This is the base class for Moodle question types. More...

Inheritance diagram for question_type:

Public Member Functions
	actual_number_of_questions ($question)
	Returns the number of question numbers which are used by the question.

	break_down_stats_and_response_analysis_by_variant ($questiondata)
	Whether or not to break down question stats and response analysis, for a question defined by $questiondata.

	can_analyse_responses ()
	Whether this question type can perform a frequency analysis of student responses.

	create_editing_form ($submiturl, $question, $category, $contexts, $formeditable)
	Return an instance of the question editing form definition.

	delete_question ($questionid, $contextid)
	Deletes the question-type specific data when a question is deleted.

	display_question_editing_page ($mform, $question, $wizardnow)
	This method should be overriden if you want to include a special heading or some other html on a question editing page besides the question editing form.

	export_to_xml ($question, qformat_xml $format, $extra=null)

	extra_answer_fields ()
	If your question type has a table that extends the question_answers table, make this method return an array wherer the first element is the table name, and the subsequent entries are the column names (apart from id and answerid).

	extra_question_fields ()
	If your question type has a table that extends the question table, and you want the base class to automatically save, backup and restore the extra fields, override this method to return an array wherer the first element is the table name, and the subsequent entries are the column names (apart from id and questionid).

	find_standard_scripts ()
	Utility method used by qtype_renderer::head_code().

	finished_edit_wizard ($form)
	Returns true if the editing wizard is finished, false otherwise.

	generate_test ($name, $courseid=null)
	Abstract function implemented by each question type.

	get_default_value (string $name, $default)
	Return default value for a given form element either from user_preferences table or $default.

	get_extra_question_bank_actions (stdClass $question)
	Get extra actions for a question of this type to add to the question bank edit menu.

	get_heading ($adding=false)
	Method called by display_question_editing_page and by question.php to get heading for breadcrumbs.

	get_possible_responses ($questiondata)
	This method should return all the possible types of response that are recognised for this question.

	get_question_options ($question)
	Loads the question type specific options for the question.

	get_random_guess_score ($questiondata)
	Calculate the score a monkey would get on a question by clicking randomly.

	has_html_answers ()

	import_file ($context, $component, $filearea, $itemid, $file)

	import_from_xml ($data, $question, qformat_xml $format, $extra=null)

	is_manual_graded ()

	is_question_manual_graded ($question, $otherquestionsinuse)

	is_real_question_type ()

	is_usable_by_random ()

	local_name ()

	make_question ($questiondata)
	Create an appropriate question_definition for the question of this type using data loaded from the database.

	menu_name ()
	The name this question should appear as in the create new question dropdown.

	move_files ($questionid, $oldcontextid, $newcontextid)
	Move all the files belonging to this question from one context to another.

	name ()

	plugin_baseurl ()

	plugin_dir ()

	plugin_name ()

	questionid_column_name ()
	If you use extra_question_fields, overload this function to return question id field name in case you table use another name for this column.

	response_file_areas ()
	If the quetsion type uses files in responses, then this method should return an array of all the response variables that might have corresponding files.

	save_defaults_for_new_questions (stdClass $fromform)
	Save question defaults when creating new questions.

	save_hints ($formdata, $withparts=false)

	save_question ($question, $form)
	Saves (creates or updates) a question.

	save_question_answers ($question)
	Save the answers, with any extra data.

	save_question_options ($question)
	Saves question-type specific options.

	set_default_options ($questiondata)
	Set any missing settings for this question to the default values.

	set_default_value (string $name, string $value)
	Save the default value for a given form element in user_preferences table.

Protected Member Functions
	count_hints_on_form ($formdata, $withparts)
	Count number of hints on the form.

	decode_file ($file)

	delete_files ($questionid, $contextid)
	Delete all the files belonging to this question.

	delete_files_in_answers ($questionid, $contextid, $answerstoo=false)
	Delete all the files belonging to this question's answers.

	delete_files_in_combined_feedback ($questionid, $contextid)
	Delete all the files belonging to this question's answers.

	delete_files_in_hints ($questionid, $contextid)
	Delete all the files belonging to this question's hints.

	fill_answer_fields ($answer, $questiondata, $key, $context)
	Return $answer, filling necessary fields for the question_answers table.

	fill_extra_answer_fields ($answerextra, $questiondata, $key, $context, $extraanswerfields)
	Return $answerextra, filling necessary fields for the extra answer fields table.

	get_context_by_category_id ($category)
	Get question context by category id.

	import_or_save_files ($field, $context, $component, $filearea, $itemid)
	Save the file belonging to one text field.

	initialise_combined_feedback (question_definition $question, $questiondata, $withparts=false)
	Initialise the combined feedback fields.

	initialise_core_question_metadata (question_definition $question, $questiondata)
	Initialise the question metadata.

	initialise_custom_fields (question_definition $question, $questiondata)
	Initialise question custom fields.

	initialise_question_answers (question_definition $question, $questiondata, $forceplaintextanswers=true)
	Initialise question_definition\answers field.

	initialise_question_hints (question_definition $question, $questiondata)
	Initialise question_definition\hints field.

	initialise_question_instance (question_definition $question, $questiondata)
	Initialise the common question_definition fields.

	is_answer_empty ($questiondata, $key)
	Returns true is answer with the $key is empty in the question data and should not be saved in DB.

	is_extra_answer_fields_empty ($questiondata, $key)
	Returns true if extra answer fields for answer with the $key is empty in the question data and should not be saved in DB.

	is_hint_empty_in_form_data ($formdata, $number, $withparts)
	Determine if the hint with specified number is not empty and should be saved.

	make_answer ($answer)
	Create a question_answer, or an appropriate subclass for this question, from a row loaded from the database.

	make_hint ($hint)
	Create a question_hint, or an appropriate subclass for this question, from a row loaded from the database.

	make_question_instance ($questiondata)
	Create an appropriate question_definition for the question of this type using data loaded from the database.

	move_files_in_answers ($questionid, $oldcontextid, $newcontextid, $answerstoo=false)
	Move all the files belonging to this question's answers when the question is moved from one context to another.

	move_files_in_combined_feedback ($questionid, $oldcontextid, $newcontextid)
	Move all the files belonging to this question's answers when the question is moved from one context to another.

	move_files_in_hints ($questionid, $oldcontextid, $newcontextid)
	Move all the files belonging to this question's hints when the question is moved from one context to another.

	save_combined_feedback_helper ($options, $formdata, $context, $withparts=false)
	Can be used to save_question_options() to transfer the combined feedback fields from $formdata to $options.

	save_hint_options ($formdata, $number, $withparts)
	Save additional question type data into the hint optional field.

Protected Attributes
	$fileoptions

Detailed Description

This is the base class for Moodle question types.

There are detailed comments on each method, explaining what the method is for, and the circumstances under which you might need to override it.

Note: the questiontype API should NOT be considered stable yet. Very few question types have been produced yet, so we do not yet know all the places where the current API is insufficient. I would rather learn from the experiences of the first few question type implementors, and improve the interface to meet their needs, rather the freeze the API prematurely and condem everyone to working round a clunky interface for ever afterwards.

Copyright: 1999 onwards Martin Dougiamas

License: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later

Member Function Documentation

◆ actual_number_of_questions()

question_type::actual_number_of_questions ( $question )

Returns the number of question numbers which are used by the question.

This function returns the number of question numbers to be assigned to the question. Most question types will have length one; they will be assigned one number. The 'description' type, however does not use up a number and so has a length of zero. Other question types may wish to handle a bundle of questions and hence return a number greater than one.

Return values

int	The number of question numbers which should be assigned to the question.

Parameters

object $question The question whose length is to be determined. Question type specific information is included.

Reimplemented in qtype_description.

◆ break_down_stats_and_response_analysis_by_variant()

question_type::break_down_stats_and_response_analysis_by_variant ( $questiondata )

Whether or not to break down question stats and response analysis, for a question defined by $questiondata.

Parameters

object $questiondata The full question definition data.

Return values

bool

◆ can_analyse_responses()

question_type::can_analyse_responses ( )

Whether this question type can perform a frequency analysis of student responses.

If this method returns true, you must implement the get_possible_responses method, and the question_definition class must implement the classify_response method.

Return values

bool	whether this report can analyse all the student responses for things like the quiz statistics report.

Reimplemented in qtype_description, qtype_missingtype, qtype_multianswer, and qtype_randomsamatch.

◆ count_hints_on_form()

question_type::count_hints_on_form	(		$formdata,
			$withparts )

protected

Count number of hints on the form.

Overload if you use custom hint controls.

Parameters

object	$formdata	the data from the form.
bool	$withparts	whether to take into account clearwrong and shownumcorrect options.

Return values

int	count of hints on the form.

◆ create_editing_form()

question_type::create_editing_form	(	$submiturl,
		$question,
		$category,
		$contexts,
		$formeditable )

Return an instance of the question editing form definition.

This looks for a class called edit_{$this->name()}_question_form in the file question/type/{$this->name()}/edit_{$this->name()}_question_form.php and if it exists returns an instance of it.

Parameters

string $submiturl passed on to the constructor call.

Return values

object an instance of the form definition, or null if one could not be found.

◆ delete_files()

question_type::delete_files	(		$questionid,
			$contextid )

protected

Delete all the files belonging to this question.

Parameters

int	$questionid	the question being deleted.
int	$contextid	the context the question is in.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_calculatedmulti, qtype_ddimageortext, qtype_ddmarker, qtype_essay, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multianswer, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_randomsamatch, qtype_shortanswer, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ delete_files_in_answers()

question_type::delete_files_in_answers	(	$questionid,
		$contextid,
		$answerstoo = false )

protected

Delete all the files belonging to this question's answers.

Parameters

int	$questionid	the question being deleted.
int	$contextid	the context the question is in.
bool	$answerstoo	whether there is an 'answer' question area, as well as an 'answerfeedback' one. Default false.

◆ delete_files_in_combined_feedback()

question_type::delete_files_in_combined_feedback	(		$questionid,
			$contextid )

protected

Delete all the files belonging to this question's answers.

Parameters

int	$questionid	the question being deleted.
int	$contextid	the context the question is in.
bool	$answerstoo	whether there is an 'answer' question area, as well as an 'answerfeedback' one. Default false.

◆ delete_files_in_hints()

question_type::delete_files_in_hints	(		$questionid,
			$contextid )

protected

Delete all the files belonging to this question's hints.

Parameters

int	$questionid	the question being deleted.
int	$contextid	the context the question is in.

◆ delete_question()

question_type::delete_question	(		$questionid,
			$contextid )

Deletes the question-type specific data when a question is deleted.

Parameters

int	$question	the question being deleted.
int	$contextid	the context this quesiotn belongs to.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_ddtoimage_base, qtype_essay, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multianswer, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_randomsamatch, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ display_question_editing_page()

question_type::display_question_editing_page	(	$mform,
		$question,
		$wizardnow )

This method should be overriden if you want to include a special heading or some other html on a question editing page besides the question editing form.

Parameters

question_edit_form	$mform	a child of question_edit_form
object	$question
string	$wizardnow	is '' for first page.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, and qtype_missingtype.

◆ export_to_xml()

question_type::export_to_xml	(		$question,
		qformat_xml	$format,
			$extra = null )

Reimplemented in qtype_randomsamatch.

◆ extra_answer_fields()

question_type::extra_answer_fields ( )

If your question type has a table that extends the question_answers table, make this method return an array wherer the first element is the table name, and the subsequent entries are the column names (apart from id and answerid).

Return values

mixed array as above, or null to tell the base class to do nothing.

◆ extra_question_fields()

question_type::extra_question_fields ( )

If your question type has a table that extends the question table, and you want the base class to automatically save, backup and restore the extra fields, override this method to return an array wherer the first element is the table name, and the subsequent entries are the column names (apart from id and questionid).

Return values

mixed array as above, or null to tell the base class to do nothing.

Reimplemented in qtype_randomsamatch, and qtype_shortanswer.

◆ fill_answer_fields()

question_type::fill_answer_fields	(	$answer,
		$questiondata,
		$key,
		$context )

protected

Return $answer, filling necessary fields for the question_answers table.

The questions using question_answers table may want to overload this. Default code will work for shortanswer and similar question types.

Parameters

stdClass	$answer	Object to save data.
object	$questiondata	This holds the information from the question editing form or import.
int	$key	A key of the answer in question.
object	$context	needed for working with files.

Return values

$answer answer with filled data.

Reimplemented in qtype_shortanswer.

◆ fill_extra_answer_fields()

question_type::fill_extra_answer_fields	(	$answerextra,
		$questiondata,
		$key,
		$context,
		$extraanswerfields )

protected

Return $answerextra, filling necessary fields for the extra answer fields table.

The questions may want to overload it to save files or do other data processing.

Parameters

stdClass	$answerextra	Object to save data.
object	$questiondata	This holds the information from the question editing form or import.
int	$key	A key of the answer in question.
object	$context	needed for working with files.
array	$extraanswerfields	extra answer fields (without table name).

Return values

$answer answerextra with filled data.

◆ find_standard_scripts()

question_type::find_standard_scripts ( )

Utility method used by qtype_renderer::head_code().

It looks for any of the files script.js or script.php that exist in the plugin folder and ensures they get included.

◆ finished_edit_wizard()

question_type::finished_edit_wizard ( $form )

Returns true if the editing wizard is finished, false otherwise.

The default implementation returns true, which is suitable for all question- types that only use one editing form. This function is used in question.php to decide whether we can regrade any states of the edited question and redirect to edit.php.

The dataset dependent question-type, which is extended by the calculated question-type, overwrites this method because it uses multiple pages (i.e. a wizard) to set up the question and associated datasets.

Parameters

object $form The data submitted by the previous page.

Return values

bool	Whether the wizard's last page was submitted or not.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, and qtype_calculatedsimple.

◆ generate_test()

question_type::generate_test	(		$name,
			$courseid = null )

Abstract function implemented by each question type.

It runs all the code required to set up and save a question of any type for testing purposes. Alternate DB table prefix may be used to facilitate data deletion.

◆ get_context_by_category_id()

question_type::get_context_by_category_id ( $category )

protected

Get question context by category id.

Parameters

int $category

Return values

object\$context

◆ get_default_value()

question_type::get_default_value	(	string	$name,
			$default )

Return default value for a given form element either from user_preferences table or $default.

Parameters

string	$name	the name of the form element.
mixed	$default	default value.

Return values

string|null default value for a given form element.

◆ get_extra_question_bank_actions()

question_type::get_extra_question_bank_actions ( stdClass $question )

Get extra actions for a question of this type to add to the question bank edit menu.

This method is called if the edit_menu_column is being used in the question bank, which it is by default since Moodle 3.8. If applicable for your question type, you can return arn array of . These will be added at the end of the Edit menu for this question. The $question object passed in will have a hard-to-predict set of fields, because the fields present depend on which columns are included in the question bank view. However, you can rely on 'id', 'createdby', 'contextid', 'hidden' and 'category' (id) being present, and so you can call question_has_capability_on without causing performance problems. stdClass $question the available information about the particular question the action is for. action_menu_link[] any actions you want to add to the Edit menu for this question.

◆ get_heading()

question_type::get_heading ( $adding = false )

Method called by display_question_editing_page and by question.php to get heading for breadcrumbs.

Return values

string the heading

◆ get_possible_responses()

question_type::get_possible_responses ( $questiondata )

This method should return all the possible types of response that are recognised for this question.

The question is modelled as comprising one or more subparts. For each subpart, there are one or more classes that that students response might fall into, each of those classes earning a certain score.

For example, in a shortanswer question, there is only one subpart, the text entry field. The response the student gave will be classified according to which of the possible $question->options->answers it matches.

For the matching question type, there will be one subpart for each question stem, and for each stem, each of the possible choices is a class of student's response.

A response is an object with two fields, ->responseclass is a string presentation of that response, and ->fraction, the credit for a response in that class.

Array keys have no specific meaning, but must be unique, and must be the same if this function is called repeatedly.

Parameters

object $question the question definition data.

Return values

array keys are subquestionid, values are arrays of possible responses to that subquestion.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_calculatedmulti, qtype_ddtoimage_base, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_shortanswer, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ get_question_options()

question_type::get_question_options ( $question )

Loads the question type specific options for the question.

This function loads any question type specific options for the question from the database into the question object. This information is placed in the $question->options field. A question type is free, however, to decide on a internal structure of the options field.

Return values

bool	Indicates success or failure.

Parameters

object $question The question object for the question. This object should be updated to include the question type specific information (it is passed by reference).

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_ddtoimage_base, qtype_essay, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multianswer, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_random, qtype_randomsamatch, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ get_random_guess_score()

question_type::get_random_guess_score ( $questiondata )

Calculate the score a monkey would get on a question by clicking randomly.

Some question types have significant non-zero average expected score of the response is just selected randomly. For example 50% for a true-false question. It is useful to know what this is. For example it gets shown in the quiz statistics report.

For almost any open-ended question type (E.g. shortanswer or numerical) this should be 0.

For selective response question types (e.g. multiple choice), you can probably compute this.

For particularly complicated question types the may be impossible or very difficult to compute. In this case return null. (Or, if the expected score is very tiny even though the exact value is unknown, it may appropriate to return 0.)

Parameters

stdClass $questiondata data defining a question, as returned by question_bank\load_question_data().

Return values

number|null either a fraction estimating what the student would score by guessing, or null, if it is not possible to estimate.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_ddmarker, qtype_ddtoimage_base, qtype_description, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_missingtype, qtype_multianswer, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_random, qtype_randomsamatch, qtype_shortanswer, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ has_html_answers()

question_type::has_html_answers ( )

Return values

whether the question_answers.answer field needs to have restore_decode_content_links_worker called on it.

◆ import_from_xml()

question_type::import_from_xml	(		$data,
			$question,
		qformat_xml	$format,
			$extra = null )

Reimplemented in qtype_randomsamatch.

◆ import_or_save_files()

question_type::import_or_save_files	(	$field,
		$context,
		$component,
		$filearea,
		$itemid )

protected

Save the file belonging to one text field.

Parameters

array	$field	the data from the form (or from import). This will normally have come from the formslib editor element, so it will be an array with keys 'text', 'format' and 'itemid'. However, when we are importing, it will be an array with keys 'text', 'format' and 'files'
object	$context	the context the question is in.
string	$component	indentifies the file area question.
string	$filearea	indentifies the file area questiontext, generalfeedback, answerfeedback, etc.
int	$itemid	identifies the file area.

Return values

string the text for this field, after files have been processed.

◆ initialise_combined_feedback()

question_type::initialise_combined_feedback	(	question_definition	$question,
			$questiondata,
			$withparts = false )

protected

Initialise the combined feedback fields.

Parameters

question_definition	$question	the question_definition we are creating.
object	$questiondata	the question data loaded from the database.
bool	$withparts	whether to set the shownumcorrect field.

Reimplemented in qtype_ddmarker.

◆ initialise_core_question_metadata()

question_type::initialise_core_question_metadata	(	question_definition	$question,
			$questiondata )

protected

Initialise the question metadata.

Parameters

question_definition	$question	the question_definition we are creating.
object	$questiondata	the question data loaded from the database.

◆ initialise_custom_fields()

question_type::initialise_custom_fields	(	question_definition	$question,
			$questiondata )

protected

Initialise question custom fields.

Parameters

question_definition	$question	the question_definition we are creating.
object	$questiondata	the question data loaded from the database.

◆ initialise_question_answers()

question_type::initialise_question_answers	(	question_definition	$question,
			$questiondata,
			$forceplaintextanswers = true )

protected

Initialise question_definition\answers field.

Parameters

question_definition	$question	the question_definition we are creating.
object	$questiondata	the question data loaded from the database.
bool	$forceplaintextanswers	most qtypes assume that answers are FORMAT_PLAIN, and dont use the answerformat DB column (it contains the default 0 = FORMAT_MOODLE). Therefore, by default this method ingores answerformat. Pass false here to use answerformat. For example multichoice does this.

◆ initialise_question_hints()

question_type::initialise_question_hints	(	question_definition	$question,
			$questiondata )

protected

Initialise question_definition\hints field.

Parameters

question_definition	$question	the question_definition we are creating.
object	$questiondata	the question data loaded from the database.

◆ initialise_question_instance()

question_type::initialise_question_instance	(	question_definition	$question,
			$questiondata )

protected

Initialise the common question_definition fields.

Parameters

question_definition	$question	the question_definition we are creating.
object	$questiondata	the question data loaded from the database.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_calculatedmulti, qtype_ddtoimage_base, qtype_essay, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multianswer, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_randomsamatch, qtype_shortanswer, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ is_answer_empty()

question_type::is_answer_empty	(		$questiondata,
			$key )

protected

Returns true is answer with the $key is empty in the question data and should not be saved in DB.

The questions using question_answers table may want to overload this. Default code will work for shortanswer and similar question types.

Parameters

object	$questiondata	This holds the information from the question editing form or import.
int	$key	A key of the answer in question.

Return values

bool	True if answer shouldn't be saved in DB.

◆ is_extra_answer_fields_empty()

question_type::is_extra_answer_fields_empty	(		$questiondata,
			$key )

protected

Returns true if extra answer fields for answer with the $key is empty in the question data and should not be saved in DB.

Questions where extra answer fields are optional will want to overload this.

Parameters

object	$questiondata	This holds the information from the question editing form or import.
int	$key	A key of the answer in question.

Return values

bool	True if extra answer data shouldn't be saved in DB.

◆ is_hint_empty_in_form_data()

question_type::is_hint_empty_in_form_data	(	$formdata,
		$number,
		$withparts )

protected

Determine if the hint with specified number is not empty and should be saved.

Overload if you use custom hint controls.

Parameters

object	$formdata	the data from the form.
int	$number	number of hint under question.
bool	$withparts	whether to take into account clearwrong and shownumcorrect options.

Return values

bool	is this particular hint data empty.

◆ is_manual_graded()

question_type::is_manual_graded ( )

Return values

bool	true if this question type sometimes requires manual grading.

Reimplemented in qtype_essay, and qtype_random.

◆ is_question_manual_graded()

question_type::is_question_manual_graded	(		$question,
			$otherquestionsinuse )

Parameters

object	$question	a question of this type.
string	$otherquestionsinuse	comma-separate list of other question ids in this attempt.

Return values

bool	true if a particular instance of this question requires manual grading.

Reimplemented in qtype_random.

◆ is_real_question_type()

question_type::is_real_question_type ( )

Return values

bool	override this to return false if this is not really a question type, for example the description question type is not really a question type.

Reimplemented in qtype_description.

◆ is_usable_by_random()

question_type::is_usable_by_random ( )

Return values

bool	true if this question type can be used by the random question type.

Reimplemented in qtype_description, qtype_missingtype, qtype_random, and qtype_randomsamatch.

◆ local_name()

question_type::local_name ( )

Return values

string the name of this question type in the user's language. You should not need to override this method, the default behaviour should be fine.

◆ make_answer()

question_type::make_answer ( $answer )

protected

Create a question_answer, or an appropriate subclass for this question, from a row loaded from the database.

Parameters

object $answer the DB row from the question_answers table plus extra answer fields.

Return values

question_answer

Reimplemented in qtype_calculatedmulti, and qtype_multichoice.

◆ make_hint()

question_type::make_hint ( $hint )

protected

Create a question_hint, or an appropriate subclass for this question, from a row loaded from the database.

Parameters

object $hint the DB row from the question hints table.

Return values

question_hint

Reimplemented in qtype_calculatedmulti, qtype_ddimageortext, qtype_ddmarker, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multianswer, qtype_multichoice, and qtype_randomsamatch.

◆ make_question()

question_type::make_question ( $questiondata )

Create an appropriate question_definition for the question of this type using data loaded from the database.

Parameters

object $questiondata the question data loaded from the database.

Return values

question_definition the corresponding question_definition.

Reimplemented in qtype_missingtype, and qtype_random.

◆ make_question_instance()

question_type::make_question_instance ( $questiondata )

protected

Create an appropriate question_definition for the question of this type using data loaded from the database.

Parameters

object $questiondata the question data loaded from the database.

Return values

question_definition an instance of the appropriate question_definition subclass. Still needs to be initialised.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculatedmulti, and qtype_multichoice.

◆ menu_name()

question_type::menu_name ( )

The name this question should appear as in the create new question dropdown.

Override this method to return false if you don't want your question type to be createable, for example if it is an abstract base type, otherwise, you should not need to override this method.

Return values

mixed the desired string, or false to hide this question type in the menu.

Reimplemented in qtype_missingtype, and qtype_random.

◆ move_files()

question_type::move_files	(	$questionid,
		$oldcontextid,
		$newcontextid )

Move all the files belonging to this question from one context to another.

Parameters

int	$questionid	the question being moved.
int	$oldcontextid	the context it is moving from.
int	$newcontextid	the context it is moving to.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_calculatedmulti, qtype_ddimageortext, qtype_ddmarker, qtype_essay, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multianswer, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_randomsamatch, qtype_shortanswer, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ move_files_in_answers()

question_type::move_files_in_answers	(	$questionid,
		$oldcontextid,
		$newcontextid,
		$answerstoo = false )

protected

Move all the files belonging to this question's answers when the question is moved from one context to another.

Parameters

int	$questionid	the question being moved.
int	$oldcontextid	the context it is moving from.
int	$newcontextid	the context it is moving to.
bool	$answerstoo	whether there is an 'answer' question area, as well as an 'answerfeedback' one. Default false.

◆ move_files_in_combined_feedback()

question_type::move_files_in_combined_feedback	(	$questionid,
		$oldcontextid,
		$newcontextid )

protected

Move all the files belonging to this question's answers when the question is moved from one context to another.

Parameters

int	$questionid	the question being moved.
int	$oldcontextid	the context it is moving from.
int	$newcontextid	the context it is moving to.
bool	$answerstoo	whether there is an 'answer' question area, as well as an 'answerfeedback' one. Default false.

◆ move_files_in_hints()

question_type::move_files_in_hints	(	$questionid,
		$oldcontextid,
		$newcontextid )

protected

Move all the files belonging to this question's hints when the question is moved from one context to another.

Parameters

int	$questionid	the question being moved.
int	$oldcontextid	the context it is moving from.
int	$newcontextid	the context it is moving to.
bool	$answerstoo	whether there is an 'answer' question area, as well as an 'answerfeedback' one. Default false.

◆ name()

question_type::name ( )

Return values

string the name of this question type.

◆ plugin_baseurl()

question_type::plugin_baseurl ( )

Return values

string the URL of the folder this plugin's files live in.

◆ plugin_dir()

question_type::plugin_dir ( )

Return values

string the full path of the folder this plugin's files live in.

◆ plugin_name()

question_type::plugin_name ( )

Return values

string the full frankenstyle name for this plugin.

◆ response_file_areas()

question_type::response_file_areas ( )

If the quetsion type uses files in responses, then this method should return an array of all the response variables that might have corresponding files.

For example, the essay qtype returns array('attachments', 'answers').

Return values

array response variable names that may have associated files.

Reimplemented in qtype_essay.

◆ save_combined_feedback_helper()

question_type::save_combined_feedback_helper	(	$options,
		$formdata,
		$context,
		$withparts = false )

protected

Can be used to save_question_options() to transfer the combined feedback fields from $formdata to $options.

Parameters

object	$options	the $question->options object being built.
object	$formdata	the data from the form.
object	$context	the context the quetsion is being saved into.
bool	$withparts	whether $options->shownumcorrect should be set.

◆ save_defaults_for_new_questions()

question_type::save_defaults_for_new_questions ( stdClass $fromform )

Save question defaults when creating new questions.

Parameters

stdClass $fromform data from the form.

Reimplemented in qtype_ddimageortext, qtype_ddmarker, qtype_essay, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_shortanswer, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ save_hint_options()

question_type::save_hint_options	(	$formdata,
		$number,
		$withparts )

protected

Save additional question type data into the hint optional field.

Overload if you use custom hint information.

Parameters

object	$formdata	the data from the form.
int	$number	number of hint to get options from.
bool	$withparts	whether question have parts.

Return values

string value to save into the options field of question_hints table.

◆ save_question()

question_type::save_question	(		$question,
			$form )

Saves (creates or updates) a question.

Given some question info and some data about the answers this function parses, organises and saves the question It is used by question.php when saving new data from a form, and also by import.php when importing questions This function in turn calls save_question_options to save question-type specific data.

Whether we are saving a new question or updating an existing one can be determined by testing !empty($question->id). If it is not empty, we are updating.

The question will be saved in category $form->category.

Parameters

object	$question	the question object which should be updated. For a new question will be mostly empty.
object	$form	the object containing the information to save, as if from the question editing form.
object	$course	not really used any more.

Return values

object On success, return the new question object. On failure, return an object as follows. If the error object has an errors field, display that as an error message. Otherwise, the editing form will be redisplayed with validation errors, from validation_errors field, which is itself an object, shown next to the form fields. (I don't think this is accurate any more.)

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_description, qtype_multianswer, and qtype_random.

◆ save_question_answers()

question_type::save_question_answers ( $question )

Save the answers, with any extra data.

Questions that use answers will call it from save_question_options().

Parameters

object $question This holds the information from the editing form, it is not a standard question object.

Return values

object\$result-,>error or $result->notice

◆ save_question_options()

question_type::save_question_options ( $question )

Saves question-type specific options.

This is called by save_question() to save the question-type specific data

Return values

object\$result-,>error or $result->notice

Parameters

object $question This holds the information from the editing form, it is not a standard question object.

Reimplemented in qtype_calculated, qtype_calculatedmulti, qtype_calculatedsimple, qtype_ddimageortext, qtype_ddmarker, qtype_essay, qtype_gapselect_base, qtype_match, qtype_multianswer, qtype_multichoice, qtype_numerical, qtype_random, qtype_randomsamatch, qtype_shortanswer, and qtype_truefalse.

◆ set_default_options()

question_type::set_default_options ( $questiondata )

Set any missing settings for this question to the default values.

This is called before displaying the question editing form.

Parameters

object $questiondata the question data, loaded from the databsae, or more likely a newly created question object that is only partially initialised.

◆ set_default_value()

question_type::set_default_value	(	string	$name,
		string	$value )

Save the default value for a given form element in user_preferences table.

Parameters

string	$name	the name of the value to set.
string	$value	the setting value.

Member Data Documentation

◆ $fileoptions

question_type::$fileoptions

protected

Initial value:

= array(
        'subdirs' => true,
        'maxfiles' => -1,
        'maxbytes' => 0,
    )

The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:

question/type/questiontypebase.php

Public Member Functions

Protected Member Functions

Protected Attributes

Detailed Description

Member Function Documentation

◆ actual_number_of_questions()

◆ break_down_stats_and_response_analysis_by_variant()

◆ can_analyse_responses()

◆ count_hints_on_form()

◆ create_editing_form()

◆ delete_files()

◆ delete_files_in_answers()

◆ delete_files_in_combined_feedback()

◆ delete_files_in_hints()

◆ delete_question()

◆ display_question_editing_page()

◆ export_to_xml()

◆ extra_answer_fields()

◆ extra_question_fields()

◆ fill_answer_fields()

◆ fill_extra_answer_fields()

◆ find_standard_scripts()

◆ finished_edit_wizard()

◆ generate_test()

◆ get_context_by_category_id()

◆ get_default_value()

◆ get_extra_question_bank_actions()

◆ get_heading()

◆ get_possible_responses()

◆ get_question_options()

◆ get_random_guess_score()

◆ has_html_answers()

◆ import_from_xml()

◆ import_or_save_files()

◆ initialise_combined_feedback()

◆ initialise_core_question_metadata()

◆ initialise_custom_fields()

◆ initialise_question_answers()

◆ initialise_question_hints()

◆ initialise_question_instance()

◆ is_answer_empty()

◆ is_extra_answer_fields_empty()

◆ is_hint_empty_in_form_data()

◆ is_manual_graded()

◆ is_question_manual_graded()

◆ is_real_question_type()

◆ is_usable_by_random()

◆ local_name()

◆ make_answer()

◆ make_hint()

◆ make_question()

◆ make_question_instance()

◆ menu_name()

◆ move_files()

◆ move_files_in_answers()

◆ move_files_in_combined_feedback()

◆ move_files_in_hints()

◆ name()

◆ plugin_baseurl()

◆ plugin_dir()

◆ plugin_name()

◆ response_file_areas()

◆ save_combined_feedback_helper()

◆ save_defaults_for_new_questions()

◆ save_hint_options()

◆ save_question()

◆ save_question_answers()

◆ save_question_options()

◆ set_default_options()

◆ set_default_value()

Member Data Documentation

◆ $fileoptions