Using the turnin Program

This page provides instructions for using the turnin program to turn in assignments to the CS Department's Elements Lab server.

Preparing Your Assignment

Header.

Begin your program or any other exercise or assignment with the following file header at the top:

• Your name, as you are registered for the course.

• Your section's unique number.

• The assignment number, such as "assignment 1".

In a program, put the file header in a comment. A comment is any text between an open comment symbol of "/*" and a close comment symbol of "*/". You can also begin each comment line with two foward slashes. For example:

/* Loopin Smith, section 53720, assignment 1 */

/*
Loopin Smith
section 53720
assignment 6
*/

// Loopin Smith
// section 53720
// assignment 6

File Name. Each assignment will specify the name(s) of the file(s) you are to use. Use precisely the file name specified - do not make any changes to it or the program that retrieves files for grading may not find it.

Penalty. The correct file name(s) and header(s) and turning in your file(s) to the correct section (see note below) permit the teaching staff to efficiently retrieve, identify, and record a grade for your assignment. If you:

• use the wrong file name(s), or

• omit the file header(s) or part of it/them, or

• the header(s) are incorrect, or

• you turn in your assignment to the wrong section (see note below),

You'll lose points on your assignment. The amount of the penalty will be at least 5% of the assignment points, but it may be worse if the mistakes are so bad that the grader can't determine which parts to grade or who is being graded.

Finding the turnin program

• In the Elements Labs, the turnin program is available on the Start menu.
• Outside the Elements Labs, you may install and run the turnin program on a PC running Windows 95, Windows 98, or NT, but not Windows 3.1 or any other operating system. Click here to download turnin.exe and save the program to the desktop or a folder.

Using the turnin program

1. Outside the Elements Labs, you must first establish an internet connection, such as a dial-up connection, as you would for running a web browser. (You need not run the web browser itself, though.) In the Elements Labs, the internet connection is always "on".
2. Run the turnin program, from the Start menu in the Elements Labs or from your own PC.
3. Enter your Username and Password in the boxes. They are the same ones you use to log-in to the computers in the Elements Labs.
4. Press the Connect button. Your Name and Class should then appear in the boxes so labeled and any files you have previously turned in will appear in the large window. If this does not happen, then the turnin program is not connected and won't work.
5. Correct section. If you have changed sections at any time after you registered for the course, the turnin program will permit you to turn in files to any section you have been registered for. Always turn in files to the section you are currently registered for. Click the down arrow next to the Class box and select the correct section.

6. To turn in one or more files, you can either:

   • Use the Windows Explorer to find the files, highlight them, and drag them to the large window of the turnin program. They will be sent automatically.
   • Or click the Send File button, browse for the file to be sent, or browse for its folder and type its name into the box, and click Open.

   In either case, the file(s) should be transmitted to your turnin folder and should appear in the large window of the turnin program with date and time stamps. Check to make sure that the name of the file you sent is now in the large window and that it has a current date and time stamp and that the size is correct.

   If you turn in the same file again, the one previously on the turnin server is moved to your deleted directory, which you cannot see. The new file then replaces it in your main turnin directory (the one you see in the window).

7. To retrieve a file. You may wish to retrieve a file to work on it some more before it is done to to retrieve a graded file to see your grade. To do so -

   • Click on the file to be retrieved.

   • Click on the Receive File button.

   • Browse for the folder where you want to put the file. Then either click on the file name or type its name into the File name box.

   • Press the Save button. The file will be transmitted from your turnin folder to the folder you selected in the machine you are working on. The message "file transferred successfully" should appear in the box at the bottom of the window. If you get an error message, the file may have transferred OK anyway. Look at it to see if it looks OK.

   You may retrieve a file to work on it some more, if you did not finish it the first time. Thus you can use the turnin server as temporary storage while you finish an assignment. The last file turned in is the one that will appear in your turnin directory.

   You may also retrieve a file to make sure that it was transmitted correctly. If the retrieved file looks like the one you sent, then it is on the turnin server correctly.

   When you have finished transferring files, click the Disconnect button.

If the turnin program fails

We do not guarantee that the turnin program will work anywhere outside the Elements Labs. It often does, but if it does not, you must turn in your assignments from the Elements Labs using the turnin program there. You do not have permission to email your assignments to your TA simply to avoid using the turnin program in the Elements Labs.

Temporary storage

You can use your turnin folder for temporary storage. You can turn in a partly finished file and then come back later, retrieve it, and work on it some more at any machine. Just retrieve it and save it in the folder that you customarily use for Java projects. The last file you turn in before the graders start grading is the one that will be graded.

Old versions of files are transferred to a "Deleted" folder, which you can't see. Files that you delete with the "Delete" button are moved here also. The staff can undelete a "deleted" file if necessary, but because the process is time consuming, will not normally do so.

Verifying that your file was transmitted correctly

There are two main ways to make sure that your file got to the turnin server correctly. The quickest is to find the exact size of the file you submitted. With the Windows Explorer, open the directory the file is in. Right click on the file and select Properties from the pop-up menu. The dialog box will state the exact size of the file in bytes. This should exactly match the size of the file shown in the turnin window.

In addition, you can retrieve the file. Save the retrieved file under a new name so as not to erase your original file, in case there was a problem. Then look at the retrieved file. If it looks correct, it will be correct on the server. You can also have the machine make the comparison. With the Windows Explorer, open the directory the files are in. Click the Start menu and select Run. In the small box, type "fc " (without the quotes). Then drag the icon for the original file into the box, then the icon for the new file. The names of the files will appear in the box. Click OK. A DOS window will open. If the files are identical, there will only be two lines in the window and the last one will be "FC: no differences encountered." Otherwise the files are different, in which case you must submit the file again. In either case, close the DOS window.