Java.Inquisition 0.11 review

Java.Inquisition project create and takes computer-based tests and quizzes

License: Public Domain File size: 644K Developer: Matt Russell

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Java.Inquisition project create and takes computer-based tests and quizzes. Cheating is fully supported, so it's only going to be useful for things like mock exams and self-assessment rather than administering formal exams.

Java.Inquisition is free, open-source software (see License). It is written in (you guessed it) Java, and should therefore work on any platform where Java is supported (including Linux, Mac OS X and Windows).

Why did you write this?

Java.Inquisition was written while I was meant to be studying for the "Sun Certified Java Programmer" (SCJP) exam. Like many programmers, I'm prone to the delusion that the best way to do any work is to write a tool to do it for you. So, rather than studying, I wrote this little application to "help" me study (even though I haven't done a great deal of studying as a result). Anyway, the upshot is that Java.Inquisition has been designed with enough features to functionally simulate the SCJP 5.0 exam, and would probably work fine as a simulator engine for a number of other certifications.

Why does the world need Yet Another Exam Simulator Engine?

Good question. The quick answer is that I couldn't find a free software exam simulator that supported the features I wanted — in particular, drag-and-drop questions — so I thought I'd write my own. Other exam simulators in this sort of area include JPilotExam (GNU GPL), Magnet Mocker and Ultramock. Commercial simulators include Whizlabs, JQPlus and EPractize Labs).

As I've demonstrated by writing Java.Inquisition, any old idiot can put together a workable exam engine. The difficult bit is writing a decent, bug-free question set which includes helpful explanations for the answers. I was hoping people would be interested in helping out (see "How can I get involved?" below). To make the most of what other people have worked on, Java.Inquisition can import questions from JPilotExam, Magnet Mocker and Ultramock.

Requirements:
Java 1.5

What's New in This Release:
An 80-question SCJP 5 mock exam written by John Meyers was added.
Automatic syntax highlighting can be done for Java questions.
Drag-and-drop fragments are now animated.
Various other small improvements and bugfixes were made.