[OS X TeX] Multiple choice tests

[William Adams]

On Tuesday, December 27, 2005, at 12:56 PM, Alain Schremmer wrote:

> I would like to create a twenty-five questions multiple-choice exam  
> with a bank of, say, 5 variations for each question.
>
> I googled the web for a couple of hours and didn't really see anything  
> that wouldn't require a major investment of time and energy because  
> they do a lot more than what I have in mind which is something of the  
> order of one folder for each question in which I would have the 5  
> variants in the form of pdf files. Then a macro would randomely  
> include one file from each folder in a master source so that I could  
> reuse the exam. It would be nice if the order of the included  
> questions in the source could also be randomized.
>
> My questions:
>
>    Does this seem feasible?

Sure.

>    If so, where could I learn just enough Applescript to write the  
> script?

_The Tao of Applescript_ comes highly recommended. There're also a  
couple of references on-line, see
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/ 
search?author=&amode=words&title=applescript&tmode=words

>    Has anyone had any experience with, or at least seen, something like
>    that?

Yes.

>    If so, where could I find it?

Nifty presentation at TUG2003:

Enabling Web access to a database of calculus problems
         using LaTeX, PHP and LaTeX2HTML
by Kalle Saastamoinen, Jaakko Ketola, Tuukka Kurppa and Liisa Torikka

http://www.tug.org/TUGboat/Articles/tb24-1/saast.pdf

William

-- 
William Adams
senior graphic designer
Fry Communications


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