School Administration System in Python 3

Question

This is not an actual administration system. It is just homework. I haven't finished the project yet, but I would like some advice on how to improve what I have done so far.

main.py:

from file import File
from random import choice


class Main:

    def __init__(self):

        # The file_handler object will be used to read and write to files.
        self.file_handler = File()

        login_menu_is_running = True

        while login_menu_is_running:

            print('1 - Sign up')
            print('2 - Login')

            menu_choice = input('\nEnter menu option: ')

            login_menu_is_running = False

            if menu_choice == '1':
                self.signup()
            elif menu_choice == '2':
                self.login()
            else:
                print('Please choose a number from the menu.')
                login_menu_is_running = True

        menu_is_running = True

        while menu_is_running:

            print('\n1 - Add a new student to the system.')
            print('2 - Display a student\'s details.')
            print('3 - Edit a students details.')
            print('4 - Log out.')

            menu_choice = input('\nEnter menu option: ')

            if menu_choice == '1':
                self.add_student()

            elif menu_choice == '2':
                self.print_student_details()

            elif menu_choice == '3':
                self.edit_student_details()

            elif menu_choice == '4':
                menu_is_running = False

            else:
                print('Please choose a number from the menu.')

    def signup(self):

        username = input('Enter username: ')
        password = input('Enter password: ')

        if len(password) < 8:
            print('Password should contain at lease 8 characters.')
            self.signup()
        else:
            self.file_handler.add_account(username, password)

    def login(self):

        accounts = self.file_handler.get_accounts()

        input_loop = True

        while input_loop:

            username_attempt = input('Enter username: ')

            for account in accounts:

                account = account.split(', ')

                if username_attempt == account[0]:

                    password_attempt = input('Enter password: ')

                    if password_attempt == account[1]:
                        print('\nLogin successful.')
                        return

            print('Incorrect username or password.')

    def add_student(self):

        print('Please enter the student\'s details:\n')

        surname = input('Surname: ')
        forename = input('Forename: ')
        date_of_birth = input('Date of birth: ')
        home_address = input('Home address: ')
        home_phone_number = input('Home phone number: ')
        gender = input('Gender: ')

        student_id = self.get_new_id()
        tutor_group = self.get_tutor_group()
        school_email_address = student_id + '@student.treehouseschool.co.uk'

        details = [
            student_id, surname, forename, date_of_birth,
            home_address, home_phone_number, gender,
            tutor_group, school_email_address
        ]

        details = ', '.join(details)

        self.file_handler.add_student(details)

        print('\nThe new student has been added.')
        print(('His' if gender.lower() == 'male' else 'Her'), 'student ID is', student_id)

    def get_new_id(self):

        lines = self.file_handler.get_students()

        if len(lines) <= 1:
            return '0000'

        last_line = lines[-2].split(', ')

        new_id = str(int(last_line[0]) + 1)
        zeros = '0' * (4 - len(new_id))

        new_id = zeros + new_id
        return new_id

    @staticmethod
    def get_tutor_group():
        return choice(['Amphtill Leaves', 'London Flowers', 'Kempston Stones', 'Cardington Grass'])

    def edit_student_details(self):
        print('Sorry, this feature has not been added yet.')

    def print_student_details(self):

        student_id = input('Enter student ID: ')

        lines = self.file_handler.get_students()
        details_found = False

        for line in lines:
            details = line.split(', ')
            if details[0] == student_id:
                details_found = True
                break

        if details_found:

            print('ID: ', details[0])
            print('Surname: ', details[1])
            print('Forename: ', details[2])
            print('Date of birth: ', details[3])
            print('Home address: ', details[4])
            print('Home phone number: ', details[5])
            print('Gender: ', details[6])
            print('Tutor group: ', details[7])
            print('School email address: ', details[8])

        else:
            print('Student ', student_id, ' could not be found.')


if __name__ == '__main__':
    Main()

file.py:

class File:

    @staticmethod
    def get_accounts():
        with open('accounts.txt', 'r') as file:
            return file.read().split('\n')

    @staticmethod
    def add_account(username, password):
        with open('accounts.txt', 'a') as file:
            file.write(username)
            file.write(', ')
            file.write(password)
            file.write('\n')

    @staticmethod
    def get_students():
        with open('student_details.txt', 'r') as file:
            return file.read().split('\n')

    @staticmethod
    def add_student(student_details):
        with open('student_details.txt', 'a') as file:
            file.write(student_details)
            file.write('\n')

    @staticmethod
    def remove_student(student_id):
        pass

Answer 1

This isn't a comprehensive review because that's not possible with incomplete code, but I think there's enough here to make a few remarks. First, a few things I like:

1. The careful control flow, including making sure that menu entries are valid, is good.
2. The use of the if expression as in 'His' if gender.lower() == 'male' else 'Her' is very Pythonic.
3. The if __name__ == '__main__': guard is a useful check against improper use of the program that could otherwise cause confusion.

Then a few areas to check.

1. File names should be meaningful. "main.py" isn't a particularly descriptive name: it could be the file that holds the main function in any program ever. Likewise "file.py" isn't particularly descriptive.

2. Be wary of using @staticmethod. If your class only contains static methods, that may indicate that you don't really need a class to begin with. Python is perfectly happy with top level function definitions in a file.

3. Be careful to think about input validation. What happens if a mischievous kid includes a comma or a newline in their password?

4. Before you write code, have a look at whether there is library functionality that you can use (which there very often is, especially in Python.) For example, Python comes with inbuilt support for CSV and padding with zero.

5. It is helpful that things that aren't ready are marked as such. To make it really clear, it may be better to throw a NotImplementedError to make sure that the issue gets noticed if the function is used. Experienced programmers generally prefer for things that are going to break to break as obviously as possible so they can quickly find and fix the issue.