[OS X TeX] multi-use exam files

[Alain Schremmer]

As part of the Magnum Cancrum, I have devised a "system" to keep things 
in line—which I was beginning to have trouble with—but, while it works, 
it is terribly clunky inasmuch as I have to enter the same item in more 
than one place.

So, before I spend a huge amount of time entering the data into the 
"system", I would be extremely grateful if someone would feel compelled 
to show me why I am a total idiot not to have thought of doing it in 
this and/or that much better manner. I have a small scale working 
example that I can send to anyone interested in rising to the challenge.

Below is a description of what the "system" is doing.

1) For each of the three parts in each of three courses, there are 
twenty five "items", say item #3 might be "solve x > 5" and item #4 
might be "graph x > 5".

2) Because of various teachers's wishes, what the students are presented 
with must come in any of SIX(!) forms: The students can be given any of

    a. a list of twenty five items with empty space for them to work it out,
    b. the exact same list of twenty five items but "worked out",
    c. the exact same list of twenty five items but with multiple-choices,
    d. the same list of twenty five items with multiple-choices but with
    the items in the list in random order,

and

    e. a list of twenty five items (with multiple choice), each randomly
    picked from a "bin" of five items similar to the corresponding one
    above and with the items in the list in the same order as above,
    f. a list of twenty five items (with multiple choice), each randomly
    picked from a "bin" of five items similar to the corresponding one
    above but with the items in the list in random order.

    The fact that I do not have the same options as in a. and b. is
    merely due to my being fed up.

3) The "system" that I devised is based on

    - one master file in which the above six choices are organized via
    five \setboolean with a number of \ifthenelse nested in the
    appropriate manner and interlaced with \selectrandomely and
    \doforrandN from the probsoln package.
    - twenty five files, organized via the same five \boolean with a
    number of \ifthenelse nested in the appropriate manner and
    interlaced with with \newproblem from the probsoln package, and in
    each of which there is
    • the single item used for a., b., c., d. above
    • the "bin" of five similar items used for e. and f. above

Very hopeful regards
--schremmer

------------------------- Helpful Info -------------------------
Mac-TeX Website: http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/
TeX FAQ: http://www.tex.ac.uk/faq
List Archive: http://tug.org/pipermail/macostex-archives/
List Reminders & Etiquette: http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/list/