Character data processing: from simple to complex

The article proposes multi-level materials for students of grades 7–8 to master the theme "Character data processing" in the Python programming language. The first level of complexity involves consideration of the minimum theoretical information and basic algorithms for processing character data, including algorithms for texts editing (replacing a character, deleting and inserting a character, searching for an occurrence of a given pattern); the material is aimed at students who master informatics at a basic level. The second (advanced) level of complexity implies not only actual knowledge of the material being studied, including string processing methods, but also the ability to apply it in new situations; the material can be offered to the basic school students who master informatics at an advanced level. The third (high) level of complexity involves the acquaintance of students with the Olympiad tasks; the material is aimed at the most prepared and motivated students. Working with string data, implemented at different levels of complexity, can become both an alternative and a supplement for tasks with a mathematical context, traditionally included in the content of the informatics course of the basic school.