Volume 3

13 pages 642 K bytes

Building a Computer Program Grader Don Colton Brigham Young University Hawaii Laie, Hawaii 96762, USA Leslie Fife Brigham Young University Hawaii Laie, Hawaii 96762, USA Randy Winters Brigham Young University Hawaii Laie, Hawaii 96762, USA

Abstract: Students often learn best by doing, and they may learn programming skills best by writing many programs, ranging from simple to complex. Overworked teachers can be dismayed by the prospect of grading still more programs per student as well as teaching introductory classes with ever larger enrollments. We present GradeBot, an automatic grader for computer programming lab assignments. The automatic grading approach offers substantial advantages and opportunities, but also some disadvantages and challenges. GradeBot evaluates student programs written in any of several languages, including C, C++, Java, Perl, Tcl, and MIPS assembler. Guidance for similar projects is provided through a discussion of the construction and operation of GradeBot.

Keywords: GradeBot, grading, programming, automated grading, testbed, C, C++, Java, Perl, Tcl, MIPS, SPIM, cheating

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Recommended Citation: Colton, Fife, and Winters (2005). Building a Computer Program Grader. Information Systems Education Journal, 3 (6). http://isedj.org/3/6/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2004: §2233. ISSN: 1542-7382.)