Implementation notes

Source code

The Bolt source code is part of the BOINC source code distribution?. The files related to Bolt are:

Include files:

• bolt.inc: implementation of course document functions.
• bolt_db.inc: Bolt-specific DB abstraction layer.
• db_conn.inc: General DB abstraction layer.
• bolt_ex.inc: Exercise API functions.
• bolt_util.inc: Miscellaneous HTML.

User-visible files:

• bolt.php: List of courses.
• bolt_course_sample.php: Example course document.
• bolt_course.php: Home page for a particular course.
• bolt_sched.php: Scheduler: makes sequencing decisions and adds navigation.

Administrative files:

• bolt_refresh.php: Periodic task to send refresh emails.
• bolt_setup_sample.php: Example script to create a course.

How exercises are implemented

The following information is intended for those who want to add new exercise types.

An exercise is a function that is called with three global variables:

• $bolt_ex_mode
• $bolt_ex_index
• $bolt_ex_score

If $bolt_ex_mode is BOLT_MODE_SHOW, the function should display the exercise, typically generating some "form" input items. $bolt_ex_index is a sequential index (0, 1, ...) indicating the order of this question in a file containing multiple questions; it should be included in form variable names.

If $bolt_ex_mode is BOLT_MODE_SCORE, the function should score the student's response (based on $_GET values) and should store the result (a floating-point number in [0..1]) in $bolt_ex_score.

If $bolt_ex_mode is BOLT_MODE_ANSWER, the function should display an "answer page" that shows the students the correct answers, and whether the student's responses were right or wrong.