Bolt Tutorial, Part I: Courses and Lessons

Creating a course

Install the BOINC software on a Linux system (or run the BOINC server virtual machine in a VMWare player on any computer).

Use make_project to create a BOINC project named "bolt_test":

> cd boinc/tools
> make_project --web_only bolt_test

Edit httpd.conf as directed (you'll need root access to do this). Let's say your server's domain name is "a.b.c".

Visit ​http://a.b.c/test/create_account.php and create an account for yourself.

Visit ​http://a.b.c/test_ops/bolt_ops.php, and create a course named "Test course" with course document "course_doc.php" (we'll create this later).

Lessons and sequences

Let's start with a simple course consisting of two lessons. Each lesson consists of a PHP or HTML file. Create the following files in ~/projects/test/html/user:

conifer_intro.php

<?php

echo "
Throughout California's Sierra Nevada mountains,
and especially at high altitudes,
the dominant plants are tall, straight
trees with narrow needle-like leaves.
These trees are called <b>conifers</b>
because they carry their seeds in cones.
<p>
This course will teach you how to identify
the most common types of California conifers.

";
?>

lesson2.html

<?php

echo "
Trees can be classified into two groups:
<b>coniferous</b> and <b>deciduous</b>.
These groups differ in several ways:

<ul>
<li> Most conifers are 'evergreen':
they maintain their leaves throughout the year.
Deciduous trees drop their leaves in autumn.
<li> Conifer leaves are either needles or overlapping scales,
whereas deciduous leaves are broad and flat.

<ul>
";

?>

course_doc.php

<?php
return sequence(
    name('course'),
    lesson(
        name('lesson 1'),
        filename('lesson1.php')
    ),
    lesson(
        name('lesson 2'),
        filename('lesson2.html')
    )
);
?>

Diagramatically, the course structure is:

Now visit ​http://a.b.c/test/bolt.php. You'll be asked to log in; do so. Click on the button to start the test course. You'll see:

Note that below your lesson Bolt has added some navigation links and a form to ask questions. Click on the "Next" button. You'll see:

Now suppose that instead of reading the lesson, you go away (for an hour or a month) and return. Simulate this by visiting ​http://a.b.c.test/bolt.php. You'll see

Notice that Bolt "remembers" where you are in the course (this is stored in the database; it will work even if you go to a different computer).

Now click "Resume", and you'll see the second lesson again. Click on Next. You'll see:

Now visit ​http://a.b.c.test/bolt.php again, and click on "History". You'll see something like:

Bolt has recorded your course interactions and their timing, in its database; this is used for course analytics (see part III of this tutorial).

Continue to Part II