1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Online examinations, sometimes referred as e-examinations, are the examinations conducted through the internet or in an intranet (if within the Organizatio Organization) n) for a remote remote candidate(s). candidate(s). Most of the examinations examinations issue results results as the candidate candidate finish finish the examination, examination, when there is an answer processing processing module also included within the system. Thes Thesee exam examin inat atio ions ns are are cond conduc ucte ted d as open open-b -boo ook k type type examination examinations. s. Candidate Candidate is given a limited limited time to answer the questions questions and after the time expiry the answer paper is disabled automaticall automatically y and answers answers is sent to the examiner. examiner. The examiner examiner will evaluate evaluate answers, either either through through automated process or manually and the results will be sent to the candidate through email or made available in the web site. Today Today many many organiz organizati ations ons are conduc conductin ting g online online examin examinat ation ionss worldwide worldwide successfully successfully and issue results results online. online. There are advantages and disadvantages in online examinations. The main main adva advant ntag agee is that that it can be condu conduct cted ed for for remot remotee candi candida date tess and and evaluation evaluation of answers can be fully automated automated for MCQ questions questions and other essay type questions questions can be evaluated evaluated manually manually or through automated automated system, system, depending on the nature of the question s and the requirements. Also online examinations can be conducted at any time and does not incur higher cost as traditional exam scenario as there is no paper work involved(eg: printing exam papers, prepare paper admissions etc) , there is no invigilators, also no need need of arran arrange geme ment nt of exam exam cente centers rs.. When When compa compari ring ng with with tradi traditi tion onal al exam scenario the cost for an online examination will be almost zero after the online online exam exam system system is establ establish ishme ment nt and if maint maintenan enance ce cost cost is not considered. The disadvan disadvantag tagee of of the the e-exam e-examinat ination ion is the inabil inability ity of invigi invigilat lating ing.. Ther Theree are are metho ethodo dolo logi gies es used used in thes thesee exam examin inat atio ions ns,, when when regi regist ster erin ing g candidates candidates and presentat presentation ion of questions, questions, so that to to test candidates candidates knowle knowledge dge and and skil skills ls.. Howe Howeve verr with with a lim limited ited time time , cand candid idat atee is not not capa capabl blee of tota totall lly y depen depend d on the the refe refere rence nce mate materi rial alss or a suppor supporti ting ng perso person. n.
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1.2 Objectives
This Web Application provides facility to conduct online examinations worldwide. It saves time as it allows number of students to give the exam at a time and displays the results as the test gets over, so no need to wait for the result. It is automatically generated by the server. Administrator has a privilege to create, modify and delete the test papers and its particular questions. User can register, login and give the test with his specific id, and can see the results as well.
1.3 Purpose and Scope
1.3.1 Purpose
The purpose of on-line test system is to take online test in an efficient manner and no time wasting for checking the paper. The main objective of on-line test system is to efficiently evaluate the candidate thoroughly through a fully automated system that not only saves lot of time but also gives fast results.
1.3.2 Scope
Scope of this project is very broad in terms of other manually taking exams. Few of them are:
This can be used in Educational Institutions like Schools, Colleges, and Private Institutes to conduct logic tests of their students on a regular basis. Can be used anywhere any time as it is a web based application (user Location doesn't matter). No restriction that examiner has to be present when the candidate takes the test.
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2. SURVEY OF TECHNOLOGIES This project is a web application that is developed in PHP having MYSQL as back end. 1. Database Design (MYSQL)
MySQL is characterized as a free, fast, reliable open source relational database. It does lack some sophistication and facilities, but it has an active development team and, as it goes from release to release, more capabilities are added. At certain times there will be a trade-off between speed and capabilities, and the MySQL team intend to keep their database engine fast and reliable.
2. Input Design (DREAMWEAVER)
3. Coding
Ease and efficiency of use. The ability to create consistent looking web pages. Managing and updating websites effectively. Easy to upload using FTP. (PHP, JavaScript)
PHP is one of the most popular server side scripting languages running today. It is used for creating dynamic web pages that interact with the user offering customized information. PHP offers many advantages; it is fast, stable, secure, easy to use and open source (free). PHP manages freeing all resources. Users does not required to free file handle resource, database resources, memory, etc, unless programmer need to free resource during script execution.(All resources are released after script execution). PHP code is inserted directly into the HTML that makes up a website. When a visitor comes to the website, the code is executed. Because PHP is a server side technology, the user does not need any special browser or plug-ins to see the PHP in action. JavaScript is a browser based programming language that actually runs client side. This means that any code that is written in JavaScript is delivered along with the web pages and the scripts that are written, actually run from within the users' browser rather than directly on the server that is serving the web pages. It can be interactive even when we are not connected to the Internet. Since the code is typed directly into your HTML files, we can create JavaScript with software as simple as a plain text editor. We can quickly test and modify JavaScript code. JavaScript functionality is built into most new web browsers since 1996, so there is no extra software for the viewer to download or install.
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3. REQUIREMENTS AND ANALYSIS 3.1 Problem Definition
The System is based on the following key working areas 1) Candidate Registration 2) Setting question paper 3) Scheduling exams 4) Conducting exams 5) Checking answers 6) Preparing results
3.2 Requirements Specification
Functional Requirements: 1. The candidate should be able to register online for the examination online after accepting the application. 2. The system should be capable of storing candidate’s records. 3. Examiners should be able to setup the papers without involvement of other technical personnel such as developers, system administrators. 4. Examiner should be able to issue exam index numbers to the candidates. 5. Examiner should be able to modify the system passwords and change the authentications if there is more than one user. 6. Examiner should be able to receive answers securely through the system. 7. System should be capable of presenting both MCQ and essay type questions. 8. The system should be capable of present questions at once or one by one according to the requirements of the examiner. 9. The system should be capable of generate statistical data for examiner, like a. Number of registered candidates. b. Number of Candidates on exam at the moment. c. Number of questions answered by the candidates etc. 10.The system should be synchronized with the server time and should be capable of disable answer sheet automatically after time out. 11.System should not allow one candidate to (one index number holder) to take the exam more than one time.
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Non Functional Requirements: 1. The system should be designed in as a secured system applying security measures 2. Special exception handling mechanism should be in place to avoid system errors. 3. Should be capable of giving access to concurrent users without degrading the system performance and accept answers. 4. Sessions of each candidate should be synchronized with server and duration calculations should be done according to the server time.
3.3 Planning and Scheduling
Id
Task Name
Start Date (Yr2011)
Finish Date (Yr2011)
Duration (in Days)
3/5
3/7
2
3/8
3/10
3
3/9
3/15
7
3/13
3/15
3
DFD
3/16
3/19
4
Designing
3/20
4/17
29
Coding
3/25
4/24
31
Rework
4/25
5/8
14
Final Report
5/5
5/29
23
1 Project Definition 2 System Overview And Analysis 3 Requirement Gathering and SRS 4 Tools and Technology 5 6 7 8 9
Mar 2011 3/6
3/13
3/20
Apr 2011 3/27
4/3
4/10
4/17
May 2011 4/24
5/1
5/8
5/15
5/22
5/29
G Gantt chart
Work in progress Work Completed
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3.4 Software And Hardware Requirements
Software Requirements Client Side: Web Browser – Internet Explorer 6 or above
O.S - Windows XP/2000/Vista7,Linux, Fedora, Solaris, Mac OS Web Server: Applications – PHP 5.3, Wamp Server 2
O.S – Windows Server 2003/2008, Linux Data Base Server: MYSQL
Hardware Requirements Client Side: Processor - Pentium IV 2.0 and above.
RAM - 256 MB Server Side: Processor - Pentium IV 2.0 and above.
RAM - 2 GB Disk space - Min 4GB
3.5 Preliminary Product Description
The homepage for the has been created.
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Data Dictionary tbl_admin Table comments: administrator details Field
Type
Null
Default
Comments
admin_id
int(11)
No
Administrator ID
name
varchar(255)
No
Administrator Name
password
varchar(255)
No
Administrator password
privilege
enum('A', 'U')
No
Admin or User
login_time
timestamp
No
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
remarks
varchar(255)
No
DACT
Keyname
Type Unique Packed
Field
Admin login time Activated or Deactivated
Cardinality Collation Null Comment
PRIMARY BTREE Yes
No
admin_id 2
A
BTREE Yes
No
name
A
2
tbl_user Table comments: Registered Users Field
Type
Null
Default
Comments
user_id
int(11)
No
Student registration ID
name
varchar(255)
No
Full name of student
gender
enum('M', 'F')
No
Gender of student
birth_date
date
No
Date ofBirthofstudent
address
text
No
Mailing address of student
pincode
varchar(7)
No
email
varchar(255)
No
password
varchar(255)
No
contact
varchar(10)
No
Valid Phone Number of student
city
varchar(255)
No
present location of student
create_date
datetime
No
Date ofJoining
modify_date
timestamp
No
qualification
varchar(255)
No
Education Qualification of the student
course
varchar(255)
No
Course(s) registered
status
enum('N', 'Y')
No
N
Account activation status
pay_status
enum('Y', 'N')
No
N
Amount of course fees paid
image
varchar(255)
Keyname
Type Unique Packed Field
pincode Valid Email-ID of student as the Login ID
Pass@1234
0000-00-00 00:00:00
No
Login Password
Date ofModification
Passport picture of of student
Cardinality Collation Null Comment
PRIMARY BTREE Yes
No
user_id 3
A
email BTREE Yes
No
email
3
A
name BTREE No
No
name
3
A
user_id BTREE No
No
user_id 3
A
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tbl_examdetails Table comments: Details during the exam session Field
Type
Null
Default
Comments
id
int(11)
No
Question Number
exam_id
int(11)
No
Examinaton ID for the Examinee
user_id
int(11)
No
ID of the Examinee fromtbl_user
q_id
int(11)
No
Question ID from tbl_question
answer
varchar(255)
Ye
NULL
Answer given by the Examinee
marks
int(11)
Ye
NULL
Marks for each questions marked
status
enum('Y', 'N')
No
time_stamp
timestamp
No
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
Time Monitoring
Indexes: Type Unique Packed Field Cardinality Collation Null Comment
Keyname
PRIMARY BTREE Yes
No
id
0
A
BTREE Yes
No
q_id 0
A
d
tbl_question Table comments: Question Database Field
Type
Null
Default
Comments
course_id
varchar(255)
No
Course ID
q_id
int(11)
No
Question ID
question
text
No
exhibit
varchar(255)
option1
text
No
MCQ Option 1
option2
text
No
MCQ Option 2
option3
text
No
MCQ Option 3
option4
text
No
MCQ Option 4
option5
text
Yes
valid_answer
varchar(255)
No
Correct Option
marks
int(11)
No
Marks for the question
Yes
NULL
NULL
Questions Question Releated Images
MCQ Option 5
Indexes: Keyname
Type Unique Packed Field
Cardinality Collation Null Comment
PRIMARY BTREE Yes
No
q_id
0
A
course_id BTREE No
No
course_id 0
A
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tbl_examreg Table comments: ExamRegistration Details Field
Type
Null
Default
Comments
reg_id
int(11)
No
user_id
int(11)
No
Examinee ID fromtbl_user
course_id
int(11)
No
Course ID fromtbl_course
exam_date
date
No
status
enum('Y', 'N')
No
remarks
text
Yes
Exam Registration Number
Exam Booking date
N
Exam status
NULL
Examinee eligible for the exam or not
Indexes: Keyname
Type Unique Packed Field
PRIMARY BTREE Yes
No
reg_id
Cardinality Collation Null Comment
0
A
tbl_result Table comments: Final result of the examinee Field
Type
Null
Default
Comments
report_id
int(11)
No
Report Generation ID
user_id
int(11)
No
Examinee ID fromtbl_examdetails
course_id
varchar(255)
No
Course ID from tbl_question
total_marks
int(11)
No
Total marks obtained
issue_date
timestamp
No
status
enum('P', 'F')
No
Keyname
Type Unique Packed Field
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
Report Issue Date Passed or Failed
Cardinality Collation Null Comment
PRIMARY BTREE Yes
No
report_id 0
A
user_id BTREE No
No
user_id
0
A
tbl_course Table comments: Details of each course Field
Type
Null
Default
Comments
id
int(11)
No
Index Number
course_id
varchar(255)
No
Course ID Manual Entry
name
varchar(255)
No
Name of the course
duration
varchar(255)
No
Duration ofthe course
amount
int(11)
No
Course Fees
total_marks
int(11)
No
pass_percent
int(11)
No
modify_date
timestamp
No
modified_by
varchar(255)
No
100
Total marks for the course certification Pass percentage required to get certified
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
Date ofModification Modifications Made By
Indexes: Keyname
Type Unique Packed Field
Cardinality Collation Null Comment
PRIMARY BTREE Yes
No
id
0
A
name BTREE Yes
No
name
0
A
se_id BTREE Yes
No
course_id 0
A
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CONTEXT FLOW DIAGRAM
CANDIDATE ACCEPT /REJECT
EDIT PROFILE
BOOK EXAM
COURSE REGISTER
GET REPORT
ONLINE EXAMINATION
GENERATE REPORT
SYSTEM ACCEPT / REJECT
QUESTION MANAGEMENT
COURSE MANAGEMENT
ADMINISTRATOR
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DATA FLOW DIAGRAM LEVEL – 0 Login Details Existing User login
tbl_admin
Check
1.0 Login
Check
tbl_user
CANDIDATE New User Register
2.0 Registration
Update Fetch Course Details
tbl_course
3.0 Update/Modify
Course
Course Details
Management
Fetch / Update
tbl_question ADMINISTRATOR Edit/ U date
4.0
Fetch /
Question
Update
Mana ement
Fetch Questions
tbl_examdetails Monitor Exam
5.0
Conduct
Session
Examination
Register/ Give Exam
Verify
tbl_user
Update
tbl_examreg Generate
View / Issue Report
6.0 View
Result
Report
tbl_result Fetch / Add
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4.
REFERENCES Books:1.JavaScript: A Beginner's Guide, Second Edition By John Pollock 2.Beginning PHP5, Apache, and MySQL Web Development By Naramore, Gerner, Le Scouarnec, Stolz and Glass Site: www.prometric.com
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