Getting Started

Class account

Access via SSH

If you are correctly allocated to your course as indicated on the allocation files and if you have previously created your keys, you should be able to log into your class account. If not, you can email system support (ss@cse.unsw.edu.au).

Course website

A typical url for a course website: http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs9999

In the class account, under the public_html directory, create a new session directory for your files (e.g. 12s2) and edit the index.html file.

Classes

Enrollments

The class accounts have read permissions to extract enrollment records. The enrollment files are stored in:

Tutor allocations

Student Records and Assignment Management Systems

  • give - assignment submission, autotesting and marking system

  • sms - student records management system

give Manual

give FAQ

sms Manual

sms FAQ

Xmark

give & sms Installation

give and sms are interconnected. Create give environment and sms database in the class account as follows:

  1. ssh into the class account with X11 forwarding: ssh -Y

    (!) sms is a tcl/tk app that requires X windows. Running tcl/tk app with X windows is slow. Better ways are:

  2. Run the installation script:

    % give-install -new

    % ~give/stable/bin/give-install -new

    • if ~give/stable/bin is not part of $PATH

    % ksh give-install -new

    • if your login shell is zsh

    % give-install -new term

    • if the term is not the same as the system-wide term, term example 20T3

  3. The installation perform the following tasks:
    • Create $WORK ($HOME/term.work e.g. ~/20T3.work)

    • Create give.spec (if doesn't exists) in

      • $HOME (does not override existing one)

      • $WORK (does not override existing one)

      (read about give.spec)

    • Create .giverc in $HOME (overrides existing one)

    • Create sms database ($SMSDB) under $WORK (can be postponed)

    • Download student enrolment data (read about importing nss data below)
    • Add $SMSDB environment variable to $WORK/.giverc

  4. The installation can be paused before sms database is created.
    • Create the database by running sms directly:
    • e.g.
    • sms ~/20T3.work/20T3db.sms

    • or

    • sms

      • using the value stored in $SMSDB

    • Resume the installation with this command:

      give-install -update

  5. Download student enrollment data
    • Add course records
      • For combined courses, create the database in the primary class account, add a record for each course.
    • Add student records
      • Top menu bar: StudentAdd Student RecordsExternal Source

      • or second menu bar: Add from NSS

        From NSS (without classes) - The download will not overwrite class changes in sms

  6. If there are classes in NSS, an enum field (tut, lab or tut_lab) will automatically be created in sms after the above downloads.

    Enter this field when asked for a group field by the give-install script. This field is used by give for assignment submissions.

    (Read about &subkey and &subgroup)

  7. After installing give, update the give environment:

    % . ~/.giverc

    and insert the line above to the class account's .profile, if not already.

  8. Check that $HOME/give.spec contain the correct configuration for the current term.

    • Look out for &period is not still set to a previous term. Example

      &period=19T3
  9. Check the environment variables: $GIVEPERIOD, $WORK, $SMSDB

    % echo $GIVEPERIOD