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Beginning features

        The question file is a text file. It consists of 80 character lines. It can be produced by any text editor or by a word processor such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. If it is produced by a word processing code, it should be saved as DOS text with line breaks. An example of a question file is sample.que. It consists of a heading of general text, which is repeated verbatim on each exam, followed by a set of questions.

        In general the first two columns of each question must begin with the letters QQ and these must be followed by a space. The lines following this are the question. The beginning of the answers in signaled by a line beginning with AA followed by a space in the first two columns.
   Each question must have 5 answers. These are indicated by space(1)space answer1 space(2)space answer2 (3) answer3 (4) etc. The space refers to a simple space, but it is essential. The code looks for space open_parentheses 1 close_parentheses to find the first answer and then for space open_parentheses 2 close_parentheses to find the second answer and so on.
   The default is for the first answer to be correct.
   Thus a simple question and answer from sample.que is

QQ An apple falls from a tree of height 3 m, near sea level on Earth. What is the magnitude of the apple's velocity at the instant it strikes the ground? AA (1) 7.7 m/s   (2) 9.8 m/s   (3) 5.4 m/s   (4) 0.8 m/s   (5) 6.0 m/s        The space following, AA tells the code that the first answer is correct. The answers on the student exams will be random permutations of the order above. The question itself will also be randomly permuted within the set of questions.
    The exam code is a primitive word processor capable of making superscripts and subscripts from some signals in the text file. These are described in Word_Proc.html.

`Advanced Feature 1 (different correct answer)`

Sometimes by design and frequently by accident, the first answer is not the correct one. In this case AA space number space gives the correct answer. That is

AA 2 (1) zero degrees Fahrenheit (2) cold (3) boiling (4) not enough information
given (5) lukewarm The code "sees" the 2 and assumes that the second answer is correct.

The two could have been zero through seven. If it were zero, no answer would be the correct answer, if it were six there would be no way to get a correct answer (hence the question is thrown out), if it were seven all answers would be correct.

`Advanced Feature 2 (continued question)`

Frequently a question depends on the previous question. If the first two characters are
CQ followed by a space, rather than QQ followed by a space, the question with the CQ will always follow the preceding question with a QQ. The answers will be permuted as will the location of the QQ question, but CQ will always follow the QQ. There can be more than one CQ for a QQ

QQ ....

AA ...

CQ ....

AA ,,,

CQ ...

AA ...

`Advanced Feature 3 (select questions randomly)`

The questions can occur in the form

RQ1 Question 1

AA Answers to question 1

CQ Follow up to question 1

AA Answers to follow up to question 1

RQ1 Question 1A

AA Answers to question 1A

CQ Follow up to question 1A

AA Answers to follow up to question 1A

In this case either question 1 and its follow up will appear in an individual exam or question 1A and its follow up will appear.

The 1 designates the group, there can be 20 groups of questions. If there are two RQ1's and three RQ2's, each exam will have a 50/50 chance of either RQ1 set and a chance in 3 of any one of the RQ2 set.

`Advanced Feature 4 (put the question weights in the file)`

The questions do not need to be equally weighted. The menu provides an obvious place for changing the weights, and if this is done before the exams are printed, these weights are written in the questions. It is also possible to put the weights in the que file. The question below was produced

 18. WEIGHT  3.70
        At the instant a traffic light turns green, a car that has been
                                                                      2
    waiting at rest begins to accelerate at a constant rate of 2.5 m/s .
    At this same instant a truck, traveling with a constant speed of 15 m/s,
    passes the car. How far beyond the light does the car overtake the truck?

    (1) 180 m (2) 90 m (3) 12 m (4) 19 m (5) 26 m

from a que file containing

WWQ 3.7
QQ At the instant a traffic light turns green, a car that has been
waiting at rest begins to accelerate at a constant rate of 2.5 m/s**2*.
At this same instant a truck, traveling with a constant speed of 15 m/s,
passes the car. How far beyond the light does the car overtake the truck?
AA  (1) 180 m   (2) 90 m   (3) 12 m   (4) 19 m   (5) 26 m

Notice that the WWQ 3.7 contains a single space between the WWQ and the weight and that it has a line to itself in the question file.