescription = readResult.ToLower();

}
```
To assign a value of "tbd" to animalPersonalityDescription when the value entered is "", enter the following code:
```
if (animalPersonalityDescription == "")
{
    animalPersonalityDescription = "tbd";
}
```

Compare your completed personality description data entry loop with the following code:

// get a description of the pet's personality - animalPersonalityDescription can be blank.
do
{
    Console.WriteLine("Enter a description of the pet's personality (likes or dislikes, tricks, energy level)");
    readResult = Console.ReadLine();
    if (readResult != null)
    {
        animalPersonalityDescription = readResult.ToLower();
        if (animalPersonalityDescription == "")
        {
            animalPersonalityDescription = "tbd";
        }
    }
} while (animalPersonalityDescription == "");

On the Visual Studio Code File menu, select Save.
Open the Integrated Terminal panel in Visual Studio Code and enter the command to Build your program.

If any Build errors or warnings were reported, fix the issues before continuing.

Build loop to read and validate the pet's nickname

In this task, you create a do loop that iterates until the user enters a string value that represents a nickname for a pet. You reuse the voidable string readResult to capture the Console.ReadLine() input. You also reuse the animalNickname string variable that you used when generating the sample data. You use the value assigned to animalNickname in the expression that's evaluated as an exit criteria for our do loop.

Add a blank code line below the code block of your personality description data entry loop.

To create a do loop for personality description data entry, enter the following code:

// get the pet's nickname. animalNickname can be blank.
do
{
} while (animalNickname == "");

Inside the code block of your do statement, to create a display prompt and read the user input, enter the following code:
```
Console.WriteLine("Enter a nickname for the pet");
readResult = Console.ReadLine();
```
To ensure that the value of readResult isn't null before assigning the value of readResult to animalNickname, enter the following code:
```
if (readResult != null)
{
    animalNickname = readResult.ToLower();

}
```
To assign a value of "tbd" to animalNickname when the value entered is "", enter the following code:
```
if (animalNickname == "")
{
    animalNickname = "tbd";
}
```

Compare your completed nickname data entry loop with the following code:

// get the pet's nickname. animalNickname can be blank.
do
{
    Console.WriteLine("Enter a nickname for the pet");
    readResult = Console.ReadLine();
    if (readResult != null)
    {
        animalNickname = readResult.ToLower();
        if (animalNickname == "")
        {
            animalNickname = "tbd";
        }
    }
} while (animalNickname == "");

On the Visual Studio Code File menu, select Save.
Open the Integrated Terminal panel in Visual Studio Code and enter the command to Build your program.

If any Build errors or warnings were reported, fix the issues before continuing.

Save the new pet information

In this task, you save the values entered for the pet characteristics to the ourAnimals array.

Add a blank code line below the code block of your nickname data entry loop.

To store the data values specified by the user, enter the following code:

// store the pet information in the ourAnimals array (zero based)
ourAnimals[petCount, 0] = "ID #: " + animalID;
ourAnimals[petCount, 1] = "Species: " + animalSpecies;
ourAnimals[petCount, 2] = "Age: " + animalAge;
ourAnimals[petCount, 3] = "Nickname: " + animalNickname;
ourAnimals[petCount, 4] = "Physical description: " + animalPhysicalDescription;
ourAnimals[petCount, 5] = "Personality: " + animalPersonalityDescription;

On the Visual Studio Code File menu, select Save.
Open the Integrated Terminal panel in Visual Studio Code and enter the command to Build your program.

If any Build errors or warnings were reported, fix the issues before continuing.

Check your work

In this task, you run your application from the Integrated Terminal and verify that pet data entry is working correctly.

If necessary, open Visual Studio Code's Integrated Terminal panel.
At the Terminal command prompt, enter dotnet run
At the Terminal command prompt, enter 2

Verify that the Terminal panel has updated to show the following output:

We currently have 4 pets that need homes. We can manage 4 more.

Enter 'dog' or 'cat' to begin a new entry

Enter the following values at the Terminal command prompts and verify that each subsequent prompt is displayed:
- At the Enter 'dog' or 'cat' to begin a new entry prompt, enter dog
- At the Enter the pet's age or enter ? if unknown prompt, enter ?
- At the Enter a physical description of the pet (size, color, gender, weight, housebroken) prompt, press the Enter key.
- At the Enter a description of the pet's personality (likes or dislikes, tricks, energy level) prompt, press the Enter key.
- At the Enter a nickname for the pet prompt, press the Enter key.
The Terminal panel should be updated as follows:
```
Enter 'dog' or 'cat' to begin a new entry
dog
Enter the pet's age or enter ? if unknown
?
Enter a physical description of the pet (size, color, gender, weight, housebroken)

Enter a description of the pet's personality (likes or dislikes, tricks, energy level)

Enter a nickname for the pet

Do you want to enter info for another pet (y/n)
```
At the Terminal command prompt, enter n
Verify that the Terminal panel has updated to show the main menu options.
At the Terminal command prompt, enter 1

Verify that the Terminal panel has updated to show the following output:

ID #: d1
Species: dog
Age: 2
Nickname: lola
Physical description: medium sized cream colored female golden retriever weighing about 65 pounds. housebroken.
Personality: loves to have her belly rubbed and likes to chase her tail. gives lots of kisses.

ID #: d2
Species: dog
Age: 9
Nickname: loki
Physical description: large reddish-brown male golden retriever weighing about 85 pounds. housebroken.
Personality: loves to have his ears rubbed when he greets you at the door, or at any time! loves to lean-in and give doggy hugs.

ID #: c3
Species: cat
Age: 1
Nickname: Puss
Physical description: small white female weighing about 8 pounds. litter box trained.
Personality: friendly

ID #: c4
Species: cat
Age: ?
Nickname:
Physical description:
Personality:

ID #: d5
Species: dog
Age: ?
Nickname: tbd
Physical description: tbd
Personality: tbd
Press the Enter key to continue

If your newly added pet information isn't displayed, check to be sure that you've included the code lines to save the data to the ourAnimals array, and check to be sure that you've included the code line to construct the petID.

Verify that you can create additional animal descriptions for dogs and cats and that animal characteristics are being saved to the ourAnimals array.
Exit the application, and then close the Terminal panel.

Congratulations on completing this Guided project! You've created an application that combines selection and iteration statements to achieve your application design goals. Your application includes over 300 lines and performs tasks that you might find in a professional application. Completing this project represents a significant accomplishment. Keep up the great work!

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