Difference between revisions of "Release notes for WeBWorK 2.16"

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{{UnderConstruction}}
 
{{UnderConstruction}}
   
== New Features ==
+
== New WeBWorK Features ==
* Essay grader features
+
* A new [[Manual_Problem_Grader|manual problem grader]] that works for all problems in homework and in gateway quizzes.
* MathJax 3
+
* The ability to navigate between students when acting as a student
* Should we advertise MathQuill here, even though it was in 2.15?
+
[[File:StudentNavigator.png|thumb|center]]
* <code>ADD_JS_FILE</code> and <code>ADD_CSS_FILE</code>
+
* Upgrades to the way images are shown to students (resize, zoom, drag)
* Improved hardcopy of PGML problems
+
* Upgraded to [https://www.mathjax.org MathJax 3] from MathJax 2
* TikZ images in problems.
+
* As of 2.15 WeBWorK supports [http://mathquill.com MathQuill] for student input.
* New macro parserGraphTool.pl for interactive graphing problems
+
* <code>ADD_JS_FILE</code> and <code>ADD_CSS_FILE</code> in the [https://webwork.maa.org/pod/pg/macros/PG.html#ADD_CSS_FILE PG.pl] macro.
* "digits" tolType (needs explanation wherever tolerance in general is explained)
+
* Explanation essays (ask for a regular answer, separately ask for an explanation essay, but the essay part can be globally disabled)
* `random_prime` and `random_pairwise_coprime` macros
+
* Rearrange presentation order for homework and quizzes on Homework Sets page (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1282 PR #1282])
* PGML can be used in set header files
 
* MathObject: context classes can have aliases and alternates. (For example variable "X" could be an alias for "x".)
 
* improvements in efficiency to PGstatisticsmacros.pl
 
* explanation essays (ask for a regular answer, separately ask for an explanation essay, but the essay part can be globally disabled)
 
* Rearrange presentation order for homework and quizzes on Homework Sets page
 
 
* Achievements items need not be single-use
 
* Achievements items need not be single-use
  +
* Major cleanup was done to <code>defaults.config</code> and <code>localOverrides.conf</code>.
  +
* Revised / finer permission settings for the WebworkWebservice (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1163 PR #1163])
  +
* Course level control of support for PG to allow Unicode alternative math symbols etc. (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1174 PR #1174])
  +
* Support for including percentage grades per assignment in CSV output (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1085 PR #1085] and [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1131 PR #1131] which added a checkbox to include the new data or not). The code depends on the assumption that the total number of points available on an assignment in a constant.
  +
* Passwords are consistently trimmed from leading and trailing white-space, to prevent users from being able to set passwords which could not be used to log in. (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1290 PR #1290])
  +
* Additional improvements and changes can be found on GitHub, and many will appear in the [https://github.com/orgs/openwebwork/projects/15 WW 2.16 release planning and testing project board].
   
Should there be a separate release notes for PG 2.16? There always has been in the past. Several of the things noted here really belong in those release notes.
 
  +
== New PG Features ==
  +
  +
* [[TikZImages|TikZ images in problems]].
  +
* Other image support improvements. (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/pg/pull/559 PR #559] and [https://github.com/openwebwork/pg/pull/561 PR #561])
  +
* New macro [https://webwork.maa.org/pod/pg/macros/parserGraphTool.html parserGraphTool.pl] for interactive graphing problems. See also [[GraphTool|GraphTool problem technique]].
  +
* "digits" tolType (needs explanation wherever tolerance in general is explained, [https://webwork.maa.org/wiki/DigitsTolType DigitsTolType problem technique] )
  +
* <code>random_coprime</code> and <code>random_pairwise_coprime</code> methods added to [https://webwork.maa.org/pod/pg/macros/PGauxiliaryFunctions.html#random_coprime-function PGauxiliaryFunctions.pl] (Needs documentation probably in [https://webwork.maa.org/wiki/Answer_Checkers_and_the_Context].
  +
* PGML can be used in set header files (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1280 PR #1282])
  +
* MathObject2:
  +
** Context classes can have aliases and alternates. (For example variable "X" could be an alias for "x".)
  +
** support for Unicode symbols as alternates to the regular ones.
  +
** see [https://github.com/openwebwork/pg/pull/518 PG PR #518] and [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1174 webwork2 PR #1174]
  +
* Add bypass_equivalence_test switch [https://github.com/openwebwork/pg/pull/497 PR#497]
  +
* message_for_blank_answer setting [https://github.com/openwebwork/pg/pull/496 PR#496]
  +
* Update answerHints to not produce hints in Preview mode [https://github.com/openwebwork/pg/pull/476 PR#476]
  +
* Improvements in efficiency to [https://webwork.maa.org/pod/pg/macros/PGstatisticsmacros.html PGstatisticsmacros.pl].
  +
* Make PG version available to problem code [https://github.com/openwebwork/pg/pull/531 PR#531]
   
 
== Security/Advanced Features ==
 
== Security/Advanced Features ==
   
* Revised "WeBWorK errors" page code + error.log records
+
* Revised "WeBWorK errors" handling options. Option to hide detailed error messages from users but to store them in the <code>error.log</code> file.
* LTI Improvements
+
** new settings: <code>MIN_HTML_ERRORS</code> <code>JSON_ERROR_LOG</code>
* Same-site Cookies
+
** see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1190 PR #1190]
  +
* Same-site Cookie support: (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1269 PR #1269], the changed to default to Lax in [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1307 PR #1307] and the discussion in the older [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1149 PR #1149].)
 
* Fix applets in gateway quizzes
 
* Fix applets in gateway quizzes
  +
* Support for the <code>DBD::MariaDB</code> driver in addition to the <code>DBD::mysql</code> driver. This alternate driver supports both mySQL and MariaDB databases, and is consider to have better UTF-8 support. Using it also seemed to reduce certain types of connection errors.
  +
** As a result, the manner in which the database settings are made in <code>site.conf</code> have also been changed. (See the new version of <code>site.conf.dist</code>.
  +
** See: https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1160, https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/issues/1157, https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1150 for more details and background.
  +
* Improvements to LTI integration, and improved debugging
  +
** LMS name and URL in message about needing to access an assignment via the LTI link in the LMS (before the grade passback setting data is available for the user) is now configurable. (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1280 PR #1280] and [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1285 PR #1285])
  +
** Improved grade passback code, with better debugging features. (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1177 PR #1177])
  +
*** The two round process (only update the LMS if the grade changed by at least 0.1 point from 100) is turned on by setting <code>$lti_check_prior = 1;</code> in <code>course.conf</code> (or site wide in <code>conf/authen_LTI.conf</code>).
  +
*** A different nonce generation method is used, which may reduce cases of error if a nonce is reused while the LMS still considers it to be recently used.
  +
*** However, many of the problems reported as "duplicate nonce" in the forums seems to have been caused by system time being inaccurate on one of the sides.
  +
*** Revised WW side nonce handling, and error reporting (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1199 PR #1199])
  +
* Additional security fixes
   
 
== Things that were fixed ==
 
== Things that were fixed ==
Line 26: Line 59:
 
* Fixed bug when Gateway questions were not in sequential order
 
* Fixed bug when Gateway questions were not in sequential order
 
* Fix bug where, for example, `Formula("-5/(-2 x)")` would display `5/2x` for its text string
 
* Fix bug where, for example, `Formula("-5/(-2 x)")` would display `5/2x` for its text string
  +
* Fix bug with named answer usage. (See [https://webwork.maa.org/wiki/NamedAnswerRules Named Answer Rules] for the correct way to used named answers so that a problem will work in gateway quizzes. Note that all OPL problems that use named answers are broken for gateway quizzes because they don't do it this way.)
  +
* Fixed bug in <code>MultiAnswer</code> objects with <code>singleResult=>1</code> which did not properly compute score when <code>setMessage</code> is used. (see [https://github.com/openwebwork/pg/pull/524 PR #524])
  +
* Changes to color support for MathJax 3 controlled equations: [https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1294 PR#1294]
   
 
== Upgrade Instructions ==
 
== Upgrade Instructions ==
Line 39: Line 75:
 
** Archive::Zip (on Ubuntu install the package libarchive-zip-perl)
 
** Archive::Zip (on Ubuntu install the package libarchive-zip-perl)
 
* There have been some tweaks to localOverrides.conf.dist. If you have not done any customization to localOverrides.conf then you should consider replacing it with a new copy of localOverrides.conf.dist. If you have made customizations in localOverrides.conf, you should consider synchronizing them with the latest version of localOverrides.conf.dist.
 
* There have been some tweaks to localOverrides.conf.dist. If you have not done any customization to localOverrides.conf then you should consider replacing it with a new copy of localOverrides.conf.dist. If you have made customizations in localOverrides.conf, you should consider synchronizing them with the latest version of localOverrides.conf.dist.
  +
* Update your modelcourse with the new modelcourse.dist
 
* The math4 theme has changed. If you use a custom theme, you may need to update your theme files to address these changes.
 
* The math4 theme has changed. If you use a custom theme, you may need to update your theme files to address these changes.
* WeBWorK is currently not compatible with recent versions of the SQL::Abstract package, so avoid upgrading past version 1.8. WW is known to work with versions up to 1.87.
+
* WeBWorK is currently not compatible with recent versions of the SQL::Abstract package, so avoid upgrading past version 1.8. WW is known to work with versions up to 1.87. (See: https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/issues/1236 and https://webwork.maa.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=5570)
 
* If you want to allow the use of the new PGtikz.pl macro, you will need to install imagemagick (Ubuntu: <code>apt install imagemagick</code>) and modify /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml and change the line near the end of the file from
 
* If you want to allow the use of the new PGtikz.pl macro, you will need to install imagemagick (Ubuntu: <code>apt install imagemagick</code>) and modify /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml and change the line near the end of the file from
 
<code><policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="PDF" /></code>
 
<code><policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="PDF" /></code>
 
to
 
to
 
<code><policy domain="coder" rights="read" pattern="PDF" /></code>
 
<code><policy domain="coder" rights="read" pattern="PDF" /></code>
  +
* TikZ has two different options for a back-end program for generating images. The system administrator will have to decide which one is appropriate for their system (see https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1320)
  +
* TikZ requires the following two commands to be installed on your system: <code>dvisvgm</code> and <code>pdf2svg</code> (Ubuntu: <code>apt install dvisvgm pdf2svg</code>; RHEL/CentOS: <code>yum install dvisvgm</code> - pdf2svg is not currently packaged for REHEL/CentOS.)
  +
* UTF-8 support of the XML subsystem needs a local patch to be applied to /usr/share/perl5/XMLRPC/Lite.pm See: https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/issues/967#issuecomment-523941959. This patch can be applied with
  +
<code>sudo patch -p1 -d / < /opt/webwork/webwork2/docker-config/xmlrpc-lite-utf8-fix.patch</code>
   
 
== Call for Translators ==
 
== Call for Translators ==

Revision as of 16:21, 6 May 2021

Construction.png This article is under construction. Use the information herein with caution until this message is removed.

New WeBWorK Features

  • A new manual problem grader that works for all problems in homework and in gateway quizzes.
  • The ability to navigate between students when acting as a student
StudentNavigator.png
  • Upgrades to the way images are shown to students (resize, zoom, drag)
  • Upgraded to MathJax 3 from MathJax 2
  • As of 2.15 WeBWorK supports MathQuill for student input.
  • ADD_JS_FILE and ADD_CSS_FILE in the PG.pl macro.
  • Explanation essays (ask for a regular answer, separately ask for an explanation essay, but the essay part can be globally disabled)
  • Rearrange presentation order for homework and quizzes on Homework Sets page (see PR #1282)
  • Achievements items need not be single-use
  • Major cleanup was done to defaults.config and localOverrides.conf.
  • Revised / finer permission settings for the WebworkWebservice (see PR #1163)
  • Course level control of support for PG to allow Unicode alternative math symbols etc. (see PR #1174)
  • Support for including percentage grades per assignment in CSV output (see PR #1085 and PR #1131 which added a checkbox to include the new data or not). The code depends on the assumption that the total number of points available on an assignment in a constant.
  • Passwords are consistently trimmed from leading and trailing white-space, to prevent users from being able to set passwords which could not be used to log in. (see PR #1290)
  • Additional improvements and changes can be found on GitHub, and many will appear in the WW 2.16 release planning and testing project board.

New PG Features

Security/Advanced Features

  • Revised "WeBWorK errors" handling options. Option to hide detailed error messages from users but to store them in the error.log file.
    • new settings: MIN_HTML_ERRORS JSON_ERROR_LOG
    • see PR #1190
  • Same-site Cookie support: (see PR #1269, the changed to default to Lax in PR #1307 and the discussion in the older PR #1149.)
  • Fix applets in gateway quizzes
  • Support for the DBD::MariaDB driver in addition to the DBD::mysql driver. This alternate driver supports both mySQL and MariaDB databases, and is consider to have better UTF-8 support. Using it also seemed to reduce certain types of connection errors.
  • Improvements to LTI integration, and improved debugging
    • LMS name and URL in message about needing to access an assignment via the LTI link in the LMS (before the grade passback setting data is available for the user) is now configurable. (see PR #1280 and PR #1285)
    • Improved grade passback code, with better debugging features. (see PR #1177)
      • The two round process (only update the LMS if the grade changed by at least 0.1 point from 100) is turned on by setting $lti_check_prior = 1; in course.conf (or site wide in conf/authen_LTI.conf).
      • A different nonce generation method is used, which may reduce cases of error if a nonce is reused while the LMS still considers it to be recently used.
      • However, many of the problems reported as "duplicate nonce" in the forums seems to have been caused by system time being inaccurate on one of the sides.
      • Revised WW side nonce handling, and error reporting (see PR #1199)
  • Additional security fixes

Things that were fixed

Should there be a section like this? For example:

  • Fixed bug when Gateway questions were not in sequential order
  • Fix bug where, for example, `Formula("-5/(-2 x)")` would display `5/2x` for its text string
  • Fix bug with named answer usage. (See Named Answer Rules for the correct way to used named answers so that a problem will work in gateway quizzes. Note that all OPL problems that use named answers are broken for gateway quizzes because they don't do it this way.)
  • Fixed bug in MultiAnswer objects with singleResult=>1 which did not properly compute score when setMessage is used. (see PR #524)
  • Changes to color support for MathJax 3 controlled equations: PR#1294

Upgrade Instructions

  • Many third party javascript libraries (jquery, jquery-ui, mathjax, codemirror, etc.) are no longer packaged with WeBWorK. These libraries are now installed via npm:
  1. Install npm from your package manager (Ubuntu: apt install npm CentOS/RHEL: yum install npm).
  2. Use npm to install third party javascript:
  > cd /opt/webwork/webwork2/htdocs
  > npm install
  • WW 2.16 requires MathJax v3. Previous versions of WW required MathJax v2 that was installed at /opt/webwork/MathJax. WW 2.16 installs MathJax via npm, so if you are upgrading an existing WW installation you may safely delete /opt/webwork/MathJax.
  • The following perl packages will need to be installed
  • There have been some tweaks to localOverrides.conf.dist. If you have not done any customization to localOverrides.conf then you should consider replacing it with a new copy of localOverrides.conf.dist. If you have made customizations in localOverrides.conf, you should consider synchronizing them with the latest version of localOverrides.conf.dist.
  • Update your modelcourse with the new modelcourse.dist
  • The math4 theme has changed. If you use a custom theme, you may need to update your theme files to address these changes.
  • WeBWorK is currently not compatible with recent versions of the SQL::Abstract package, so avoid upgrading past version 1.8. WW is known to work with versions up to 1.87. (See: https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/issues/1236 and https://webwork.maa.org/moodle/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=5570)
  • If you want to allow the use of the new PGtikz.pl macro, you will need to install imagemagick (Ubuntu: apt install imagemagick) and modify /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml and change the line near the end of the file from
  <policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="PDF" />

to

  <policy domain="coder" rights="read" pattern="PDF" />
  • TikZ has two different options for a back-end program for generating images. The system administrator will have to decide which one is appropriate for their system (see https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/pull/1320)
  • TikZ requires the following two commands to be installed on your system: dvisvgm and pdf2svg (Ubuntu: apt install dvisvgm pdf2svg; RHEL/CentOS: yum install dvisvgm - pdf2svg is not currently packaged for REHEL/CentOS.)
  • UTF-8 support of the XML subsystem needs a local patch to be applied to /usr/share/perl5/XMLRPC/Lite.pm See: https://github.com/openwebwork/webwork2/issues/967#issuecomment-523941959. This patch can be applied with
 sudo patch -p1 -d / < /opt/webwork/webwork2/docker-config/xmlrpc-lite-utf8-fix.patch

Call for Translators

Some text has changed in the WeBWorK interface, so there are new entries that need to be translated into other languages.