LON-CAPA Help

The LON CAPA .task format is an XML file used directly by LON CAPA. XML is a markup language, much like HTML. A primer on XML is given in section 9. An XML file contains elements in tags, and elements may contain attributes. The syntax, spelling (including capitalization) of the XML file must be exact, otherwise the XML file will generate errors.

The online editor for the .task format is discussed in the next section. This section describes creating the .task file by simply using a text editor such as Notepad.

The .task format consists of four parts:

• The header, which contains information about the file itself. The header can be copied from this documentation as is (see .Task Headers )

• Parameter information. This part consists of the possible values for various parameters in the Bridge Task (see .Task Parameter and Variable )

• Questions section. This part consists of the actual text the user sees as well as all criteria and questions (see .Task Question )

• Footer section. This part consists of the actual text the user sees as well as all criteria and questions (see .Task Finishing Up )

Once all parts are created, the author must publish the file so that it is accessible by course coordinators (see .Task Finishing Up ).