Python Project: Password Generator (5 Valuable Programming Skills)

Implement a password generator

Implementing a password generator in Python will teach you new skills.

String manipulation. A password generator typically involves manipulating strings in order to create random sequences of characters that meet certain criteria (e.g., length, complexity). As such, a programmer will gain experience with string concatenation, slicing, and other operations that are commonly used in string manipulation.
Random number generation. Generating random numbers is a core component of any password generator. A programmer will learn how to use Python’s built-in random module to generate random integers and other values.
Conditional statements. A password generator will typically need to make decisions based on the user’s input (e.g., if the user specifies a length of 8 characters, the generator should create a password that is exactly 8 characters long). This will require the use of conditional statements (e.g., if, else) to handle different cases.
Loops. A password generator may need to repeat certain operations (e.g., generating random characters) multiple times in order to create a password that meets the desired criteria. This will require the use of loops (e.g., while, for) to iterate over a sequence of characters or numbers.
Secure password generation. Creating a secure password that cannot be easily guessed by an attacker is a key goal of any password generator. A programmer will learn about common password security best practices (e.g., avoiding common words, using a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, including numbers and symbols) and how to implement them in code.

Are you ready?

Project Description

Create a password generator in Python.

The password should in this format (with a dash - every 4th character).

vr)5-x?C(-8FNh-SkfD

The password should have:

at least one lowercase character: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
at least one uppercase character: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
at least one decimal: 01234567890
at least one special character: !@#$%^&*()?

How do you do that?

Step 1 Getting the characters

A simple way to keep track of which characters are needed in the password is to simply have them in each variable.

This makes the code understandable later.

lower = 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz'
upper = 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ'
decimal = '01234567890'
special = '!@#$%^&*()?'

Step 2 Checking if the password is strong

A strong password should have at least one of each of the 4 groups of characters: lower, upper, decimal, and special.

To not complicate code, a great way is to keep the functionality simple by creating your own simple functions using loops and conditionals.

def contains(letters, password):
    for letter in letters:
        if letter in password:
            return True
    return False

def strong_password(password):
    if not contains(lower, password):
        return False
    if not contains(upper, password):
        return False
    if not contains(decimal, password):
        return False
    if not contains(special, password):
        return False
    
    return True

The logic is simple. For each group check if the password contains the type of characters. If not, return False. If it passes all tests, then the password must be strong.

Step 3 Generate strong passwords

Now to the most difficult part.

How do we generate a strong password?

The simple answer is, to generate random passwords until one is strong.

To do that we need randomness.

import random
legal_chars = lower + upper + decimal + special
while True:
    password = ''
    for _ in range(16):
        password += random.choice(legal_chars)
        
    if strong_password(password):
        password = password[:4] + '-' + password[4:8] + '-' + password[8:12] + '-' + password[12:]
        
        print(password)
        break

You see, keep making them until one succeeds. This way you don’t compromise the randomness in the password generator.

Want more Python projects?

This is part of 19 Python Projects and you can create an anagram game and get 5 core programming skills.

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