Moodle Plugins directory: Virtual Programming Lab: Comments

Friday, 13 June 2025, 5:40 PM - Steve Wentworth

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 09:40:52 GMT

by Steve Wentworth.

Hi Juan,
Legend! Thank you so much I'd not tried readline-sync and yes it works very well. I had already pre-installed the module using npm on the server.
As I mentioned earlier the VPL moodle addon is brilliant and all credit to you for creating this. Many thanks for your support.

Thursday, 12 June 2025, 4:39 AM - Juan Carlos Rodríguez-del-Pino

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:39:21 GMT

by Juan Carlos Rodríguez-del-Pino.

Dear Steve,

Using pre_vpl_run.sh to install the required Node.js packages during each execution or evaluation is possible, but it tends to be time-consuming and not always reliable. A more effective approach is to install the necessary packages globally on the execution server. This ensures they are readily available without repeated installations.

Regarding the issue with asynchronous input/output, you're right—Node.js and some of its packages can take full control of the terminal, which can interfere with VPL’s evaluator and cause unexpected behavior.

After testing several packages that support synchronous input/output, I found that readline-sync works well and integrates properly with the VPL evaluator. I’ve tested it successfully with both VPL version 4.2 and the upcoming version 4.3.

I hope this resolves the issue you're facing.

Note: Please avoid using the plugin notification feature to ask technical questions, as it does not support threaded communication.

Best regards,
Juan Carlos Rodríguez

Monday, 9 June 2025, 1:09 AM - Steve Wentworth

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 17:09:21 GMT

by Steve Wentworth.

Hi Juan, Sorry for the follow up on this one, but have you had chance to review my last post Friday May 23? regarding JavaScript inputs. I'm currently unable to get any evaluation working with JavaScript inputs. I need a simple solution for students to learn JavaScript with. But test cases are not going to work unless I can get input working. Any suggestions, even if I have to use vpl_evaluate.sh file to get this working, but would welcome suggestions on doing this?
Much appreciated, the VPL tool is a fantastic piece of tech, and would love this to work with JavaScript.
THanks,
Steve

Friday, 23 May 2025, 10:07 PM - Steve Wentworth

Fri, 23 May 2025 14:07:46 GMT

by Steve Wentworth.

We are looking to use VPL to run a few weeks bootcamp on javascript programming. I know javascript does not come with a native means for input so was looking at 'prompt-sync' as a workaround. This works well when testing the console, but when you click the check box for the test cases it seems to be in an endless timeout for evaluating... Are you aware of this, do you know of any fixes?
Thanks,
Steve

Monday, 28 April 2025, 7:00 PM - Juan Carlos Rodríguez-del-Pino

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 11:00:35 GMT

by Juan Carlos Rodríguez-del-Pino.

Hi Sandipa,
First, I would like to point out that this is not the best way to ask questions, as there is no proper thread for each question and answer. Please, next time use the VPL forum (discussion area) for this kind of communication.
Regarding your problem: the VPL system checks for the use of tkinter in your code to automatically switch to GUI mode. However, in some cases, it may not detect it correctly. To solve this, simply add a comment mentioning tkinter in your code.
Also, remember not to name your file turtle.py, as this can cause conflicts with the standard Python Turtle module.
Here is an example you can follow:
import turtle
# Tkinter
screen = turtle.Screen()
screen.bgcolor("white")
screen.title("Turtle Example")
# Create a turtle
my_turtle = turtle.Turtle()
my_turtle.shape("turtle") # Make the turtle look like a turtle
my_turtle.color("blue")
my_turtle.speed(3)
# Move the turtle
my_turtle.forward(100) # Move forward 100 units
my_turtle.left(90) # Turn left 90 degrees
my_turtle.forward(100)
my_turtle.left(90)
my_turtle.forward(100)
my_turtle.left(90)
my_turtle.forward(100)
# Finish
turtle.done()
Please try this and let me know if you still encounter any issues.
Best regards,
Juan Carlos Rodríguez

Sunday, 27 April 2025, 8:31 PM - Sandipa Mukherjee

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 12:31:46 GMT

by Sandipa Mukherjee.

Hi, I tried to run python, but its not working but if I run PHP code, its working fine.
the error for python is
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/home/p10303/hello.py", line 3, in forward(100)
File "", line 6, in forward
File "/usr/lib/python3.12/turtle.py", line 3875, in __init__
Turtle._screen = Screen()
^^^^^^^^
File "/usr/lib/python3.12/turtle.py", line 3730, in Screen
Turtle._screen = _Screen()
^^^^^^^^^
File "/usr/lib/python3.12/turtle.py", line 3741, in __init__
_Screen._root = self._root = _Root()
^^^^^^^
File "/usr/lib/python3.12/turtle.py", line 430, in __init__
TK.Tk.__init__(self)
File "/usr/lib/python3.12/tkinter/__init__.py", line 2345, in __init__
self.tk = _tkinter.create(screenName, baseName, className, interactive, wantobjects, useTk, sync, use)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
_tkinter.TclError: no display name and no $DISPLAY environment variable

Please help

Saturday, 2 November 2024, 4:39 PM - Geoffrey Hinton

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 08:39:30 GMT

by Geoffrey Hinton.

Hi, I’m trying to create test cases in a way that only certain test cases are marked as sample test cases and that they receive a score of 0 even if the output is correct, similar to how it works on HackerRank. Could you guide me on how to configure test cases to function this way? I want them to appear as sample cases but not contribute to the overall score. Thanks!

Friday, 25 October 2024, 5:21 AM - Juan Carlos Rodríguez-del-Pino

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 21:21:39 GMT

by Juan Carlos Rodríguez-del-Pino.

Dear WAT Guyane,

Thank you for your inquiry.

We are currently conducting compatibility tests for the newly released Moodle 4.5. In our initial manual review, we haven’t identified any major issues so far. However, we are working to address some challenges with the Behat tests, which are not running due to interface changes in Moodle 4.5.

Thursday, 24 October 2024, 7:35 PM - WAT Guyane

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 11:35:43 GMT

by WAT Guyane.

compatibility for Moodle 4.5 ?

Wednesday, 6 March 2024, 6:55 PM - Kumar Arun

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:55:34 GMT

by Kumar Arun.

nex- activity previous-activity not appearing.. kindly help to fix this UI

Wednesday, 4 October 2023, 1:04 PM - Vitalis Hilarion Wihendro Halim

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 05:04:03 GMT

by Vitalis Hilarion Wihendro Halim.

hi juan carlos, i interested to use it on our inhouse Learning Management System. can i contact you for detail discussion ?

Sunday, 17 September 2023, 4:08 PM - Juan Carlos Rodríguez-del-Pino

Sun, 17 Sep 2023 08:08:45 GMT

by Juan Carlos Rodríguez-del-Pino.

Dear Steve Wentworth,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Given the extensive use of JavaScript in the VPL plugin, it is possible that the editor may experience disruptions after an upgrade. I recommend the following steps:

1. The Moodle administrator should “purge all caches”. This can be accomplished by navigating to “Site administration -> Development -> Purge caches”.
2. Some users may also benefit from clearing their browser's cache. This can be done by pressing “Ctrl + F5”.

Additionally, I'd like to inform you that the current VPL version you are using, 4.1, is not the latest. Version 4.2 is available and is compatible with Moodle 4.1. Please note that VPL versions are not necessarily tied to the corresponding Moodle versions.

I hope this resolves your issue. If you continue to encounter difficulties, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Best regards,

Thursday, 14 September 2023, 9:30 PM - Steve Wentworth

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 13:30:28 GMT

by Steve Wentworth.

No issue, found it!

Thursday, 14 September 2023, 7:58 PM - Steve Wentworth

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 11:58:46 GMT

by Steve Wentworth.

I'm trying to edit some old test cases for VPL activities we have on our moodle. And I'm unable to edit the test case, in description it just shows the test case sort of read only in a navy background frame but no editor. What am I missing we are running VPL version 4.1 (2023042712) and Moodle 4.1.

The same think happens when a create a new VPL activity, in description I only see the icons and no editor. Any help would be much appreciated.

Monday, 21 August 2023, 12:02 PM - Minh Nguyen Ba

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 04:02:24 GMT

by Minh Nguyen Ba.

The "ID Number" is automatic generated. We are not able to set "ID Number" for VPL, it does not store custom value.
We need ID Number to use in formular in Gradebook.

How to fix this?