Automatic Marker
================

The automatic marker - aka automarker - is an extension to the UCT Vula
and Amathuba learning management system (LMS) to automatically mark programming
assignments. It usually appears as ``Automatic Marker`` in the left sidebar
of Vula course sites that use it. 

It is managed by the :ref:`scientific_officers` together with the
:ref:`sysadmins-label`.


.. warning:: The automatic marker is not currently zero-rated by South African mobile operators.

Preparation
-----------

Before submitting you need to do the following:

#. Write and test your program on your workstation. 
   
   * If you are using the NetBeans IDE, be sure to remove the package name it adds from the top of the source file.

#. Put your uncompiled source files into a ``zip`` file.

   * The file name does not matter as long as it as a ``.zip`` extension.

   * The files must be in the root of the zip file, *not* in a folder unless a specific structure has been specified in the assignment question. 

Once you are ready to submit, select a method below.

Methods
-------

There are currently 1 method for submitting your code to the automarker: ``Method 1``

* ``Method 1`` is more interactive, but because it submits directly to the automarker (which is not currently zero-rated by mobile operators) will incur data charges.


Method 1
########

This is the standard method for submitting to the automarker via its web interface. 

.. warning:: This method is not zero-rated by mobile operators.

#. Click on the ``Automatic Marker`` item on the left menu of the Vula site.

   * The assignment page - including the list of *Open Assignments* is displayed. Each open assignment should have a ``Browse`` and a ``Submit`` button.

#. Click on the ``Browse`` button of the assignment you want to submit and find and select the zip file you want to upload.

#. Click the ``Submit`` button to submit the assignment to the marker.

#. The automarker will mark the assignment providing feedback as it progresses. 

#. Examine the feedback, make the necessary changes to your program and follow this procedure again to submit an updated solution.


Troubleshooting
---------------

* No ``Automatic Marker`` option on the Vula menu
  
  * This site / course does not use automatically marked assignments.