Processing written assignments

This article provides information about how Ans processes written assignments. The different tasks involved in handling written assignments are outlined. Below, you can find an explanation of which written assignment tasks are handled by our servers.

1. Preview
   This task handles the creation of a preview of a written assignment. If you click on a written assignment or if you change something in the assignment, Ans starts to create a new preview.
2. Bundle forms
   Bundling forms is the task which combines all generated assignments into a zip file. The zip file can be downloaded if the bundling is done. 
3. Generate
   The generation task is started if you have indicated the number of prints after clicking Print on the written assignment preview. If you click on Create, Ans starts to generate all forms for the assignment.
4. Combine
   Ans has a QR code on each page of the assignment. Part of the scan processing tasks is to combine different pages of an assignment of a student. This tasks makes sure that all pages of the assignment are combined into one PDF and the result can be reviewed.
5. Unpack
   If you upload a zip file with all JPGs of your exam(s), Ans needs to unpack the these files and process them as identify tasks.
6. Split
   If you upload a PDF file with scans, Ans splits the PDF into separate JPGs to process them as identify tasks.
7. Identify
   Ans has a QR code on each page of the assignment. During the identify task we try to read this QR code. If we successfully identify the QR code, we determine the multiple choice answers given on that page and check if open questions are empty.
   

The various tasks involved in handling written assignments are divided into subtasks, and Ans follows a specific order in executing them. The prioritisation of tasks which is shown above, is based on performance requirements, with the most critical tasks being given higher priority. For instance, when making changes to a written assignment, it is important to see the the changes in the preview as quickly as possible. This is why the preview task has higher priority than the generation task. Ans is a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider, which means all users access the same version of the software hosted on shared infrastructure. This implies that the same servers handle all tasks for all users and there are no dedicated servers.

Due to this, it's possible that the processing of assignments may take longer, especially during periods of high usage when many users are creating or changing assignments. In such cases, the preview task, being the most important, will be placed at the top of the task list and handled first.