Hey guys,
I was asked by one of my school profs to write out this test paper in any code, using any program. There are probably alotta ways to do this, but I'm having a lil trouble.

Ideally, What he wanted me to do is have this test, 50 multiple choice questions, on each computer terminal, available to the students. Once the student finishes the test, he should be able to submit it to the main computer (profs comp), along with his/her name and student number. Then the computer will automatically correct the tests and return the results to the students and the prof will have a record of the test and results.

The computers are connected in a network(doh!), but not to the internet(I think not yet at least).
Also, It is not necessary to satisfy each criteria in this problem. The tests are usually done by paper, but the prof is looking for an way to save his time and/or paper and/or...

I tried using Frontpage, but I got stuck at the Submit button. (I don't have Frontpage anymore, so I can't detail on my 'stuck' scene).
Then I thought of keeping things simple, using VB and/or MSAccess, and just providing the program on each terminal and having the students save their results there,
but VB is 80% interface designing, 15%coding. 5% frustrating.
I am reading this book- Java for Scientists and Engineers - and learning up on this Display function. I do know Basic Java and C++ and HTML, and I'm reading up on Niallj's PHP basics, but again I do not have any programs to test my code. I had to reformat my computer and I lost all the free programs that the university gave me including Ready(to Program with Java) and I don't remember what C++ program we used.

So basically I have 2 problems, 1- what language/program to code in, 2- getting the program. But 2 is not that catastrophic... I'll just steal (semi-permanantly borrow) my friend's computer.

Just wondering if you guys got any better solutions, also cheap
Thanks

This post has been edited by Limbo: 23 Apr, 2006 - 03:58 PM

Well, I can't really offer much on the choice of language...it should be a combination of your own preference and what serves the purpose best. Given the description of the problem, I'd suggest that you use a scripting language (be it php, asp, .net, perl, python, ruby, whatever) and write the application in such a way that it is accessed through a web browser. Answers are submitted to a single data repository (MySQL or another DB), which your prof can then access through an admin version of the application. This approach would allow a single application with two modules to be deployed, eliminating the need for multiple deployments of a client side application.

By program, I assume you mean some sort of IDE, like FrontPage, Dreamweaver, something like that. As an FYI, they are not really necessary...scripting and programming can be done in any text editor. If you choose to shy away from the scripting approach and prefer multiple client applications, you would need a compiler for your language of choice, but free compilers for virtually all languages are avaliable...the one you use will depend on your choice of language.

My 2 cents