Flexible Grading Scale

I have been adding subtle improvements to GradeL recently. One that I think deserves mentioning at this point is the new flexible grading scale. In the past, GradeL had a fixed scale that required users to have 13 grades (A+...E), because that is the grading scale that I have to use. However, I realize that other users may have different requirements. So, when the next release is made public, users will be able to adjust the number of grades and the minimum percent to achieve that grade.

Here is a shot of the new dialog:



The spin control allows the user to change the number of grade needed and the grid will automatically resize when the number is changed.

Murphy's Law and a new GradeL release.

With a name like Murphy, there was bound to be a problem. Version 0.10.0 had a huge bug that prevented users from changing the grading mode from points to weighted categories in the Class Setup form. It appears that this is a left over from 0.9.1, although it was never reported.

It is possible that issue is caused by a change in some Gambas event handling in versions 2.9 and later. Currently, I'm developing on the latest stable Gambas release, 2.10.2. Anyway, for more info on GradeL 0.10.1, please see the ChangeLog and feel free to download the app.

Take care!

GradeL 0.10.0 Released.

I released a new version of GradeL today. Version 0.10.0 does not add any major features, but it should be more stable and allow users to work more efficiently. Check out the ChangeLog for more details. You can download the source or a .deb from SourceForge.

As usual, please report any bugs you may encounter!

Development Continues

Although this new school year has not provided me with a lot of time to work on GradeL, I have been making some progress. The current development version does run on the latest Gambas 2.10.2.

I have reverted back to a single file interface. My implementation of multiple windows for multiple files was buggy and difficult to maintain. I have added better support for recent files in the File Menu, which makes switching between class files quite easy and fast.

I'm also spending some time cleaning up my code so that it is easier to maintain. I hope that this process will result in a more stable piece of software. As soon as I feel that it's ready to go, I release the next version. Stay tuned.

If you'd like to try out the latest development snapshot, you can download it here.

GradeL and Gambas 2.9

Currently, GradeL will not run properly with the new Gambas 2.9 release. There were changes made to the way that Gambas handles window events including, opening and closing, which cause GradeL to crash. GradeL runs properly on Gambas 2.7, which is the version available in the Ubuntu 8.10 repositories. Until a fix is completed, please stick with the older version of Gambas if you wish to run GradeL.

GradeL 0.9.1 Released.

GradeL 0.9.1 has been released. This release includes bug fixes and minor improvements. I have included a .deb package as well. Please try it out and report problems. You can download the release or get more info in the website.

Take care.

Compiling and Installation Problems

Apparently, when I completed the conversion to Gambas2 from Gambas1 I neglected to pay close attention to the compile and installation scripts I provided with the source package. They contain bugs. The next release of GradeL will include the correct scripts, but in the meantime, I have included them here:

compile.sh:


#!/bin/sh

# This shell script compiles and archives GradeL using Gambas2.
# The result is the binary archive gradel, which can be run
# by typing ./gradel from the source directory or installed
# using sudo sh ./install.sh.

echo ""
echo "GradeL Compile Script"
echo "----------------------------------------"
echo "Checking for compiled components..."

if [ -d .gambas ]
then
echo "Removing old files..."
cd .gambas
rm *
cd ..
rmdir .gambas
fi

if [ -f gradel ]
then
rm gradel
fi

echo ""
echo "Compiling GradeL with gbc2 -p -a ..."

# It is important to include the -p and -a flags
gbc2 -p -a

echo "Creating executable archive \"gradel\" with gba2 ..."
gba2

# Rename executable archive
mv gradel-0.9.1.gambas gradel

echo "Done!"
echo ""
echo "To run gradel type: ./gradel"
echo "or"
echo "sudo \"sh ./install.sh\" to install on Ubuntu."
echo ""

install.sh:

#!/bin/sh

# This shell script installs GradeL to the system.
# Be sure to run compile.sh first.
# Gradel can be removed from the system with uninstall.sh.

echo ""
echo "GradeL Install Script"
echo "------------------------------------------------"

# GradeL binary installs in the /usr/bin directory
echo " Copying GradeL program to /usr/bin"
cp gradel /usr/bin

# Gradel icon installs in /usr/share/gradel directory
if [ -d /usr/share/gradel ]
then
echo " Copying GradeL icon to /usr/share/gradel"
cp images/gradel.png /usr/share/gradel
else
mkdir /usr/share/gradel
echo " Copying GradeL icon to /usr/share/gradel"
cp images/gradel.png /usr/share/gradel
fi

# INSTALL, README, ChangeLog and COPYING install in /usr/share/doc/gradel
if [ -d /usr/share/doc/gradel ]
then
echo " Copying INSTALL, README, COPYING, and ChangeLog to /usr/share/doc/gradel"
cp COPYING /usr/share/doc/gradel
cp INSTALL /usr/share/doc/gradel
cp README /usr/share/doc/gradel
cp ChangeLog /usr/share/doc/gradel
else
mkdir /usr/share/doc/gradel
echo " Copying INSTALL, README, COPYING, and ChangeLog to /usr/share/doc/gradel"
cp COPYING /usr/share/doc/gradel
cp INSTALL /usr/share/doc/gradel
cp README /usr/share/doc/gradel
cp ChangeLog /usr/share/doc/gradel
fi

# Done

echo "Done! To run type gradel. Enjoy the program."
echo ""

uninstall.sh:

#!/bin/sh

# This shell script removes GradeL to the system.

echo ""
echo "GradeL Uninstall Script"
echo "------------------------------------------------"

# Remove binary
echo " Removing binary."
if [ -f /usr/bin/gradel ]
then
rm /usr/bin/gradel
fi

# Remove icon
echo " Removing icon."
if [ -s /usr/share/gradel ]
then
rm /usr/share/gradel/*.*
#rm /usr/share/gradel/*
rmdir /usr/share/gradel
fi

# Remove docs
echo " Removing documents."
if [ -s /usr/share/doc/gradel ]
then
#rm /usr/share/doc/gradel/*.*
rm /usr/share/doc/gradel/*
rmdir /usr/share/doc/gradel
fi

# Done
echo " GradeL has been removed from your system."
echo ""

Keep the bug reports and questions coming!