Internship Test – word-meter

A Silverpond internship is not about fetching coffee — you’ll be committing code that ends up in production. This repository helps prospective interns self-assess and practise the core skills we need before you start.

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Core Skills You Should Already Have

Skill	What We Expect
Python ≥ 3.11	You’ve built at least one small project and can read/write idiomatic code. A public GitHub portfolio is a big plus.
Python project basics	You know how to work in an isolated environment (venv, pip, poetry, uv or conda) and install dependencies from a pyproject.toml or requirements.txt.
Unix terminal	Our GPU workstations run NixOS (for this test you can use Linux distros like Ubuntu). You should comfortably ssh in, list files, move/rename, and edit config.
Git (SSH, not HTTPS)	Common commands (clone, pull, push, branch, merge, rebase, checkout).
Vim/NeoVim	Even if you prefer VS Code, you will end up in Vim via an ssh session. Knowing basics (i, :wq, yanking, searching) avoids the “how do I exit?” meme.
Remote development	Have an SSH key pair set up locally; add the public key to GitHub and to our servers when invited.
Password manager	Use one. Always.

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Your Task – Build & Test word-meter

word-meter is a tiny clone of Unix wc, focused on word statistics instead of byte/line counts.

1. Fork & Clone

git clone [email protected]:<your-handle>/intern-word-meter.git
cd intern-word-meter

2. Setup your Environment

3. Implement

• Create the package word_meter.

• Expose a CLI: word-meter (console-script and python -m word_meter).

• Features to support (minimum):

  Flag / Command	Behaviour
  cat file.txt | word-meter	Read stdin, output words={count} unique={count}.
  --top N	Show the N most common words and their counts.

• Follow PEP 8, add type hints, docstrings, and logging. Ensure you run a code formatter.

4. Tests

• Use pytest + pytest-cov.
• Include tests for the CLI
• Provide instructions on how to run pytests as part of your submission

6. Create a Pull Request

Open a PR back onto your own fork’s main branch — we’ll review that link. Add a short README update describing any extras (e.g. --histogram).

7. Record a Short Video (5–10 min)

• Screen-capture while you run the tool and the tests.
• Explain why you structured the code the way you did, how you approached edge-cases, and any trade-offs.
• No fancy editing required — clear audio + visible terminal is enough.

8. Submit

Email your Silverpond contact:

Subject: Internship – word-meter submission

Body:
• PR link: https://github.com/…
• Video link: https://youtu.be/…

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What We’re Assessing

Aspect	Looking For
Problem-solving process	How you break tasks down, research, and iterate.
Command of tools	Git fluency, Python packaging, testing, coverage.
Communication	Clear verbal explanations during the video.
Code quality	Readable, idiomatic, sufficiently documented.
Tests & automation	Meaningful assertions, high coverage, reproducible runs.

Not Assessing

• Pixel-perfect video editing.

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A Note on ChatGPT & Copilots

LLMs can accelerate coding — we use them too! But your submission must demonstrate personal understanding. In the video, talk through decisions and pitfalls; code pasted without insight is easy to spot and will be rejected.

Good luck — we’re looking forward to your word-meter!