Implementations
In the following, selected developed XML constructs are briefly presented. For the complete set of developed XML constructs, XSL transformations and Prolog programs refer to the Thesis document and the downloadable deliverables.
Generic choice construct
At first, the fundamental concept of choice was researched to address the problem of expressing the dependencies between units correctly. In order to express choices generically in XML, a construct was developed and formally specified by a corresponding XML Schema: the generic choice construct. For more information about the developed generic choice construct, see section 6.1 in the Thesis and download the developed XML Schema, XSL transformations and Prolog programs as a bundle in the download section.
Extended choice construct
Based on the generic choice construct, an extended version was developed to be used to capture the dependencies between units correctly. The extended choice construct is used in various contexts, such as the formal prerequisite conditions, formal corequisite conditions and formal prohibitions of units, furthermore it is used to express general course rules. As well it is used in sequence definitions as well as in course maps to specify elective units. Read more about the extended choice construct in section 6.2 in the the Thesis.
Formal specification of units
The structure of the improved unit description is directly derived from the structure which was found in the current unit descriptions. The main focus was on the improvement of the formal enrolment conditions stated in the prerequisite, corequisite and prohibitions entry of a unit description. Further improvements were made in the entries Offered and Leader. For more information about the specification of unit structures see section 6.2 in the Thesis.
Formal specification of course structures
For the formal specification of courses, a divide and conquer approach was chosen, meaning that only single constructs were developed which can be combined to a course structure. Future work and research is required to continue at this point. The main question was in which other contexts the developed extended choice construct could be used as well. The developed constructs comprise constructs for sequences (of units), general course rules and course maps.Sequences
For the definition of sequences as they are defined in the faculty regulations, an XML construct was developed which can capture the information contained in the relevant faculty regulations. This XML construct can be both transformed to an HTMl representation (see HTML Examples, Example 4) as well as to a Prolog term used for further computations (see Prolog Examples, Examples 3 and 4). For further explanations on sequences refer to sections 3.3 (What is a sequence?), 4.2.3 and 6.3.1 in the Thesis as well as Appendix H for Prolog programs and examples.
General course rules
General course rules can directly be expressed using the extended choice construct. See section 6.3.2 in the Thesis as well as the HTML Examples, Example 3.Course maps
Course maps are an essential part of the documentation of courses as they suggest a chronological order (year / semester schema) for the compulsory and elective units of a course. For this purpose, an XML construct which captures the relevant information was developed. For further information about course maps see section 6.3.3 in the Thesis. An exemplary HTML representation which was generated from an coursemap construct is shown in the HTML Examples, Example 5.