Re: HTML-based tutorials?

["Steven J. Owens" <puff -at- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

Geoff,

> For an upcoming project, we've been asked to create an instructional
> package that can be used both on CD-ROM and on the Web. [...]  we've
> decided to go with a solution based on simple, (relatively)
> browser-independent HTML. [...]
> We'd like to consider the option of including a computerized test
> within the body of the instructional material.  [...] we'd like to
> provide some method of letting the computer assess their performance

> Does anyone have recommendations for a Web-based tool (e.g., a
> specific CGI script) that will total up correct answers to provide a
> final grade?
> How about something HTML-based that will be independent of the
> operating system

     Writing a Perl script in CGI to do this is fairly
straightforward.  Unfortunately, it's trickier than this.  I can't go
into detail at the moment (gotta be somewhere else momentarily) but if
you can't invoke a CGI script from a standalone web browser, you need
to install a web server to take the CGI invocation and run the program
and then take the results and hand it back to the user. I know why
this is so in theory, but I think it was fairly inane of netscape not
to include some capability (maybe a plugin) to handle standalone
browser situations.

     Probably your best bet is using Javascript.  I hate saying this
because Javascript is *not* my favorite language for myriad reasons.
However, it won't need an external web server to invoke a Perl script.


Steven J. Owens
puff -at- netcom -dot- com

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=