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Q & A Study Aid (Q&ASA)
User's Guide
Version 3.91
April 26, 1992
_______
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
Hal Endresen
Quid Pro Quo Software
P.O. Box 1248
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-1248
CompuServe ID [73760,2032]
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Table Of Contents
-----------------
The Association of Shareware Professionals . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Revision Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
A Special Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Q&ASA Command List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Command Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
/FL - Load A Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
/FS - Save a Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
/FC - Continue with a Saved Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
/FD - Shell To DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
/FX - Exit to DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
/MS - Sequential Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
/MR - Pseudorandom Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
/MC - Clear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
/N - Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
/US - Set Screen Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
/UM - Set Menu Selector Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
/UP - Set Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
/UC - Invoke Q&ASA Compiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
/UD - Decrypt Score File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
/UE - Export Score File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Copyright (C) 1988-1992 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page i
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
/UR - Print Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Scoring Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Answering Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Creating a Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Q&ASA Database Compiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Using The Q&ASA Compiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Q&ASA Language Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Terminators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The Q= and A= Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The P= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The N= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The M= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The T= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The C= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The S= and R= Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The F= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The E= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
The D= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
The W= Keyword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Appendix : Q&ASA Compiler Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
COPYRIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
SPECIAL OFFER! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Copyright (C) 1988-1992 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page ii
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
The Association of Shareware Professionals
------------------------------------------
The Association of Shareware Professionals is an organization whose
purpose is to promote the shareware distribution concept, and to
provide a forum for the resolution of disputes between ASP members and
their customers.
Quid Pro Quo Software is a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-
related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly,
ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a
dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical
support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at
545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 or send a Compuserve message
via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
Credits
-------
Microsoft(R), Microsoft Windows(R), MS-DOS, Microsoft C Optimizing
Compiler(R), and Microsoft Macro Assembler are registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corporation.
IBM and PC-DOS are registered trademarks of International Business
Machines Corporation.
dBASE is a registered trademark of Ashton-Tate.
RTLink/Plus is a registered trademark of Pocket Soft, Inc.
DESQview is a registered trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems, Inc.
Lotus, Lotus 1-2-3, and 1-2-3 are trademarks of Lotus Development
Corporation.
Revision Information
--------------------
Version 3.91 April 26, 1992
Added the /UR (Utilities/print Registration form) command. This
command prompts for all of the information needed to register Q&A
Study Aid, and prints a form ready to mail, complete with compu-
tations showing pricing. This feature also determines many of the
more important features of your computer system so that this
information is available should you require assistance.
Version 3.90 September 1, 1991
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 1
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Fixed a major bug that caused questions to be skipped in both
sequential and randow modes. All questions are now properly pre-
sented in either mode. Thanks to a concerned user in Pennsylvania
for reporting this error.
Integrated all auxiliary programs into the main program file.
There is now only one program. Access to the compiler and other
functions related to the score file is now by password access.
Added a secure password function. Q&ASA is distributed without a
password. To enable password protection, you must enter a pass-
word.
Added the ability to export certain fields of the score file in a
form suitable for importing into other spreadsheet and database
programs.
Added the ability to associate "letter grades" to scores. Letter
grades consist of any string up to five characters in length.
This permits the use of an A..F grading system, or the GPA
grading system used in colleges and universities; e.g., 4.0 and
down, or even "PASS/FAIL". There is no defined limit on the
number of associations between scores and letter grades.
Added the ability to exclude all punctuation from an answer list
and from the user's response. This allows the answer list to be
shorter, and permits numbers with commas to be scored correctly
if the commas are omitted.
Added code to detect self-referential macros, now matter how
deeply recursive the nesting may be. Q&ASA can no longer crash if
self-referential macros are inadvertently specified.
Added a test to lock out the /N (Name) command once a database
with score file logging has been loaded and a name has been
entered. This prevents a user from changing his or her name if
the score is low.
Added the "Utilities" menu that provides access to the password-
setting function, the compiler, score file utilities, menu
selector character, and color selection, as follows:
o The /UM command sets the menu selector character.
o The /US command sets the screen colors.
o The /UP command sets the password.
o The /UC command executes the compiler.
o The /UD command is used to convert an encrypted score
file to plain text.
o The /UE command is used to export a score file in a
format suitable for use with other database and spread-
sheet programs.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 2
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Recompiled Q&ASA using the large data model. In a system with
512K bytes of memory available after booting, Q&ASA can now
accomodate some 40,000 questions and their answers. Internal
overlays are used to keep the size of executable memory image to
a minimum.
Q&ASA is now "DESQview aware" and will properly execute within a
DESQview window.
Added a command to "shell" to DOS for access to an editor or
other program from within Q&ASA.
The /FS (File/Save Database) command no longer causes an immedi-
ate exit to DOS. You may therefore save a database in progress
and then load another one.
Version 3.80 August 4, 1990
Changed Mode/Random from /MA to /MR.
Eliminated the screen control menu.
Left-justified the mode in the status window.
Added a check to insure that the screen is free before updating
the time left.
Recompiled with aggressive optimizations using the new version
(V6.0) of the Microsoft C Optimizing Compiler. The .EXE file size
has been significantly reduced.
Version 3.70 December 30, 1989
Fixed a major bug that caused all screen attributes to be set to
zero if the configuration file was missing. Since the configura-
tion file is not distributed with Q&A Study Aid, the effect was
to present a blank screen. Although commands could be entered and
the screen colors set, all of this had to be done with a blank
screen.
Also fixed a bug in the answer screen that would not allow an
altered menu-select character to be used to escape into the menu
system. This bug was reported by a concerned user; our thanks go
out to him.
Version 3.60 December 10, 1989
A potential problem was found and corrected with the calculation
of weights. This problem would be encountered only if the total
weight exceeded 32767, which is the maximum weight permitted.
The /FS (File/Save Database) and /FC (File/Continue Database)
commands were added. This combination allows the user of Q&ASA to
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 3
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
save the current state of a test or quiz database and return to
it later. The database will be restored to its previous state.
These commands will not work if the database has a time limit
associated with it.
The "E=" option has been added to the database compiler Q&AC.EXE.
This option specifies that the score file is to be encrypted so
that a user cannot complete a test or quiz, and then edit the
resulting score in the score file. A new utility, Q&AD.EXE,
restores the score file to plain ASCII text.
A configuration file was added. This file must be located in the
same directory as the help file Q&ASA.HLP, and the same rules
that govern its access apply to the configuration file. The
configuration file is named Q&ASA.CFG. It is not included in the
distribution, since Q&ASA will automatically create it the first
time it is executed.
A new command, /FE, allows the screen colors to be changed. The
new values are saved in the configuration file.
A new command, /FM, allows the menu selector character to be
altered. This defaults to the forward slash character ('/'), but
may now be changed to any other character in the printable ASCII
range of '!' through '~', inclusive. Once changed, the new
selector character is saved in the configuration file so the
effect of the change will be permanent unless changed again.
The weighting system was altered to permit questions to have a
weight of zero. If desired, all questions may be weighted as
zero, but this will cause all scores to be zero also.
Version 3.50 August 10, 1989
The menu was modified to eliminate the /FD and /FS commands,
which were replaced with the single command /FL (File/Load
Database). The directory defaults to the current working directo-
ry. The directory may be changed if desired.
Major internal enhancements were made to the video system. Q&ASA
will now detect the type of display adapter in use, and will
operate properly with 132-column and 43- and 50-line modes. The
screen update rate has been increased. The /S? commands are
necessary only in extreme cases where snow is a severe problem
(these commands have been retained, however). Q&ASA will now
autoselect the screen update method.
The registration functions have been entirely replaced. The new
registration system now sets the executable file to read-only to
prevent inadvertent overwriting of the executable image. The
serial number now provides certain essential information about
the system Q&ASA is running on. Q&ASA will detect certain changes
to itself and refuse to execute if it is modified. A demonstra-
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 4
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
tion mode has been added (although the program is not distributed
as a demo; it is a full-featured program with no crippling of any
function).
Q&ASA now intercepts the Control-C and Control-Break keys and
will perform a graceful exit with proper updating of the score
file. Hardware error detection and handling of critical errors
has been improved, and now offers the options of Retry or Cancel
(Cancel aborts only the command that experienced the error, not
the program as a whole).
The Help key (F1) is now active in the opening screen. You may
obtain an overview of the operation of Q&ASA at the opening
screen, or exit the program by pressing ESCape. Several new
categories have been added to the help file for registering and
for reporting problems.
Version 3.1 July 31, 1989
Made some minor corrections and additions to this manual, and
corrected a minor bug related to locating the executable file on
disk.
Version 3.0 May 1, 1989
Corrected a bug in the random mode termination function, and
enhanced the random mode search speed. Version 2.1 would continue
to ask questions after they had been answered, allowing a user to
gain a score exceeding 100%. Also enhanced the registration func-
tion.
o Added the 'D=' command to Q&AC and Q&ASA to allow the data-
base author to disable display of the correct answer if the
user answers incorrectly.
o Added the ability to specify and execute a database from the
DOS command line.
Version 2.1 July 31, 1988
Minor enhancements to help system.
Version 2.0 March 22, 1988
Major enhancements to allow Q&ASA to be used in a formal class-
room environment. Among the changes are the following:
o Optional logging of scoring information to a disk file.
o Compiled database eliminates run-time interpreter errors and
permits the database to be encrypted.
o Display of the database name as the window title.
o Faster response when loading questions.
o Greatly improved help system allows selection and viewing of
any help category at any time.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 5
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
o Optional locking of selected mode and lockout of certain
commands.
o Ability to assign a weight to each question and have this
weight determine the number of points awarded for a correct
answer to a question.
o Ability to specify a time limit to answer all questions.
o Elimination of all index files.
Version 1.0 January 7, 1988
Initial public release.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 6
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Introduction
------------
Q&ASA is a general-purpose program designed to present questions from
a database. The user is then prompted for an answer and graded accord-
ingly.
In the context of this document, and within all program and other
files included with the Q&ASA package, the word 'database' is used in
its generic sense. For our purposes, a database is simply a collection
of questions, answers, and options that is created by the user,
compiled, and interpreted by the Q&ASA program. Like the more general
database programs such as dBASE(R), Q&A Study Aid uses an indexed
database, although the index is an integral part of the database
itself and not a separate file. All of the details of the database
implementation, such as the index, records, fields, and data types,
are handled automatically by the Q&A Study Aid package. You need not,
therefore, be concerned with these, or even know what they mean.
Q&ASA provides two methods of reading the questions from the database:
sequential and random. The program starts up in sequential mode.
A menu-driven command interface is provided with pull-down menus.
Filenames are selected from a directory by pointing. It is never
necessary to type in a filename unless a database is specified on the
command line.
Q&ASA supports a comprehensive context-sensitive help system accessi-
ble via the F1 key. Help is provided by a single file, Q&ASA.HLP. This
file may be located in the current directory or in any directory
specified in the PATH environment variable. Q&ASA may therefore be
placed in the \bin (or equivalent) directory and accessed from any
other directory, provided that PATH environment variable includes
"\bin". If you place Q&ASA in a directory that is not in the PATH
string such that it is unable to locate its help file, Q&ASA will, as
a last resort, pop up a window and ask you to enter the name of
directory containing the help file. If you do not enter a directory
name (by pressing RETURN at the prompt), the Help key will be inac-
tive.
Q&ASA uses a compiled database. The database compiler is included
within Q&ASA to allow you to create and compile your own databases.
The database compiler is invoked via the "Utilities" menu. Q&ASA.EXE
is written in the C language (with some assembly-language) and com-
piled using the Microsoft C Optimizing Compiler Version 6.00A and the
Microsoft Macro Assembler V6.0. RTLink/Plus is the overlay linker used
to generate the executable file.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 7
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
This package contains the following files:
Q&ASA.EXE Q&ASA main program
Q&ASA.HLP Q&ASA help file
Q&ASA.DOC documentation file (this file)
SAMPLE.Q&A sample database (compiled)
SAMPLE.DEF database definition file for SAMPLE.Q&A
The Q&A Study Aid package is SHAREWARE and is copyrighted by the
author. If Q&ASA meets your needs and you continue to use the program,
you must register and pay for its use. The SHAREWARE concept allows
users to obtain high quality software at bargain prices, and rewards
authors for their efforts. Please support this distribution concept by
registering your copy. You will find a registration form at the back
of this manual (although the /UR command will doubtless be much more
convenient). You have unlimited rights to copy and distribute the
program, provided you distribute it as the complete UNMODIFIED package
Q&ASA391.ZIP (QASA391.ZIP on CompuServe). Comments, bug reports, or
other information that may help me improve this program are welcome
and are encouraged. Only you can tell me what you need!
Q&ASA is offered as is. There is no guarantee that it will work on
your particular system; however, it has been tested with CGA, MDA,
EGA, and VGA monitors on PCs, ATs, 386 and 486 systems. Text mode is
used; no graphics card is needed. Q&ASA will NOT use an EMM if one is
present. A minimum of 134K of program space plus 28K of data space
(RAM) is needed by the program; it will tell you if you do not have
sufficient memory to execute it. Q&ASA will use all available memory
below the 640K conventional-memory boundary if it is required.
All I/O is performed through system calls, with the exception of the
screen, which is controlled by direct writes to the screen buffer.
Under Microsoft(R) Windows, you must give Q&ASA control of the screen
in the Q&ASA.PIF file. Under DESQview, Q&ASA will multitask in a DESQ-
view window, and does not require any special system resources.
Q&ASA assumes that your screen is set to any text mode (color or mono-
chrome). If not, it will NOT reset the mode. If your screen is in any
of the graphics modes when Q&ASA is invoked, you will see garbage.
Exit Q&ASA using the /FX command (or press ESC if you are still in the
opening screen) and reset the mode manually using the DOS MODE com-
mand. When Q&ASA terminates, it will restore the previous contents of
your screen.
Installation
------------
Q&A Study Aid requires no special installation other than that ex-
plained in the section entitled "A Special Note" below.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 8
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
The configuration file Q&ASA.CFG is not supplied with the distribution
package, since it is created automatically if it is missing. The first
time you execute Q&ASA, you will get a prompt asking you for the
directory containing the configuration file, since Q&ASA will not be
able to locate it on the disk. This prompt will appear anytime Q&ASA
is unable to find its configuration file. If you move the file, enter
the name of the directory containing the file; otherwise, press RETURN
without entering a directory to cause Q&ASA to create the file. You
will not be required to enter a directory if the configuration file is
stored in any directory in the PATH environment variable, or if it is
in the current directory.
If you are using a hard disk, you may place the executable files in
any directory (note that the files Q&ASA.HLP and Q&ASA.CFG are consid-
ered to be part of the executable files). If you wish to execute the
program from a different directory than the one in which the files are
placed, you must include the directory containing the executable files
in the PATH environment variable. To view the PATH, issue the MS-DOS
command SET with no arguments; all environment variables will be
listed to the screen.
If you do not have a PATH variable, as evidenced by a line of the form
PATH=[list of directories]
then you may enter one. If you have placed all executable files in the
directory C:\Q&ASA, for example, issue the command
SET PATH=C:\Q&ASA <ENTER>
Do not include any spaces after the word PATH. Also, it is unwise to
include any removable drive in the PATH, since DOS will attempt to
search the directory of that drive when you attempt to execute Q&ASA.
If the floppy has been removed, you will constantly get an error from
DOS.
If you wish to append a new directory, C:\Q&ASA for example, to an
existing PATH, then simply retype your existing PATH and add the
directory to it as follows:
You type:
SET<ENTER>
MS-DOS responds with (for example):
PATH=C:\BIN
(other environment variables)
You type:
SET PATH=C:\BIN;C:\Q&ASA <ENTER>
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 9
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Note the position of the semicolon - it is REQUIRED.
Under DOS 3.30 and up, you may simplify this to:
SET PATH=%PATH%;C\Q&ASA <ENTER>
You should place the 'SET PATH=xxxx' command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file, so that it will be set automatically whenever your system is
booted.
The Q&A Study Aid package is small enough to be placed on a single
5.25" 360KB diskette if desired. If your database is too large to fit
on one diskette, you may place it on a second diskette in the B: drive
if you have one. Because Q&ASA uses embedded overlays, you may not
remove the diskette that contains the Q&ASA.EXE file, as the prgram
will periodically read this file to load overlays.
To create a database file, you need only a database definition file,
which you create, and the Q&ASA.EXE program. Similarly, once you have
created a database, the only files needed to execute the database are
the compiled database file (".Q&A"), Q&ASA.EXE, and Q&ASA.HLP. If
space is really at a premium, you may omit the help file Q&ASA.HLP,
but the HELP key (F1) will no longer function. If you do this, Q&ASA
will complain that it cannot find the help file, and ask you to enter
the directory in which it resides. To omit it, simply press ENTER
without entering a directory.
Compatibility
-------------
The database files used by Q&ASA 3.91 are fully source-compatible with
all previous versions, but are not binary-compatible. All that is
required is that you recompile your database files with Version 3.91
of Q&ASA.
Q&ASA WILL NOT WORK WITH THE HERCULES GRAPHICS ADAPTER.
A Special Note
--------------
Special mention is made here of a particular characteristic of Q&ASA.
The program, to enforce its registration policies, will, at certain
times, modify its own executable image on disk. This is brought to
your attention as this behavior may trigger some virus-protection
programs. Please do not be concerned if this occurs; this is normal
behavior. You must allow Q&ASA to modify itself or it will not exe-
cute. Each time it is executed, Q&ASA will set itself to a read-only
file. The MS-DOS ATTRIB command may be used to alter this should you
desire to erase or move the program file. For example, you may copy
the program to a floppy diskette, then delete by issuing the following
DOS commands:
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 10
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
ATTRIB -R Q&ASA.EXE
ERASE Q&ASA.EXE
Q&ASA must be able to locate its own .EXE file. Under MS-DOS 3.0 and
above, you should experience no problems, even if you rename the file.
However, under MSDOS 2.x, if you rename the program, you must specify
the new program pathname using an environment variable. For example,
suppose Q&ASA.EXE is in the directory C:\BIN, and you rename it to
QUIZ.EXE. You must then issue the command
SET Q&ASA=C:\BIN\QUIZ.EXE
You may place this command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file if you wish. You
MUST specify the COMPLETE pathname, including the .EXE extension. You
cannot, however, change the name of the help file Q&ASA.HLP. The
easist way to change the program name is to use a batch file. For
example, to change the name to QUIZ, create QUIZ.BAT as follows:
COPY CON: QUIZ.BAT <ENTER>
Q&ASA %1 <ENTER>
^Z <ENTER> (^Z means hold down Ctrl and
press 'Z')
The '%1' will still enable you to specify the name of a database to
load automatically upon startup by typing:
QUIZ sample
IMPORTANT
---------
Q&ASA.EXE selects a serial number and combines this with certain
system information the FIRST time it is executed. This becomes your
serial number, and this number MUST be supplied to register the
program (the /UR command prints the registration form with the serial
number on it). ONCE THE SERIAL NUMBER HAS BEEN ASSIGNED BY Q&ASA, DO
NOT MODIFY OR OVERWRITE THE Q&ASA.EXE FILE OR YOUR REGISTRATION NUMBER
WILL NOT WORK. You may move the program by copying and then deleting
it as described above. If you accidentally overwrite a registered
program file, you will have to send for a new registration number, al-
though once you have paid the registration fee, new registration
numbers are supplied free of charge if they are needed. It is a good
idea to make a backup copy after you have executed it the first time,
and again after registering your copy. Once you have registered and
entered your registration number, the serial number will change; for
this reason, it is important that you include the most recent serial
number in all correspondence. This applies ONLY to the file Q&ASA.EXE;
all other files are standard data files.
Q&ASA also requires that the time and date provided by the MS-DOS
operating system be correct, since it uses this information in the
score file. When Q&ASA is started, the current time and date are
checked; if either is invalid, Q&ASA will abort after displaying a
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message requesting you to set the system date and time to the proper
values.
Q&ASA NEVER modifies any file other than its own executable image on
disk, the score file (if defined in the database), the saved database
file(s) (".SAV") if this feature is used, and the configuration file.
It will also create a ".Q&A" file each time you compile a new quiz,
and it will create a ".PRN" file is you export the score file. You
need not be concerned about modifications to your database source
files or any other files on your system.
User Interface
--------------
Commands are entered into Q&ASA via a pull-down two-level menu system.
The uppermost screen region is the menu system. Each word group on the
menu line is the title block of a pull-down menu. Whenever one of the
titles is selected, the menu expands to display any options available
under it.
Under most conditions, Q&ASA will be prompting for an answer to a
question. Some means must therefore be provided to break out and into
the menu system so that an option can be selected or a command given.
There are two ways of doing this: via an ALT key sequence or by
pressing the menu selector character, the forward slash ('/'). Note
that this character may be changed using the /UM (Utilities/Menu
Selector) command. This document will, however, assume that you have
NOT altered the default.
If an ALT sequence is used, it is only necessary to press one or two
ALT keys to select any command option. A top-level selector is speci-
fied by ALT-shifting the highlighted letter. For example, the "Mode /
Sequential" command is executed with ALT-M/ALT-S. To do this, hold
down the ALT key and press 'M' and then 'S'.
If you use the '/' menu selector character, the word MENU will first
appear at the right of the menu line to indicate that you are in the
menu system. At this point, any combination of highlighted and under-
scored letters (as defined by the screen colors you choose) and cursor
keys can be used to select a menu title block. Note that F1 will
always get help no matter where you may be, in or out of the menu
system. The only exception to this is for error messages ("Problem"),
for which you may not obtain help. Once the desired option has been
selected, RETURN executes it. Note that neither the slash nor the
RETURN are necessary when using ALT-key sequences.
Versions 3.0 of Q&ASA and above provide the ability for you to specify
a database file on the command line. If you do so, you will still see
the opening screen, but as soon as you press a key, the database will
be loaded and the first question will be displayed. If the database
specifies a time limit, the timer will be started immediately.
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If the database you specify cannot be found, then an error message
will be displayed, and you must select the database normally using the
/FL command. For example, the DOS command
C>Q&ASA sample
will load the sample database and display the first question. Note
that you do not have to specify the ".Q&A" extension. If you do
specify an extension, it MUST be ".Q&A"; Q&ASA will force this exten-
sion for all database files.
Q&ASA's menu system commands are listed on the following page.
Q&ASA Command List
------------------
/FL load a database
/FS save a database for later resumption
/FC continue with a previously-saved database
/FD shell to DOS
/FX exit to DOS
/MS set mode to sequential
/MR set mode to pseudorandom
/MC clear score and start quiz over
/N enter name
/US set screen colors
/UM set menu selector character
/UP set password
/UC invoke database compiler
/UD decrypt a score file to plain text
/UE export a score file
/UR print registration form (works only if the program copy
is unregistered)
The Command Line
----------------
Q&ASA does not require any command-line parameters or arguments. It
will, however, allow you to specify the name of a database file on the
command line so that the program may be invoked from a batch file.
If you specify the name of a database file on the command line, you do
not have to enter the extension. Q&ASA will change the extension as
required, and add one if it is omitted. For example, to start Q&ASA
using the sample database provided, you simply type
Q&ASA SAMPLE <ENTER>
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The opening screen will be displayed normally, but once you press
ENTER, the database file SAMPLE will be automatically loaded.
/FL - Load A Database
---------------------
When you issue this command, Q&ASA will display the name of the
directory you started Q&ASA from; e.g., the current working directory.
If your database files are located in this directory, simply press
RETURN to accept the default name. If your database files are located
in another directory, you may edit the directory name. Q&ASA will
remember the new directory name and present it as the default the next
time you use this command.
When specifying the directory, you may select a different disk drive
followed by the path name to the database files in conventional DOS
form:
D:\DIR\DIR.....
If you clear the name of the directory by using the backspace key or
by using the HOME key followed by Ctrl-End, Q&ASA will automatically
insert the name of the current working directory after you press
RETURN. Note that you will not see this occur as the window will be
closed as soon as you press RETURN. However, the directory shown the
next time you invoke the /FL command will be the current working
directory again.
If you enter a drive or directory that does not exist, you will
receive an error message and you must enter the command again to
specify the proper directory. If you enter the drive identifier of a
floppy disk drive, and the drive door is open, you will receive an
error, and you will be given the opportunity to close the drive door
and retry the command.
Note: Certain DOS configurations can cause apparent errors that
Q&ASA cannot detect. If, for example, you have installed a
'foreign' disk drive using "DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS <parameters>"
and reassigned the name of a diskette drive using the DRIV-
PARM command in your CONFIG.SYS file (MS-DOS and PC-DOS 3.30
and later only), and you enter the original drive letter,
Q&ASA will appear to hang. Actually, what is happening is
that DOS wants you insert the diskette for the drive you
have reassigned it to, although you will not see the message
DOS normally displays. All that is necessary is for you to
press the RETURN key.
Once you have entered the name of the directory containing your Q&ASA
database files, Q&ASA will pop up a window to allow you to select from
the compiled database files available in that directory. If there are
no database files in the directory, Q&ASA will display "[ empty ]".
Q&ASA will NOT display any files other than compiled database files.
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To select a compiled database file, move the selection bar to it using
the cursor keys, PgUp and PgDn, or Home and End. Each of these permits
traveling up and down the scrollable list in larger increments.
Alternatively, you may also press a letter key that corresponds to the
first character of the database filename; Q&ASA will find the first
file beginning with that letter. Successive depressions of the same
key will step to each database name that begins with that letter. The
search stops at the last file that begins with that letter. The search
always proceeds down the list; to restart the search, press HOME to
move the selector back to the first file in the list.
Once you have pointed to the file you desire, press RETURN. The
compiled database file will be loaded. If the optional score logging
has been enabled in the database, Q&ASA will request that you enter
your name for the score file (you may not proceed until you have done
so, although you may abort the command at this point by pressing ESC).
The first question will then appear on the screen, along with the
number of questions in the database in the scoring window. The name of
the database will also be shown in the center of the top border of the
question window if it has been specified in the database. If no title
was specified, then the window title will default to "Question".
Note: When you load a database file that specifies a score file
name, and that score file already exists, Q&ASA will check
to insure that the encryption modes are compatible. If not,
it will display an error message and override the encryption
setting in the database file you loaded.
For example, if you create two separate databases, both of
which specify the same name for the score file, but only one
has score file encryption enabled, you will receive an error
when you load the second database, no matter which one you
load first. The order will affect only the encryption of the
score file, which is determined by the first database load-
ed. If you always use a different score file for each data-
base, or are consistent with score file encryption, you
should experience no problems. Note that Q&ASA will still
function properly, however.
Each time you load a database file with score file logging enabled,
Q&ASA will request your name, even if you have already entered it.
This is to allow other users to reload the same database without using
the same name for all users. If score file logging is not enabled,
Q&ASA doesn't force you to enter your name. You may do this anyway if
you wish, using the /N (Name) command, and Q&ASA will politely display
it when it displays your final score.
If the database you load has a time limit associated with it, the time
remaining will be displayed in the status window under the heading
'Time Left', and the clock will start. The time is counted down to
zero, and always shows the time you have remaining before Q&ASA stops
you and calculates your final score. If the database does not specify
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a time limit, the 'Time Left' field will not be displayed. If you
allow the time to count down to zero, it will change to 'Time Out'.
Note: If you press the help key while a timed database is loaded,
the time display will not be updated until you exit the help
system. Q&ASA will, however, internally track the remaining
time. You may NOT extend the time by using help.
To permit Q&ASA to utilize relatively large databases (~40,000 ques-
tions and their answers), Q&ASA loads an index into memory rather than
the database file itself. The database index is created by Q&ASA in
the form of a header in the database file itself. Note that this is
true of the help file also to minimize the memory used by Q&ASA.
The database file (.Q&A) should never be changed directly, as it is
encrypted to prevent users from copying the file to the screen or a
printer and thereby viewing the answers. If you wish to create a new
database or alter an existing one, you must edit the database defini-
tion file (.DEF) and recompile it using Q&ASA. Q&ASA will create a
(.Q&A) file from your (.DEF) file. Q&ASA will not permit you to use
the .Q&A extension on a definition file, so you cannot accidentally
overwrite a compiled database.
You must create the database definition file and compile it before
Q&ASA can be used. Instructions for doing this are in a later section
of this guide. Note that this package contains a compiled database
that you may use to test and evaluate Q&ASA. This file is called
SAMPLE.Q&A. The database definition file it was created from is also
included, and is called SAMPLE.DEF.
/FS - Save a Database
---------------------
This command will save the present state of a database so that you may
return and continue with it later. IT WILL NOT WORK IF THE DATABASE
HAS A TIME LIMIT ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
If you issue this command on a database that has no time limit, the
state of the database will be saved in a file in the current directory
with the same base name as the database, but with an extension of
".SAV". You may have different .SAV files in different directories for
the same database if you wish.
Note: If you issue this command or the /FL (File/Load Database)
command, any existing .SAV file for that database will be
erased from the current working directory of the disk, and
you will not be able to resume it. The /FL command, by
definition, specifies that you wish to restart the database
from the beginning.
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Once you issue the /FS command, the database will be saved and you
will be returned to the main screen so that you may execute another
command.
/FC - Continue with a Saved Database
------------------------------------
This command will allow you to resume a database which was previously
saved using the /FS (File/Save Database) command. It works exactly
like the /FL (File/Load) command, except that the list of files
displayed will have an extension of ".SAV" instead of ".Q&A". If no
database file has been saved, "[ empty ]" will be displayed.
When this command is used, the previous state of the database is
restored. The question that was on the screen will be redisplayed, and
the scoring window will reflect the previous state of the database.
Note that once you have completed a quiz or test database, any .SAV
file in the directory from which the database was originally loaded
will be erased. You cannot, therefore, resume a completed database.
/FD - Shell To DOS
------------------
This command may be used to invoke a secondary copy of the DOS command
processor COMMAND.COM (or whatever file is specified by the "SHELL="
environment variable). Q&ASA will remain loaded. Note that this
command will NOT work if a database is currently load (you will
receive an error message).
Once DOS has been invoked, you may execute any commands you wish,
although you will have less memory available. When you wish to return
to Q&ASA, type 'EXIT' and the DOS prompt. The previous state of Q&ASA
will be restored to the screen.
/FX - Exit to DOS
-----------------
Use this command to quit a Q&ASA session and return to DOS. If you
have loaded a database but have not answered all questions, the score
file will be updated with your current score and a notation that you
quit Q&ASA. You cannot exit Q&ASA, clear the database, or reload the
current or new database without updating your score file. This pre-
vents extending time limits and/or starting a quiz over again without
any knowledge by the administrator that such an event occurred.
Also, when you quit a Q&ASA session using this command, any saved
database file of the same name is erased from disk, preventing resump-
tion if the database had been previously saved. As a general rule,
whenever your final score is displayed (and optionally, the score file
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Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
is updated), or whenever you load a database using the /FL (File/Load
Database) command, any associated .SAV file will be erased.
Note: Pressing Control-C or Control-Break is interpreted the same
as /FX without the RETURN. Simply press RETURN to update the
score file and return to DOS.
/MS - Sequential Mode
---------------------
The sequential mode option tells Q&ASA that you wish to answer the
questions in the same order as they appear in the database file (this
is the default). When selected, the new mode will appear in the
scoring window. This option does NOT cause Q&ASA to start reading from
the beginning of the file; it simply changes the method used to
determine the next question. Sequential mode reads the questions from
the database in a circular fashion until all questions have been
answered. This allows switching between modes. Q&ASA will not present
a question again once it has been answered.
When all questions have been answered, Q&ASA will update the optional
score file and display the final score.
Note that this command may be locked out by an option given in the
database definition file. If this is the case, the command will simply
be ignored. No warning will be given indicating that the command is
locked out.
/MR - Pseudorandom Mode
-----------------------
This mode is used when you want Q&ASA to choose the questions at
random. The pseudorandom number sequence is different each time the
program is run.
In this mode, Q&ASA will select the next question at random from the
set of unanswered questions. It will not, therefore, ask a question
again once it has been answered.
When all questions have been answered, Q&ASA will update the optional
score file and display the final score.
Note that this command may be locked out by an option given in the
database definition file. If this is the case, the command will simply
be ignored. No warning will be given indicating that the command is
locked out.
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/MC - Clear
-----------
Use the Clear option to reset your score back to zero and to reset the
question index back to the beginning of the file. The question index
is cleared only by using this command or by loading a new database. If
you use this command, a record will be written to the score file
indicating that the database was started over.
Note that this command may be locked out by an option given in the
database definition file. If this is the case, the command will simply
be ignored. No warning will be given indicating that the command is
locked out.
/N - Name
---------
This command is used to enter your name, which is placed into the
score file and also displayed when the quiz session is completed or
otherwise terminated.
When this command is given, a data entry window will pop up and prompt
for your name and/or any other identifying information. You may enter
up to 35 characters.
If a database is loaded that specifies a score file, this command will
not work. In this case, you will be prompted to enter your name when
the database is loaded; you may not change it until the database has
been completed or aborted.
/US - Set Screen Colors
-----------------------
This command is used to modify the screen colors. A color map of all
possible color is displayed, along with a simulated menu window. A
title bar at the top of the screen specifies which portion of the
screen you are modifying. All color selections are performed by using
the cursor keys to point to the desired color. The PgUp and PgDn keys
are used to alter the title bar, thereby changing the item whose color
is to be modified. The simulated menu will change with each color
change so that you may see the effect of the changes.
Once you have set the colors as you wish, press ENTER to save the new
colors in the configuration file, or ESCape to cancel the changes. For
the full effect of the changes to be seen, you must quit Q&ASA and
then restart it so that it will redraw all screens using the new color
set.
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/UM - Set Menu Selector Character
---------------------------------
Q&ASA uses one character to escape (out of an answer prompt if dis-
played) and into the menu system. This character defaults to the
forward slash ('/'), but you may change it to any character you wish
in the printable ASCII range of '!' through '~', inclusive. Once you
change it, it is saved in the configuration file and will therefore be
set each time you start Q&ASA. If you change your mind, you can reset
the character or press ESCape to cancel the command if you have not
yet pressed the ENTER key. The current menu selector character is
always displayed at the bottom of the question/answer window.
/UP - Set Password
------------------
This command is used to set or change the password that allows access
to the compiler, score file decoder, and the score file export com-
mands.
Q&ASA is distributed with no password. Anyone may therefore use the
password-protected commands until and unless a password is entered
using this command.
When this command is selected, if there is a password, you will be
asked to enter it. You cannot change a password unless you know the
current password. The password may be any series of characters in the
range of space through a tilde ('~'), inclusive, and may contain up to
19 characters.
If there is no current password, you will not be asked to enter it.
Once you have entered the current password, if any, you will be asked
to enter the new password. Once you have done this, you will be
prompted to confirm it. If the two passwords match, the new password
will be encrypted and stored. Any attempt to identify or modify the
password will render Q&ASA useless; it will no longer execute.
Note that once a valid password has been entered, Q&ASA is 'unlocked',
and you will not be required to enter the password again for any
function.
/UC - Invoke Q&ASA Compiler
---------------------------
This command is used to compile a database definition file into a
compiled database file that may be executed by Q&ASA. This command is
password-protected, and cannot be executed while a database is loaded
even if you know the password.
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See the section entitled "Using the Q&ASA Compiler" on page 30 for a
full explanation on invoking and using the compiler.
/UD - Decrypt Score File
------------------------
This command is used to decrypt a score file. It is password-protect-
ed.
It will pop up a directory window so that you may enter the directory
containing the score file to decrypt, or you may accept the directory
shown by pressing ENTER. Once you have selected the directory, a file-
selection window will be displayed so that you may select the score
file to decrypt.
Once you select a score file, the file will be converted to plain
ASCII text. If the file is not encrypted, you will receive an error
message.
The decrypted score file replaces the original file. All score files
are named using the base score file name defined in the database
definition file, with an extension of ".SCR".
/UE - Export Score File
-----------------------
This command is used to export the contents of certain fields in the
score file to a file whose format is acceptable to the vast majority
of database and spreadsheet programs. This command is password-pro-
tected.
By using this command, you may import all scores for an entire class
into a spreadsheet, for example, and use the spreadsheet to calculate
bell curves, normalize the scores or convert them to another form. You
could average the scores for several Q&ASA quiz sessions. You may also
use a database program to maintain a history by student of all quizzes
and their scores.
This command will pop up a directory window so that you may enter the
directory containing the score file to export, or you may accept the
directory shown by pressing ENTER. Once you have selected the directo-
ry, a file-selection window will be displayed so that you may select
the score file to export.
Once you select a file, Q&ASA will check if the score file is encrypt-
ed, and if so, will ask if you wish to decrypt it first. An encrypted
score file may not be exported. If you answer NO, then the command is
aborted.
Q&ASA will then locate and export certain fields in the score file,
creating one line for each record in the score file, as follows:
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Student, Database, Score, Grade, Termination, Time
where:
Student is the student's name in quotes
Database is the name of the database in quotes
Score is the final score
Grade is the letter grade in quotes
Termination is the termination explanation in quotes
Time is the the elapsed time in seconds
Note that Q&ASA will also export a header line, which you may delete
from the spreadsheet or database if you wish. The following is an
example of an exported score file containg two records.
"Student", "Database", "Score", "Grade", "Termination", "Time"
"John Public", "History Quiz", 79.23, "C+", "Time Out", 720
"Jane Doe", "Math Quiz", 94.00, "A", "Completed", 298
If you are exporting the score file for use with Lotus(r) 1-2-3, you
would use the /FI (File/Import) command. Be sure to select the "Num-
bers" option.
/UR - Print Registration Form
-----------------------------
This command will print a registration form to make as easy as possi-
ble for you to register your copy of Q&A Study Aid.
You may print the form to any device or any file. The device must be
able to interpret carriage return, line feed, backspace, form feed,
and normal text.
The registration form will prompt your for the necessary information.
In addition, it will determine a number of items concerning your
system configuration. If any of the configuration items is incorrect,
please make the necessary corrections. For example, Q&ASA will not
detect an LCD screen - only color or monochrome.
This form will display the registration price schedule and calculate
the registration fee based upon the number of copies you wish to
register.
Scoring Window
--------------
The scoring window always shows the current state of both you and
Q&ASA. The scoring window is blank until a database is loaded, so you
may easily ascertain if a database is loaded or not. The items that
may appear in the scoring window are described below.
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Time Left This shows the time remaining to answer all ques-
tions in a database that has a time limit. If the
database does not have a time limit, this field
will not be displayed. If the database has a time
limit associated with it, you will see this time
counting down to zero. At zero, it will change to
'Time Out'.
Mode This is the current question-indexing mode, and
will be "Random" or "Sequential". Q&ASA always
starts up in sequential mode. The mode may be
specified in the database.
Questions This specifies the total number of questions in
the database.
Answered This indicates the number of questions that you
have answered. When it equals the number of ques-
tions in the database, your final score will be
displayed.
Correct This is the number of questions that you have
answered correctly.
Score Your score is a simple ratio of the number of
possible points to the number you have been award-
ed, and is displayed in percent.
Grade If optional letter-grade equivalencies have been
assigned in the database, and the grade display
has not been turned OFF, then this will show the
current grade that has been achieved relative to
the score. The database may be configured so that
the grade is not displayed at all until a certain
score has been achieved; once this base score is
achieved, the grade will be updated along with the
score. If the grade display has been turned off,
or if there are no grade equivalencies in the
database, then this field will not be shown.
Answering Questions
-------------------
Q&ASA does not require you to answer questions in the order Q&ASA
presents them (as defined by the mode). Q&ASA will determine the next
question using the mode you select, but once the question is dis-
played, you may elect to skip it (intending to come back to it later)
and let Q&ASA present the next one. Q&ASA will remember that the
question was skipped and display it again at some later time, depend-
ing upon the mode you have selected.
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Skipping a question is done simply by pressing the ESCape key when
Q&ASA prompts for an answer. The question will not be scored, but
Q&ASA will present it again after you have answered all of the remain-
ing questions (sequential mode) or at any time (random mode). You may
not omit a question, but you may essentially scan through the ques-
tions and answer them in the order you choose.
If you choose to answer a question, you must enter a response. Q&ASA
will not accept a blank answer.
Q&ASA will always display the number of points you will be awarded if
you answer correctly at the right of the answer window. The number of
points displayed is the ratio of the total weight of all questions in
the database to the weight of the question in points relative to 100%,
as defined in the compiled database. If you answer incorrectly, you
are awarded zero points.
You may also enter a command any time you are being prompted for an
answer.
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Creating a Database
-------------------
The database is the heart of Q&ASA. Q&ASA receives virtually all of
the information it needs to present and score your answers from the
database.
The database is created from a plain ASCII, or 'flat' file, and then
compiled using the database compiler within Q&ASA. The input given to
Q&ASA is called the database definition file; the output of Q&ASA is
the compiled database. Q&ASA creates and destroys one intermediate
file (with an extension of ".$$$") as it compiles the database defini-
tion file.
Q&ASA supports a large number of options that may be used to control
the quiz session. Each option is specified using a keyword followed by
zero or more lines of text. It is important to remember that keywords
must be on a line by themselves with NO OTHER TEXT.
If you use a word processor program to create the database definition
file, be sure to use its 'nondocument' mode to insure that it won't
put in any formatting codes. A plain ASCII text editor is recommended
(EDLIN, which is included with DOS, is one such editor).
To enable Q&ASA to handle all of the common question formats except
'essay' questions, a very general database arrangement is used. Q&ASA
expects each question to be followed by the correct answer, which it
uses to check the answer typed in by the user.
Q&ASA can handle multiple-choice, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank
questions with equal ease.
The database must contain one instance of each of two keywords for
each question in the database. These keywords are, exactly, in quotes:
"Q="
"A="
As you might expect, these stand for "question" and "answer". The
question MUST precede the answer. Q&ASA will complain about any
irregularities it finds in the database when it constructs the com-
piled database file.
The following is a simple example of a question and answer as they
might appear in the database definition file. It is a multiple-choice
question. The following text is entered into the database definition
file:
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 25
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Q=
Multiple-choice:
What is the capital of Pennsylvania?
A. Philadelphia
B. Washington, D.C.
C. Harrisburg
D. None of the above
A=
C
Q&ASA will display the question beginning on the line immediately
following the 'Q=' line. The end of the question is marked by the
'A='. All lines between these markers form the question, which Q&ASA
will display exactly as it appears in the database. You may, there-
fore, format your questions any way that you wish. Q&ASA does abso-
lutely no interpretation of the text you enter for a question. Q&ASA
will impose NO restrictions other than the number of rows and columns;
you may use up to 15 lines of 76 characters. If the question contains
more than 15 lines, the extra lines will be discarded and you will
receive an error message. Blank lines between the end of the actual
question and the 'A=' line are effectively discarded and do not count
against the 15 lines allowed. The question above, therefore, consists
of seven lines, not eight.
Note that the 'Multiple-choice' prompt is actually a part of the
database - NOT hard-coded into Q&ASA. You may include this as part of
your database or omit it if you wish.
The answer follows beginning on the line immediately after the 'A='.
In this example, it is 'C'. All this means is that Q&ASA will score as
correct any response to the question that is exactly 'C' OR 'c' - case
is insignificant. Q&ASA does some preformatting of these strings prior
to the comparison, however. Both the answer in the database and the
answer typed in when the database is executed are processed the same
way:
1. All leading whitespace is removed. This means that
C
and
C
are equivalent and are themselves equivalent to the 'C' in
the example above.
2. All trailing whitespace, including newline characters, is
removed.
3. All whitespace (blanks and tabs) between words is collapsed
to a single space;
"Washington, D.C."
and
"Washington, D.C."
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 26
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
are equivalent.
4. All characters are folded to uppercase; 'Yes' and 'yes' are
therefore equivalent.
These steps insure that a response will not be scored as incorrect due
to the position or character case of any part of the response in
either your answer or that in the database.
Note that these same rules are also applied to the 'Q=' and 'A='
markers. They may, therefore, appear anywhere on the line. You cannot,
however, insert anything between 'Q' and '=', nor can you put anything
else on the line with the marker.
In the example above, one correct answer was specified. The only
answer that could be scored as correct is 'C' (and 'c', of course).
Note that we could just as well have used numbers as selectors and
given '3' as the answer. Q&ASA makes no attempt to interpret this
information; it simply looks for an exact match based on the criteria
outlined above.
This next example will demonstrate a true/false question.
Q=
Answer true or false:
Q&ASA understands the information in the database.
A=
False
Note the (valid) position of the 'A='. This time we have indented the
question using tabs. When Q&ASA compiles the question, it expands the
tabs automatically (using 8-column tab stops) to maintain the align-
ment as it is in the database definition file. We also have three
blank lines after the 'Q='; this serves to shift the question down
toward the center of the question window to make it look nicer.
This example is not good practice (although it will be compiled
correctly), since the 'A=' would be easy to miss if the database were
edited, and the indentation is inconsistent. It does, however, have a
more serious drawback: to get the question right, you must type in
'false' - all 5 characters - and 'false' is one word I just cannot
type (it always comes out 'flase')!
For a true/false question, one would be likely to respond with 'T',
'F', 'yes', 'y', 'no', 'n', or possibly '1' and '0'. To accommodate
these options, Q&ASA allows more than one correct answer. In fact,
every nonblank line following 'A=' is treated as a correct answer. The
second example above, then, would be more appropriately given by
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Q=
Answer true or false:
Q&ASA understands the information in the database.
A=
False
F
No
N
0
This permits any of the five answers to be regarded as correct.
If you give an incorrect response to a question (e.g., one that is not
among the list of correct answers), Q&ASA will display the correct
answer for you, as well as omit one or more points from your score.
When Q&ASA displays the correct answer, it uses the first one given in
the answer list. What this means is that Q&ASA will display
Incorrect. The correct answer is
False
Press any key to continue.
which is more professional than 'N', for example.
This feature adds a lot of versatility to Q&ASA. Since Q&ASA is
intended to be a study aid as well as a general-purpose testing
program, it provides reinforcement of incorrect answers by permitting
a more complete correct answer. To demonstrate this, we'll use a third
example; this time, a fill-in-the-blank question:
Q=
The speed of light is ______ km/sec.
A=
Light travels at 300,000 km/sec.
300000
300,000
300K
In this example, an incorrect response will elicit
Incorrect. The correct answer is
Light travels at 300,000 km/sec.
Press any key to continue.
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Of course, this is also a correct answer in itself, but not a likely
one. If you do enter it, it will be scored as correct. You would,
however, be required to include the comma, the slash between 'km' and
'sec', and the period.
There are three more plausible correct answers that Q&ASA would
consider to be correct. Any one of them is sufficient to credit the
answer as correct.
Note that the display of the correct answer may be disabled beginning
with Version 3.0 of Q&ASA. This is done by issuing the 'D=' (Display
Off) command in the database. This a global command and will turn off
the display of all answers, no matter where you place the command in
the database definition file.
When creating a large database definition file, it is annoying to have
to type the four or more common answers to a true/false question. To
make this easier, Q&ASA supports simple macros. A macro is a block of
text that is inserted in place of a macro identifier. We may therefore
create a macro for 'true' and a macro for 'false', and use the macro
identifier instead of typing all four answer lines. These macros would
look something like the example on the following page.
M=
$TRUE$
true
t
yes
y
M=
$FALSE$
false
f
no
n
Q=
Answer true or false:
Q&ASA understands the information in the database.
A=
$FALSE$
The "M=" is the macro keyword, and tells Q&ASA that the following
lines form a macro definition. The first line following the macro
keyword is the macro identifier. You may use any character string as a
macro identifier, provided it does not contain blanks or tabs. The
dollar signs are not necessary, but serve nicely to identify $FALSE$
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Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
as a macro invocation. When Q&ASA reads the identifier, it will
substitute all lines following the macro identifier up to the first
blank line or keyword, whichever is found first. Note that Q&ASA will
display "false" as the correct answer if the question is answered
incorrectly, as it is the first answer in the answer list formed by
expanding the macro.
The above is a short introduction to creating a database definition
file. The following section describes the Q&ASA compiler in detail.
The Q&ASA Database Compiler
---------------------------
The Q&ASA compiler is used only when a database is first created. A
password (if entered using the /UP command) is required to gain access
to it. Once the database definition file has been created, it is
compiled with Q&ASA, and the compiled database file (which has an
extension of .Q&A) is used with the Q&ASA program. This offers several
advantages, among them:
1. The database is encrypted. A user of Q&ASA cannot look in
the file using any viewing, listing, or debugging program
and see the questions and answers. The Q&ASA interpreter
knows the encryption method and decrypts the database as it
reads it.
2. The author of the database definition file may specify a
number of options to control the quiz session. These options
cannot be seen or modified by anyone using Q&ASA.
3. Since the database has been preprocessed by Q&ASA, loading
and display of questions is fast and error-free. It is not
necessary for Q&ASA to perform any formatting at run time.
Using The Q&ASA Compiler
------------------------
When you issue the /UC command, Q&ASA will prompt for a password (if
one has been defined), and will then display a window showing the
current directory. If your database definition files are in another
directory, you may edit the directory here using the standard DOS
directory naming conventions. Once you accept the directory by press-
ing ENTER, a file-selection window will be displayed, listing all of
the database definition files in that directory (e.g., all files with
an extension of ".DEF"). Q&ASA requires you to use an extension of
".DEF" for the database definition file. Select the file you wish to
compile and press ENTER. Q&ASA will compile the database and then
present a screen showing the results of the compilation.
Q&ASA will not make any changes to the database definition file (your
'source' file). It will create a compiled database file of the same
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Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
base name, but with an extension of .Q&A. If the database definition
file is named QUIZ.DEF, then the compiled database will have a name of
QUIZ.Q&A. If the compiled database file already exists, it is over-
written by Q&ASA, and the original contents will be lost. Q&ASA will
NOT warn you of this.
When Q&ASA is finished, it will display the results of the compila-
tion, including the options you selected in the definition file. The
output below was produced by compiling the sample database SAMPLE.DEF
(the screen window has been reduced horizontally to fit on the page).
+----------------------- Compilation Results ------------------------+
| Database Name: Q&ASA Sample Database |
| Input File: C:\QPQ\V391\SAMPLE.DEF |
| Output File: C:\QPQ\V391\SAMPLE.Q&A |
| Score Filename: SAMPLE.SCR Total Weight: 35 |
| Time Limit: 00:10:00 Mode Lock: (none) |
| Clear Command: Enabled Answer Display: Enabled |
| Source Lines: 496 Total Questions: 25 |
| Macro List: Letter Grades: 13 |
| $TRUE$ |
| $FALSE$ |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Press Any Key To Continue |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Q&ASA Language Syntax
---------------------
Q&ASA, being a true compiler, requires that you follow certain syntac-
tical rules when creating a database definition file. The syntax was
made as simple and forgiving as possible to minimize the learning
time.
The Q&ASA language is line-oriented, meaning that Q&ASA views its
input in terms of whole lines. You may not, therefore, put two keyword
markers on the same line, for example.
The following is a short summary of the keywords that Q&ASA uses.
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Q= Question text
A= Answer list
P= remove Punctuation from the next answer
N= quiz Name
M= Macro definition
T= Time limit
C= Clear not allowed
S= lock in Sequential mode
R= lock in Random mode
F= output score Filename
E= Encrypt score file
W= assign Weighting
G= assign letter-Grade equivalencies
D= disable Display of incorrect answers
Each of these keywords is described in the following paragraphs.
Q&ASA scans and discards all text in the database definition file that
is not part of a keyword interpretation. This means that you may
insert comments almost anywhere, without using special comment delim-
iters or markers. Since Q&ASA is line-oriented, you may not, of
course, place a comment on the same line with any keyword or its
associated text. Comments are otherwise unrestricted. The sample
database definition file SAMPLE.DEF provides many examples of the use
of comments.
Terminators
-----------
Every Q&ASA keyword (e.g., "Q=", "A=", etc.) has a termination, which
tells the compiler when the end of the keyword interpretation has been
reached. For all Q&ASA keywords, with the single exception of the Q=
keyword, the termination is the same: a blank line, another keyword,
or end-of-file. In this context, a blank line is any line that con-
tains zero or more space or tab characters only. For the Q= keyword, a
blank line is NOT a termination; only the 'A=' keyword terminates a
question. This is to allow blank lines in the question text. You must
be careful not to place comment lines between the Q= and A= keywords,
since these will be regarded as part of the question and displayed on
the Q&ASA screen.
The Q= and A= Keywords
----------------------
As mentioned previously, Q= and A= are the keywords for 'question' and
'answer', respectively. The syntax is as follows:
Q=
<question text>
<question text>
<blank line(s)>
....
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<question text>
<blank line(s)>
A=
<displayed answer>
....
<termination>
A question may not have more than 15 lines of text associated with it,
and you are limited to 76 characters per line. Within this rectangular
boundary, you are unrestricted. If you exceed the allowed number of
lines or if a line contains more than 76 characters (after tab and
macro expansion), Q&ASA will display an error message.
You are permitted any number of answer lines, limited only by the
amount of memory available in the PC running Q&ASA. If the PC has 128K
bytes or more of available memory (free memory above DOS and all
TSRs), you are essentially unrestricted.
The P= Keyword
--------------
This keyword is used to simplify the answer list for answers that
contain unimportant punctuation. For example, if the correct answer to
a question is "Washington, D.C.", you would not want a student scored
as incorrect if he or she were to answer with "Washington DC". The P=
keyword prevents this situation.
The P= keyword applies ONLY to the next answer list following the
keyword. Once the next answer is compiled, punctuation is once again
significant.
Also, the P= keyword causes punctuation to be stripped from all answer
lines beginning with the SECOND answer line. This is so that the
correct answer can be displayed with all punctuation intact if the
question is answered incorrectly. To elaborate on the "Washington,
D.C." example, you could use:
P=
Q=
What is the capitol of the United States?
A=
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Note that the FIRST answer line will be left intact, but all punctua-
tion will be removed from the second line when it is compiled. Also,
when the user enters an answer in response to the question, all
punctuation will be removed from the answer before it is compared to
the answer list. Therefore, any answer that contains "Washington DC"
will be scored as correct: "Washington, DC", "Washington D.C.", and so
on. It is NOT necessary to include the punctuation in the second
answer line above.
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This keyword is also useful for numbers; e.g., it removes any distinc-
tion between "1,000" and "1000", and between "$50" and "50". In some
cases you will have to exercise caution, as in "$50.00", where "5000"
would be scored as correct, even though it is not at all what was
intended.
The N= Keyword
--------------
The N= keyword is used to specify the quiz name. The name must appear
on the line following the keyword, and may be up to 60 characters in
length. When the database is loaded into Q&ASA, this name appears in
the top border of the center (question) window.
For example, to name a quiz on American history as such, you would use
N=
American History Quiz
The M= Keyword
--------------
The M= keyword is the macro definition keyword, and indicates to Q&ASA
that the following lines are a macro definition. The macro definition
takes the following form:
M=
<macro identifier>
<first macro line>
<second macro line>
..............
<Nth macro line>
<termination>
Macros are expanded only within question and answer text, so you may
not use a macro to specify a score file name, for example.
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To build a macro for 'TRUE' from two other macros, you could use:
M=
$T$
True
T
M=
$Y$
Yes
Y
M=
$TRUE$
$T$
$Y$
We have defined three macros, "$T$", "$Y$", and "$TRUE$". If Q&ASA
encounters $TRUE$ in a question or answer, it will replace it with:
True
T
Yes
Y
because "True" and "T" are expansions of $T$ and "Yes" and "Y" are
expansions of $Y$. Note that blank lines are unnecessary between the
macro definitions, since each is terminated by the M= keyword of the
following macro.
Macro invocations MUST be surrounded by whitespace. For example, many
multiple-choice questions use the blanket selectors "none of the
above" and "all of the above". You could therefore use the following
macros:
M=
$NONE$
None of the above.
M=
$ALL$
All of the above.
and write a multiple-choice question as:
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 35
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Q=
Multiple-choice:
In what year did Christopher Columbus land in the New World?
1. 1592
2. 1492
3. 1066
4. $NONE$
5. $ALL$
A=
2. 1492
2
1492
Q&ASA will expand this to:
Q=
Multiple-choice:
In what year did Christopher Columbus land in the New World?
1. 1592
2. 1492
3. 1066
4. None of the above.
5. All of the above.
A=
2. 1492
2
1492
Remember that the Q&ASA compiler is line-oriented, however. If you put
the following in the database definition file:
M=
$NW$
New World
Q=
Multiple-choice:
In what year did Christopher Columbus land in the $NW$?
1. 1592
2. 1492
3. 1066
4. None of the above.
5. All of the above.
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Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Q&ASA will NOT expand it because there is no whitespace between $NW$
and the '?'. If, however, you use
M=
$NW$
New World
Q=
Multiple-choice:
In what year did Christopher Columbus land in the $NW$ ?
1. 1592
2. 1492
3. 1066
4. None of the above.
5. All of the above.
Q&ASA will expand it to
Q=
Multiple-choice:
In what year did Christopher Columbus land in the New World
?
1. 1592
2. 1492
3. 1066
4. None of the above.
5. All of the above.
because the macro expansion includes the newline. You should not,
therefore, attempt to use a macro in the middle of a block of text.
Although Q&ASA contains a two-pass compiler, macros must be defined
before they can be used. If you place a macro definition in the middle
of the database definition file and use the macro identifier before
and after it, then the identifiers that appear before the macro
definition will NOT be expanded. Define all of your macros before
entering the first question.
As shown in the examples above, macros are expanded recursively, so if
you place the macro identifier in any of the macro definition lines,
you will create a self-referential macro. Q&ASA will detect this
condition no matter how deeply recursive the reference may be. A self-
referential macro will cause a fatal compiler error. Recursive macros
are allowed so that you may build complex macros from simple ones if
you wish. An obvious self-referential macro is shown below:
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 37
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
M=
$MACRONAME$
macro text line 1
macro text line 2
$MACRONAME$
When Q&ASA encounters the second "$MACRONAME$", it would attempt to
expand it using the current definition of $MACRONAME$, which would in
turn cause it to encounter $MACRONAME$ again, and so on, until the
program crashed. Q&ASA will detect this condition and generate an
error message.
Not all self-referential macros are obvious, however. Note that you
can create a self-referential macro using two macros, as shown below:
M=
$MACRO 1$
text
text
$MACRO 2$
M=
$MACRO 2$
text
text
$MACRO 1$
In this case, both macros refer to the other when expanded, creating a
circular reference. This will also cause a fatal compiler error.
The T= Keyword
--------------
This is the time limit keyword. Include it in the database definition
file to specify a time limit. If you omit it, there is no time limit.
The syntax is as follows:
T=
HH:MM:SS
where HH is hours, MM is minutes, and SS is seconds. If the time limit
is less than an hour, you may omit the hours field; similarly, if the
time limit is less than a minute, you may omit the hours and minutes
fields. The sample database definition file contains a 10-minute
timeout, given by
T=
10:00
Note: If you specify a time limit for a database, the /FS (File/-
Save Database) command will be disabled. A user attempting
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to use this command will receive an error message, and the
command will be ignored.
The C= Keyword
--------------
This keyword is used to disable the Clear command. An individual
taking a quiz with Q&ASA can use the Clear command to reset the score
and essentially do the quiz twice. The author of the database defini-
tion file may prevent this by entering
C=
in the database definition file. When this is done, Q&ASA will ignore
the Clear command completely.
Note that if the Clear command is allowed, by omission of the C=
keyword, and the score file is enabled with the F= keyword (described
later), then a score record will be written to the score file indicat-
ing that the user cleared the score and restarted the quiz.
The S= and R= Keywords
----------------------
These are the mode lock keywords, where S= stands for "sequential" and
R= stands for "random". These keywords are mutually exclusive; a
database definition may not contain both keywords. If it does, an
error will be generated by Q&ASA.
These keywords are used to lock Q&ASA in the mode specified by the
keyword. If you do not give either keyword, then the user of Q&ASA is
free to use the Mode command to change modes.
For example, to lock Q&ASA in sequential mode, use the following:
S=
and to lock Q&ASA in random mode:
R=
There are no other arguments. The lock remains in effect until another
database is loaded (which may also be locked).
The F= Keyword
--------------
The F= keyword controls logging of score information to a disk file.
Logging is enabled by specifying a filename with the F= keyword, and
disabled if you omit the keyword.
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The filename you specify may be any valid DOS pathname, up to 64
characters in length. All scoring records are appended to the file if
it already exists, or the file will be created automatically if it
does not exist. Q&ASA will, however, force the filename to have an
extension of ".SCR".
The score logging file may exist on a file server of a networked
system if desired. However, Q&ASA DOES NOT SUPPORT FILE SHARING.
Typically, and networked system will require that a file be locked
while it is being updated so that no other network user may access the
file until the updating has been completed. If Q&ASA is used in a
networked system, the networking extensions to DOS must provide this
function.
If networking is to be used, but the network does not perform locking
on a file level, then you should specify a score logging file on the
local drive of each PC, and collect these files at a later time.
Otherwise, you may end up with a corrupted score file.
All score log records are plain ASCII (except when encryption is
selected). An example is reproduced below.
Student Name: John Q. Public
Database Name: Q&ASA Sample Database
Final Score: 72.41%
Grade: C
Termination: TIME LIMIT
Started: Monday, July 31, 1989, 15:44:44
Completed: Monday, July 31, 1989, 15:46:45
Elapsed Time: 00:02:00
Database File: SAMPLE.Q&A
Total Questions: 20
Possible Points: 29
Points Awarded: 21
Point Matrix:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0001-0010 10.34 3.45 3.45 ??? 3.45 --- ??? --- 3.45 3.45
0011-0020 6.90 3.45 6.90 3.45 --- 3.45 3.45 6.90 3.45 6.90
**********************************************************************
The '*****....*****' forms a separator between individual records.
The first block contains summary information regarding the quiz
session. The quiz taker's name is listed along with the name of the
database (given by the N= keyword), the final score, the letter-grade
equivalent (or "n/a" if none were assigned), and the reason the score
record was written to the score file. In this example, it is given as
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Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
'TIME LIMIT'. This means that the quiz taker used up the time allotted
by the T= keyword. The possible reasons for termination are:
Completed The user answered all questions (and optionally,
within the time allotted by the T= keyword).
TIME LIMIT The user exceeded the time allotted by the T=
keyword. This reason can only be produced if a
time limit was given.
ABORTED This indicates that the user quit the Q&ASA ses-
sion before answering all questions using the /FX
command or by pressing Control-C or Control-Break.
CLEARED The Clear command (/MC) was used to clear the
score and restart the quiz. This reason cannot be
produced if the C= keyword is used to disable the
Clear command.
RELOADED The user reloaded the database, or loaded a dif-
ferent database, or continued a previously-saved
database before all questions were answered.
The final score is always the ratio of the number of possible points
to the total number of points awarded by answering correctly. Ques-
tions that were not answered are scored as incorrect.
The log record also specifies the time the database was loaded (there-
by starting the timer, if a time limit was given), the time the quiz
was completed or stopped (for any of the reasons given above), and the
elapsed time.
The third block of the record gives the name of the compiled database
file, the number of questions in the file, and the number of possible
points with the number of points awarded. Because Q&ASA supports
weighting, the number of possible points may be entirely different
from the number of questions.
The last block is the point matrix. This shows the results of each
question in the database, ten questions per line. Each question may
have three possible outcomes:
1. The question was answered, and answered correctly. The point
matrix will show the number of points awarded as a ratio of
the number of possible points, relative to 100.
2. The question was answered, but answered incorrectly. The
point matrix will show that no points were awarded with
'---'.
3. The question was not answered, either by skipping over it or
by exceeding the allotted time. The point matrix will show
this with '???'. No points were awarded.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 41
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
In the example score record shown, you can see that questions 6, 8,
and 15 were answered incorrectly, questions 4 and 7 were not answered
(most likely due to the time limit given as the reason), and the
remaining 15 questions were answered correctly. The point breakdown
will be described in the section on weighting.
The E= Keyword
--------------
This keyword is used to instruct Q&ASA that the score file is to be
encrypted. This prevents a user from completing a quiz session and
then editing the score file manually to increase the score.
When this keyword is used, the score file will not be human-readable,
and must be converted back to plain text. This is done using the /UD
(Utilities/Decrypt score file) command. This command, which is pass-
word-protected, will restore the score file to plain text using the
same file name. If the score file is, or has already been converted to
plain text, /UD will not reprocess it.
If you enter the E= keyword anywhere in the database definition file,
Q&ASA will set a global flag that encrypts the entire score file.
The D= Keyword
--------------
This keyword is used to disable the display of the correct answer if a
question is answered incorrectly. If omitted, Q&ASA will display
Incorrect. The correct answer is
(Correct Answer)
Press any key to continue
The syntax of the D= keyword is as follows:
D=
If you enter the D= keyword anywhere in the database definition file,
Q&ASA will set a global flag that disables this display. Q&ASA will go
on to the next question as though the answer was correct.
The W= Keyword
--------------
This keyword is used to assign weights to each question. The weighting
system you use is entirely arbitrary and up to you. Q&ASA imposes only
the restriction that you use integer weights, and that you use numbers
between 0 and 32767 inclusive.
The syntax of the W= keyword is as follows:
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 42
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
W=
<weight>
When Q&ASA encounters this keyword, it reads the weight and assigns it
to all the questions that follow it. If Q&ASA encounters the W=
keyword again, it will change the weight to the new weight, and assign
the new weight to all following questions. As each question is pro-
cessed by the Q&ASA compiler, Q&ASA keeps track of the total weight.
When Q&ASA scores a question, it determines the point score to be the
ratio of the total weight to that of the question in percent. This
point score is added to the running score shown in the scoring window,
and also appears in the point matrix in the score file (actually, the
point score is recalculated after each question from the weights to
avoid rounding errors).
If you do not specify a weight anywhere in the database definition
file, all questions will be weighted as one point by default.
Note that this arrangement allows you total flexibility in setting up
a weighting system. You do not have to weight each question as a
fraction of 100, for example. Q&ASA does this for you.
The sample database weights each 'fill-in' question as three points,
each true/false as 2 points, and each multiple-choice question as one
point. There is one 'fill-in' question, 7 'true/false' questions, and
12 'multiple-choice' questions. The points are calculated as follows:
fill-in 1 times 3 points = 3 points
true/false 7 times 2 points = 14 points
multiple-choice 12 times 1 point = 12 points
---------------------------------------
Totals: 20 questions 29 points
There are therefore 29 possible points (as shown in the score file). A
'fill-in' question is worth 3/29 points or 10.34 points relative to
100. A 'true/false' question is worth 2/29 points or 6.90 points
relative to 100, and a 'multiple-choice' question 1/29 or 3.45 points
relative to 100. In the example score record, the user was awarded a
total of 21 out of 29 possible points, for a score of 21/29 or 72.41%.
Adding all of the points shown in the point matrix will produce the
same result.
Q&ASA also allows you to assign a weight of zero to one or any number
of questions. These questions will not affect the score, as the score
for any question is the ratio of the total weight of all questions to
the weight of the question being scored. If you assign a weight of
zero to all questions, the score will always be zero.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 43
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Conclusion
----------
Most of these examples can be found in the sample database definition
file, SAMPLE.DEF. Experiment with it (remember to recompile it with
Q&ASA if you change it), but please don't pass on a modified copy to
someone else.
Hal Endresen
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 44
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Appendix : Q&ASA Compiler Error Messages
----------------------------------------
Illegal definition filename: <filename>
This error is generated if you supply a database definition file
with an extension of .Q&A.
Cannot find database definition file <filename>
This error indicates that Q&ASA was not able to open the database
definition file you specified.
Unable to create temporary file <filename>
This error indicates that Q&ASA was not able to create its inter-
mediate temporary file.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Answer omitted
You specified a question without an accompanying answer, or your
syntax is such that Q&ASA could not determine where the answer
is.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Question omitted
You specified an answer without a preceding question, or your
syntax was such that Q&ASA could not locate the question.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Macro name missing
You specified a macro definition (M=), but the next line is
blank.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Weight definition missing
You specified weighting (W=), but the next line is blank.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Invalid weight
You specified a weight that was outside the range 1..32767 or
entered non-numeric characters.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Title missing
You specified the name keyword N=, but the next line is blank.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Title too long - truncated
The name you entered after the N= keyword is longer than 60
characters.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 45
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
File <def file> : Line <line> : Time limit definition missing
You specified the time limit keyword T=, but the next line is
blank.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Invalid time limit
The time limit you specified following the T= keyword is not in
the form HH:MM:SS.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Mode lock already set
You specified S= and R= in the same definition file. Q&ASA is
complaining about the second occurrence.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Filename missing
You specified an output score file with the F= keyword, but the
next line is blank.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Illegal filename
You specified a filename after the F= keyword that has invalid
characters or longer than 64 characters.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Question line exceeds <nn> characters
You entered a line in a question block that will not fit into
Q&ASA's window.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Question exceeds <nn> lines
You entered a question that has too many lines.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Answer line exceeds <nn> characters
You entered an answer line that will not fit into Q&ASA's answer
window.
Cannot create database output file <filename>
Q&ASA was unable to create the compiled database output file.
Cannot open temporary file <filename>
Q&ASA was unable to create its temporary file.
File <def file> : Line <line> : Macro <name> is self-referential
The macro specified is self-referential. This may be a direct
self-referencing macro or it may occur as a result of a complex
series of recursive, circular macro expansions.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 46
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
COPYRIGHT
This program is copyright (C) 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 by Hal
Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software. All rights reserved worldwide.
Q&A Study Aid is distributed as SHAREWARE, or User-Supported Software.
You are encouraged to try the program and share it with others,
provided that:
The program is distributed in unmodified form as the complete
archive Q&ASA391.ZIP (QASA391.ZIP on CompuServe), complete with
documentation and the registration information on the following
pages.
No fee, charge or other consideration is requested or accepted (a
nominal reproduction fee is acceptable if diskettes or CD-ROMs
are the distribution medium, provided no charge is specified or
required for the program itself).
The program is not distributed in conjunction with any other
product.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 47
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE
-----------------------
Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before
buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you
are required to register and pay for its use. With registration, you
get anything from the simple right to continue using the software,
technical support services, or an updated program with printed manual.
Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and
the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific excep-
tions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers,
just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable
quality (in both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!). The
main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifi-
cally grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to
all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors
require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy
their Shareware.
Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should
find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's
commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs
easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead
is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back
guarantee - if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.
DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
----------------------
Users of Q&A Study Aid must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "Q&A
Study Aid is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties,
expressed or implied, including, without limitation, all warranties of
merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no
liability for damages, direct or consequential, pecuniary or other-
wise, which may result from the use of Q&A Study Aid."
Q&A Study Aid is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to
the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but
please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The
essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer
users with quality software without high prices, and provides an
incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you
find this program useful and find that you are using Q&A Study Aid and
continue to it after a reasonable trial period (30 days), you must
make a registration payment of $20.00 (US) to Quid Pro Quo Software.
The $20.00 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one
computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a
book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of
people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another,
so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 48
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
while it is also being used at another - just as a book cannot be read
by two different persons at the same time.
Commercial or governmental users of Q&A Study Aid must register and
pay for their copies of Q&A Study Aid within 30 days of first use or
their license is withdrawn. Site licenses may be purchased according
to the following schedule (all prices are in US dollars):
One copy $20.00
Two copies $35.00
3-10 copies $10.00 plus $10.00 per copy
11-30 copies $50.00 plus $5.00 per copy
More than 30 copies $100.00 plus $2.00 per copy
Anyone distributing Q&A Study Aid for any kind of remuneration MUST
specify in any literature or advertising that Q&A Study Aid is SHARE-
WARE, and as such, requires registration and payment to the author of
the program above and beyond any payment the buyer makes for a copy of
the program on some distribution media.
You are encouraged to pass a copy of Q&A Study Aid along to your
friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy
if they find the program useful and continue using it. All registered
users will receive a copy of the latest version of the Q&A Study Aid
system if the registration form specifies any version prior to the
latest version, and all registered users will be notified of upgrades
and improvements. As a registered user, you are also entitled to free
replacement of the program should a maintenance release be made within
a period of one year following your original registration.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 49
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
SPECIAL OFFER!
--------------
Registered users of any ASP program may purchase a 1-year subscription
to Shareware Magazine, normally $20.00, for just $12.95. Simply call
(800) 245-6717 and give Special Order #: 2262 in order to use Master-
card or VISA. You may also send a check for $12.95 to:
Shareware Magazine Subscription
1030 D E. Duane Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Include the Special Order number along with your name and mailing
address.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 50
Q&A Study Aid V3.91 User's Guide
Q&A STUDY AID V3.91 REGISTRATION FORM
Name _______________________________________________________________
Title ______________________________________________________________
Company ____________________________________________________________
Address ____________________________________________________________
City __________________________________ State ______ Zip ___________
Country _______________________________ Phone ______________________
SERIAL NUMBER FROM OPENING SCREEN __________________________________
NUMBER OF COPIES DESIRED (see schedule below) ______________________
Display System _____________________________________________________
DOS Version ________________________________________________________
PC Make/Model/CPU __________________________________________________
Fixed Disk Type/Capacity ___________________________________________
Floppy Disks _______________________________________________________
System RAM _________________________________________________________
To register, send this form and a check for the appropriate amount to
Quid Pro Quo Software at the address shown below. Site licenses are
granted according to the following schedule (in US dollars):
One copy $20.00
Two copies $35.00
3-10 copies $10.00 plus $10.00 per copy
11-30 copies $50.00 plus $5.00 per copy
> 30 copies $100.00 plus $2.00 per copy
Quid Pro Quo Software
P.O. Box 1248
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-1248
Registered users will receive notification of upgrades of Q&A Study
Aid, a registration number to remove the registration notice from the
opening screen, and support either via CompuServe [73760,2032] or by
mail. You will be entitled to maintenance releases for a period of one
year following original registration. Non-registered users may make
inquiries as to the suitability of this program for their particular
purpose and to report bugs, errors, or desired features.
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 Hal Endresen, Quid Pro Quo Software Page 51