[LON-CAPA-users] Password protection, cacheing

[Stuart Raeburn]

Mark,

> * is there any way to have a password-protected set of resources   
> without using slots?
>    Basically protected by a proctor password?
>

It depends on what type of resources these are.

The portfolio provides the ability to limit access by password.   
However, this can only be used for files uploaded to the portfolio  
(i.e., not resources in the shared LON-CAPA repository), and access  
would not be restricted to a course.  Parameter setting is not  
available for items in the portfolio.

The portfolio could be an individual's portfolio or could be a  
portfolio for a group created in the course.

However, if these resources are to be published LON-CAPA problems then  
the portfolio is not a solution and you would need to use an  
instructor-assigned slot to assign access controlled by proctor (and  
password).  A "proctor" user could be enrolled in the course for this  
purpose.

> Is the cacheing of parameters still at the 10 min level?
> Are the parameters cached at the process (http child) level or at  
> the machine > level? ie., if a teacher wanted to open a quiz for a  
> student "now", would it > work if they did it on the same machine?
>

Caching of parameters is for 10 minutes, and uses memcache, so the  
cache is specific to the machine not the httpd child. When a parameter  
is stored either lonnet::devalidatecourseresdata() or  
lonnet::devalidateuserresdata() is called (depending on the scope of  
the parameter).  This will expire cached courseres or userres values  
for the specific course or user on the machine on which the change is  
made, but would have no impact on cached values on other servers  
(hence the warning about a possible 10 minutes for propagation of  
changes).

A student on the _same_ machine would see the parameter change  
immediately, e.g., opening a quiz for a student now, after reloading  
the page.

Stuart Raeburn

>
> Thanks!
> Mark
>
> --
> Mark Lucas 								email: lucasm@ohiou.edu
> 252D Clippinger Lab						phone: (740)597-2984
> Department of Physics and Astronomy		fax: (740)593-0433
> Ohio University
> Athens, OH 45701