cs18000:webcat [Computer Science Courses]

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====== Web-CAT for Students ======

Web-CAT is a powerful tool for real-time automated grading of programming assignments and projects. With Web-CAT, you'll be able to submit your solutions and examine the results a few seconds later.

===== Getting Started =====

If you're enrolled in CS 18000, you will get access to the automated grading system Web-CAT. You will get an email with the login credentials on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 by 5 pm. If you don't receive an email then refer to the [[http://courses.cs.purdue.edu/cs18000:fall15:contacts|contact information]] page. 



===== Submitting Assignments =====

To submit your work, find the appropriate assignment on the Home tab and click Submit. You will then be asked to upload a file. If the assignment specification only calls for one file, you simply select it. Otherwise, you should compress your files into a ZIP archive and upload that. You will be shown a list of uploaded files and asked to confirm your submission. After that is completed, you will be taken to the grading queue page, which will load your results when they have been graded by Web-CAT. To zip a directory in UNIX:

  zip -r my_directory.zip my_directory

Make sure that your solution conforms to the specification! Also, spelling is important. In the previous offering of CS 18000, the vast majority of failed compilations and tests were due to class, method, or variable spelling errors.

**You can submit each assignment at most 20 times. Only your last submission will be considered, not the best submission.**

==== Submitting with Partners ====

Some assignments will allow you to work in a team. For these assignments, only one team member needs to submit. More information on this will be made available in the assignment handout.


==== Note on Deadlines ====

For most assignments, we provide a 5-minute grace period after the assignment deadline to account for server load issues. However, this is not an invitation to wait until 11:59 PM to submit. The course staff is not liable for any inability to submit after the official deadline.

===== Understanding Your Results =====

Web-CAT will score your submission out of 100 (projects) or 5 (homework assignments). Projects and homework will be graded on both correctness and coding style. In some assignments, instructors will manually grade some aspect of your solution (for example, a user interface), which will comprise part of your score. Always refer to the assignment specification for the exact breakdown of points.

The instructor may choose to provide hints when test cases fail -- please take advantage of them in correcting your solution.

==== Coding Style ====

We use a static analyzer called Checkstyle to enforce the course's [[cs18000:coding_standards|style standards]]. Below are some tips:

  * Be sure to have spacing around binary operators (such as "+" and "=")
  * Maintain proper 4-space indentation.
  * The line length is limited to 120 characters.

To audit your code for style errors, please use our [[http://webcat.cs.purdue.edu/checkstyle|Checkstyle webapp]].

===== Troubleshooting =====

If you're getting strange Web-CAT errors, it's probably because you are logged into a stale session. Please clear your cookies with the following [[http://www.wikihow.com/Clear-Your-Browser's-Cookies|instructions]].

Forgot your password? Use the [[http://webcat.cs.purdue.edu/WebObjects/Web-CAT.woa/wa/passwordChangeRequest|reset form]].