AutoLEP: An Automated Learning and Examination System for Programming and its Application in Programming Course

Abstract

AutoLEP, an automated learning and examination environment for programming is introduced. It differs from the other existing systems mainly in that it adopts a novel marking mechanism. It combines static analysis with dynamic testing to analyze students’ programs. So it can evaluate not only the testing results but also the constructs of the programs. It can give reasonable marks to programs with syntactical or logical errors. AutoLEP has been used in the C programming course since 2004 at Harbin Institute of Technology. The advantages of using AutoLEP are that the students are assessed on what they have to do in practice, rather than on their theoretical knowledge, and that the marking load on the examiner is drastically reduced.