An Automatic System For Visual Basic Examination Based On C/S Architecture

Thanks to the booming advances in the networks, multi-media and database technology, there exists a trend of modernizing teaching system as well as the education management system, which has placed higher demand on the quality of the education system. E.g., the testing system, it has been an inseparable and crucial factor in evaluating the education and teaching system, and the well-designed testing system can provide prompt feedback of the teaching effect and the instructive strategy for the teaching, which aim to utilize the teaching system. The paperless test system, the effect of application of the computer science and technology in the testing system, has relieved the working load on the teachers. Such as the automatic paper setting, testing paper grading, score recording, as well as the scores printing-out. Hence, the paperless testing paper has been a platform that exemplifies the procedures of the teaching reform on the course curriculums.Necessity is the mother of invention. As a member of the faculty of School of computer Science and technology, Jilin Normal University, I clearly know the working load imposed on teachers during the final examination session. That is because we are in charge of the required course on computer science for non-computer science major students of the university as well as the required courses and selective courses for the computer major students. In order to best evaluate the students, the well-designed achievement tests in two forms, both the paper-version test paper and sign-on online testing, are required. The validity and reliability of the test paper is achieved via the teachers'endeavors, namely, the deliberate test design and format-making and paper scoring. As for the computer operating examination, the teachers are required to grade and score the performance of the each participant at once. Hence, in order to lighten the teachers'strenuous working load during the examination session, the school authorities decide to develop an integrated testing system on Visual Basic course in 2006. With the rich facilities resources at disposal, the integrated testing systems aim at providing an impartial judging system on the students'performance of the manipulating skills as well as the theoretical knowledge on the Visual Basic course , which is personnel-saving and money-saving.The first chapter is to review literatures on the application of C/S structures on the Visual Basic testing and evaluating system. Namely, the related studies include the theory background, state of art, and developments of C/S structures, the necessity of the automatic testing system, the analysis of the function module partition and the database module. The C/S based testing system on the Visual Basic course is a detailed programmed-design that includes several modules. The program that includes sub-modules of a certain function aims at obtaining the integrated information for performance of the test-takers. The functions of the sub-modules are to achieve the information on the test-takers and teachers (users), the efficient management of the test bank, parameter setting for test paper-making, stochastic reference of the test questions database, the automatic marking system, the sign-on system of the test-takers, mark browsing system. To be specific, the module on the test-taker information serves to collect and maintain the collected data. The sub-module on the test bank system serves to achieve the basic manipulations, namely to input, to browse, to inquire, to modify, and to delete the test-paper database. In terms of inputting the test paper, it can be manipulated under the Microsoft Word editing system, which eases the technical load burdened on the teachers and makes the modification and edition of the test database easier. The module on the parameter-setting for the test paper-making facilitates the teachers to control the coverage of the test paper. The utilization of the module on stochastic reference of the test questions database can counterbalance the chances of the cheating on the exams. And automatic grading modules serves as an objective"judge"for the performance of the test-takers in the multiple choice section, and programmed filling-in blank and programming section, which avoided the flaws existed in the traditional testing system.The current program is designed under the well-developed technology framework Visual basic and SQL Server. There are two aspects involved in the course of the program developing process, namely the application of front manipulation program and the back database, its setting-up and its maintenance. The former is characterized as being interface-friendly, manipulation-friendly, and having optimized algorithm. The latter serves as setting up an integrated and safe-proof database system.The testing system has developed under the C/S structure as the theory framework, which consists of three modules, namely sever program, management program, the client program. The testing sever program is designed and developed to deal with the demand of vast clients. The management designing is based on the principle of being easily accessible and convenient. The client access is designed under the principle of being practical, that is to say, when students (test-takers) see the interface, they can know how to operate the interface without special training on the techniques.The random sampling selection is used in the systems on the basis of the parameter-setting on the test database as well as the throughout analysis on the feasible access to the test data-base. The encrypted database is achieved via the following means. a) to manipulate the security mechanisms of the SQL Server 2000 database. The innate security system, which provides a solid discretionary access control, serves to prevent the abnormal manipulation of the users; b) to encrypt the key files of the database; c) to conduct compression-encryption on the test resources with zip code. The security of the current testing system is also achieved via the strict access control, namely the control over the log-in and access, the automatic fault diagnosis and automatic fault disposal, the timing systems of the test-taking. Besides safeguarding the security of the system, it also incorporate the automatic scoring into the programs, that is, it can grade the multiple-choice automatically, also it can make an automatic judgment on the program fill-in section and the programming fill-in section.In the conclusion chapter, the achievements of the current research have been elaborated in detail. The limitations of the current programs and the research gap have been also given.