Linux Open Source Software
wQuiz - Open Source (GPL) perl based web quiz engine
The wQuiz program is a customisable program designed for running interactive
quizzes over the Internet. The program was first designed for use on the
www.firstaidquiz.com web site, but has
since been made updated to make it more flexible and made available to the public.
The quiz engine is written in perl and designed for use on a Linux server with
the Apache server, and a MySQL back-end. The quiz should work with other operating
systems, web servers, and databases, but I am unable to give any support or
advice on variations of this.
The test system is based on Ubuntu Linux 5.10, Perl 5.8.7, MySQL 4.0.24,
running on a intel based server.
Version 0.3.2 is now available to download
Documentation
The documentation included in the archive file is in OpenDocument Format as used by OpenOffice.org.
They are also made available here as PDF files.
Download
The following packages contain the same files. The permissions however are set in the tar.gz file, whereas
the zip file is intended for uploading from a Windows machine to a hosted server.
License
This software is released under the GPL v3. The general principle is that
you can use the software free of charge. You can also modify the source code,
but any changes must also be released under the same license and be available
for free.
Known Issues
- There are a few parts of the generated html which are not yet fully
xhtml (transitional) compatible. Some changes have been made to the latest
CSV snapshot, which may resolve this.
- If you enter the admin pages other than from the index.pl page then you
may get an "Internal Error". This is something to be looked at in future versions.
History
These are some of the significant events in the development of the wQuiz program.
- 0.1.0 - September 1996
The first version, completely JavaScript based using a fixed set of questions.
- 0.2.0 - November 2003
Complete rewrite as a perl cgi program.
- 0.2.1 - December 2003
Multiple Quiz Option was added. Dynamic scripts were also created for generating other
pages using cgi. The dynamic scripts were dropped in later versions, as the functionality
was replaced on the web site with PHP.
- 0.2.2 - February 2005
Offline version was created, as well as the option to use different style sheets.
The multiple css feature is under review and may be dropped.
- 0.2.7 - August 2005
HTML could now be W3C HTML compliant. Tables replaced with CSS.
- 0.3.0 - September 2005
Development on the new 0.3 version. The 0.3.0 version was a development stage, not
used significantly. Basic Quiz Administration tools added.
- 0.3.1 - March 2006
Changes made to remove the dependance on the Cache::FileCache perl cpan module. This
meant that the program was now suitable for running on a hosted web server where
additional cpan modules were not made available.
- 0.3.2 - October 2006
Complete GPL release, published on the web site. Includes Quiz Adminstration tools,
and all hardcoded quiz information removed. Administrator and User Guides produced.
Future Development
The following are all features that are being considered for future development. There
are some features that are likely to be depreciated, these are already documented in the
administrator guide. The wish list provides a list of features being considered
for the next version, whereas the second provides ideas that may or may not
make it to the wish list, either for the next or future versions.
Some of the changes are quite significant and change the way that the quiz is implemented.
Therefore this may be up to version 0.4.0 to signify that it is a significant upgrade,
both to defined quiz templates and in creating new database tables etc.
Features to be depreciated
If you are using any of these features please let the developer know.
- The alternative CSS option will be removed in favour of having alternative template
directories.
Wish List
- Further develop and fix the bugs in the admin functions
- Configuration to be moved to the database
- Different options and templates based on quiz selection
- Improved administration interface
- More logging options
- Offline counter moved to DB
Possible Features
If any of these are features that you would like to see, please let the
developer know.
- Have multiple adminstrators with different privileges
- Allow Section Headings to be included in review / question pages
