This document describes the classes used for implementing the experiment model.
Enums (Enumerated types) are used here to define the datatypes for different elements.
These are used for two reasons:
- Central place for defining all the types
- Validation of inputs (descriptors)
The module that implements these enums also defines the validation function for each of then. The validation functions are used to verify the input (string). The input strings have to match exactly with the given string representations, otherwise the validation fails.
Note for future enhancement: /This should be moved to a json schema. The schema already has features to validate inputs. See the following issue for details: 95/
The UnitTypes record defines the valid unit types.
| Type | String Representation |
|---|---|
| LU | “lu” |
| TASK | “task” |
| AIM | “aim” |
Content Types represent the types of content available for building pages.
| Type | String Representation |
|---|---|
| TEXT | “text” |
| VIDEO | “video” |
| SIMULATION | “simulation” |
| ASSESMENT | “assesment” |
| COMPONENT | “component” |
The build environments used for configuring the build process.
| Type | String Representation |
|---|---|
| PRODUCTION | “production” |
| TESTING | “testing” |
| LOCAL | “local” |
The local mode is not yet implemented, it’s just an idea.
The main difference between testing and production environments:
| Feature | Testing | Production |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics | DISABLED | ENABLED |
| Breadcrumbs with links to lab | DISABLED | ENABLED |
The reason why breadcrums are disabled in testing mode is because the testing mode was initially designed to be used with individual experiment build process. When the experiments are built individually, the lab level information is not available, so the links to lab pages are not generated.
The analytics and breadcrumbs features are coupled together. There should be a configuration option that allows the developers to enable/disable features for each mode.
This can only be properly achieved when we move to the plugin based architecture.
Unit is the base class for all types of units in an experiment. It
defines the common attributes in all units.
The LearningUnit class inherits from the Unit class. It has an
additional field called units. This field defines the list of units
contained in this unit.
Defines the Task class. Inherits from Unit. Difference between
Task and LearningUnit classes:
- Tasks have a corresponding
sourceandtarget (html)page. - Learning units can contains other units.
Aim inherits from Task. It is a special kind of task which acts as
the entry point for each learning unit. Each learning unit should
have an aim.