A mark has two attributes:
1. value: nomark | querymark | numericmark
   nomark = .
   querymark = ?
   numericmark = [-][0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?
2. flag: optional letter in uppercase

When  displaying  marks   the  flag   replaces the
decimal point  for compactness.   Numeric   values
must   be    inclusively within  the   given range
ie. minimum and  maximum unless you opted for soft
limit.  Numeric   values  are   stored   with  the
specified precision.

When entering marks the valid formats are:
a. display format 15L5
b. value
c. value flag
   value -
d. + flag
   - 
E.g.
    current  -> 15.5L
    new 17X5 -> 17.5X
    new 17   -> 17L
    new 17Q  -> 17Q
    new 17-  -> 17
    new +Q   -> 15.5Q
    new -    -> 15.5

Ways to enter marks into sms

• Interactively

  • Under Student Menu, choose Modify Student.

  • If you have several marks to enter, a faster way is to use Bulk Entry.

• From a file - Two types of file are accepted (.upd and .csv).

  • Format for .upd file

    • Example 1: Using StudentID (primary key in sms) as the key First column is student ids, second column is mark field and third column is marks.

      3123456|examA|18|
      3121212|examA|10|
      3123456|examB|15|
      3121212|examB|8|
      3123456|examC|6|
      3121212|examC|3|

    • Example 2: Using other fields as the key First column is the key sms field name, second column is the key values.

      ass2grp|123|ass2|20|
      ass2grp|456|ass2|18|

  • Format for .csv file, example:

    • First line in the file must be comma separated sms field names.

      StudentID,examA,examB,examC
      3123456,18,15,6
      3121212,10,8,3

  • The files must be copied to update_recs directory under $SMSDB, examples:

  • % cp file.csv $SMSDB/update_recs

  • % cp file.upd $SMSDB/update_recs

  • Instruct sms to import the marks

    • interatively: select Student Menu → Update Student

    • commandline: smsupdate file.csv or smsupdate file.upd

• From WebCMS3

  • Fields must be Open to be editable by tutors in WebCMS3

  • Setup/transfer marks from/to WebCMS3 with this command /home/webcms3/sms/sms_webcms3.sh

  • Create a cronjob for the transfer every day with this command /home/give/stable/bin/gencronwebcms.sh