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Answer a quiz

A program for a student that starts a quiz attempt (or continues the one in progress), shows its questions page by page at the terminal, saves the answers the person types, and finishes the attempt and prints its review when they confirm.

Uses: quizzes; see also Working at a student's pace.

The program​

import { createInterface } from "node:readline/promises";
import { createMoodle } from "@falkenslab/moodle-driver";

// The quiz's course module id: an activity of type "quiz" in courseStructure() (mod/quiz/view.php?id=26).
const QUIZ_ID = 26;

await using moodle = createMoodle({
  site: "https://campus.example.org/",
  profileDir: "/home/ada/.moodle-profile",
  headless: true,
  downloadBrowser: true,
  // A person reads and answers at the terminal, at their own pace: the driver's reading pauses would only add to it.
  trail: "fast",
});
await moodle.logIn();

const info = await moodle.quizInfo(QUIZ_ID);
console.log(info.info.join("\n"));
if (!info.canStart) throw new Error(`The quiz can't be attempted: ${info.messages.join(" ")}`);

// Starts an attempt, or continues the open one; a time limit's clock starts here. Every page's questions come back.
const { attemptId, questions } = await moodle.startQuizAttempt(QUIZ_ID);
const prompt = createInterface({ input: process.stdin, output: process.stdout });
const pages = [...new Set(questions.map((q) => q.page ?? 0))];

for (const page of pages) {
  console.log(`\n--- Page ${page + 1} of ${pages.length} ---`);
  const answers: { slot: number; responses: Record<string, string> }[] = [];
  for (const question of questions.filter((q) => (q.page ?? 0) === page)) {
    console.log(`\n${question.number ?? ""} ${question.text}`);
    // Answers go by the fields' form names (q9:1_answer); `value` is what's saved already.
    const responses: Record<string, string> = {};
    for (const field of question.fields) {
      if (field.kind === "text") {
        const typed = await prompt.question(`  Answer${field.value ? ` [${field.value}]` : ""}: `);
        if (typed) responses[field.name] = typed;
      } else if (field.kind === "checkbox") {
        const typed = await prompt.question(`  [${field.value === "1" ? "x" : " "}] ${field.label ?? ""} (y/n) `);
        if (typed) responses[field.name] = /^y/i.test(typed) ? "1" : "0";
      } else {
        // Radios and drop-downs: leave out "clear my choice" (-1) and a drop-down's "Choose..." (0); a false is "0" too.
        const options = (field.options ?? []).filter((o) => o.value !== "-1" && !(field.kind === "select" && o.value === "0"));
        if (field.label) console.log(`  ${field.label}`);
        options.forEach((option, i) => console.log(`  ${i + 1}) ${option.label}${option.value === field.value ? " *" : ""}`));
        const chosen = options[Number(await prompt.question("  Number (empty to skip): ")) - 1];
        if (chosen) responses[field.name] = chosen.value;
      }
    }
    if (Object.keys(responses).length > 0) answers.push({ slot: question.slot, responses });
  }
  // Saves this page as its "Next page" button does; the attempt stays open.
  if (answers.length > 0) {
    await moodle.answerQuizQuestions(attemptId, answers);
    console.log(`Saved answers to ${answers.length} question(s).`);
  }
}

const confirm = await prompt.question("\nSubmit all and finish? (yes/no) ");
prompt.close();
if (/^y(es)?$/i.test(confirm.trim())) {
  const done = await moodle.finishQuizAttempt(attemptId);
  // The review is there only when the quiz's review options show it right after the attempt.
  if (!done.review) console.log(`${done.changed} The review isn't available yet.`);
  for (const row of done.review?.summary ?? []) console.log(`${row.label}: ${row.value}`);
  for (const q of done.review?.questions ?? []) console.log(`${q.number ?? "-"} ${q.state}${q.mark ? ` (${q.mark})` : ""}${q.rightAnswer ? `: ${q.rightAnswer}` : ""}`);
} else {
  console.log(`Attempt ${attemptId} stays open: run again to continue it.`);
}

Step by step​

  1. createMoodle takes trail: "fast": here a person is the one reading, so the pauses the realistic trail adds for a program that answers alone aren't needed. See Working at a student's pace.
  2. logIn() opens a window the first time for the person to log in.
  3. quizInfo(QUIZ_ID) reads the quiz's page: its information lines, the person's attempts and canStart, which is false when the attempts are used up or the quiz is closed (messages says why).
  4. startQuizAttempt presses the quiz's start (or continue) button, confirms the time limit's form if there is one, and reads every page of the attempt. Each question has its page, its slot and its fields.
  5. For each page, the program shows the questions and asks for each field: a text, a tick, or an option's number. Then answerQuizQuestions(attemptId, answers) saves that page. Moodle keeps what's saved, so stopping halfway loses nothing.
  6. When the person confirms, finishQuizAttempt submits the attempt ("Submit all and finish") and returns the review, if the quiz shows it now: the summary (state, marks, grade) and each question's state, mark and right answer.

What it prints​

An example; the questions, labels and grades come from the site.

Attempts allowed: 2
Time limit: 20 mins
Grading method: Highest grade

--- Page 1 of 2 ---

1 Recursion always needs a base case.
  1) True
  2) False
  Number (empty to skip): 1

2 What does factorial(4) return?
  Answer: 24
Saved answers to 2 question(s).

--- Page 2 of 2 ---

3 Which of these are loops in Python?
  [ ] for (y/n) y
  [ ] while (y/n) y
  [ ] repeat (y/n) n
Saved answers to 1 question(s).

Submit all and finish? (yes/no) yes
State: Finished
Marks: 3.00/3.00
Grade: 10.00 out of 10.00 (100%)
1 correct (Mark 1.00 out of 1.00): The correct answer is 'True'.
2 correct (Mark 1.00 out of 1.00): The correct answer is: 24
3 correct (Mark 1.00 out of 1.00): The correct answers are: for, while

Variations​

  • Continue later: run it again. startQuizAttempt continues the open attempt, and each field's saved value shows marked (*, [x], or in brackets).
  • Answer from a file instead of the terminal: build the same { slot, responses } list and save it in one call; with the default realistic trail, the driver then pauses on each page as a reader would.
  • Read a past attempt's review: take its id from info.attempts (those with inProgress: false) and call await moodle.readReview(id).
  • Read the open attempt without starting anything: await moodle.readAttempt(attemptId).

When something goes wrong​

  • QuizError from startQuizAttempt: the quiz asks for a password (not supported), there's no start button (attempts used up, closed), or the id isn't a quiz; the message carries the page's reasons.
  • QuizError from answerQuizQuestions or finishQuizAttempt: the attempt isn't open any more (the time limit ran out, or it was finished elsewhere), or a slot isn't in it.
  • FormError from answerQuizQuestions: a field name isn't on its page; that page and the following ones aren't saved, the earlier ones are.
  • NotLoggedInError: the session expired while the person was answering. Call moodle.logIn() and run again: the attempt continues with what was saved. See Errors.

Data it touches​

quizInfo is course-content and own; startQuizAttempt, answerQuizQuestions and finishQuizAttempt are own. See data categories.