You can convert a Python string to its ASCII values using a built-in function called ord(). This function takes each character in your string and gives you its numerical code in the ASCII chart.

# The numeric value of a lowercase character is defined as its position # (1-indexed) in the alphabet, so the numeric value of a is 1, the numeric # value of b is 2, the numeric value of c is 3, and ...

Adding 1 to an instance of the class will generate a new instance with an incremented value (and a new checksum). So, in short, you can generate serial numbers like this: serial = ...