Distributed Examination System Based on .

NET Technology
Xiaoling Tan, Yong Qu

Distributed Examination System Based on .NET Technology

1
Xiaoling Tan, 2Yong Qu
*1, Xiaoling Tan
Chongqing Three Gorges University, Chongqing, China, xltan023@hotmail.com
2, Yong Qu
Chongqing Three Gorges University, Chongqing, China, quyong98@163.com

Abstract
To study the development mode of the distributed examination system, a general structure of the
network examination system is put forward based on Web and .Net three-layer framework and
functions of the system implementation are analyzed as well. Compared with ASP technology, three-
layer B/S and .NET technology can improve greatly the scalability and performance of the system. A
complete solution to the network examination system is proposed that brings about a design of the
distributed examination system based on .NET technology. The system has characteristics such as easy
operation, a good interface, good usability, high security, high stability, and reliability. This model can
also be applied to other exam environment based on Intranet/Internet and provides a new model to
promote the computer test approach in a further way.

Keywords: Web, Distributed Data Process, B/S Mode, Examination System

1. Introduction

In order to achieve the new form in testing in computer network education, that is, paperless and
networked test [1, 2, 3], we design this WEB distributed test system based on .NET technology which
converts the paper exam into a computer one. The key technology in it is its design and implementation
[4, 5].
The distributed management is important; the key technique of the distributed object design is to
resolve the interaction and cross-platform connection problem, hereby realizing the implementation of
the distributed applied system [6, 7, 8]. The most typical network management architecture at present is
Internet/SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) Architecture and OSI/CMIP (Common
Management Information Protocol) Architecture [14, 15, 16]. If the network management system could
support the distributed management, it might have a series of characteristics and functions, which is
briefly described as follows [1, 8, 9, 10]:
 Self-adapting of management based on the strategy;
 The distributed query and monitoring;
 Intelligent filter;
 The distributed threshold monitoring;
 Dynamic polling and logic judgment;
 The distributed engine of management task.
Only when the network management system has the above characteristics, could it solve the
distributed problem and provide a flexible integrated network management [19, 20]. As a mainstream
trend of the future network development, the distribution technique must be one of the leading
directions of the IT [11, 12, 17, 18].
To study the development mode of the distributed examination system, a general structure of the
network examination system is put forward based on Web and .Net three-layer framework and
functions of the system implementation are analyzed as well. Compared with ASP technology, three-
layer B/S and .NET technology can improve greatly the scalability and performance of the system. A
complete solution to the network examination system is proposed that brings about a design of the
distributed examination system based on .NET technology. The system has characteristics such as easy
operation, a good interface, good usability, high security, high stability, and reliability. This model can
also be applied to other exam environment based on Intranet/Internet and provides a new model to
promote the computer test approach in a further way.

International Journal of Advancements in Computing Technology(IJACT) 632

Volume5,Number4,February 2013
doi:10.4156/ijact.vol5.issue4.75
 Distributed Examination System Based on .NET Technology
Xiaoling Tan, Yong Qu

2. System architecture

This system strictly follows the principles in its design; being highly open, scalable and
maintainable.
 Based on current computer practical technology, this design looks into the future technology
development and establishes an advanced and open information network system with full
consideration of the current and future needs in paperless examination.
 The design strictly follows corresponding standards set up by International Standards
Committee.
 The design is easy to operate, with a pleasing interface.
 Based on Web browser, the design is easy to facilitate promotion and application.
 The design introduces the thought of modularization structure and component library and
enables the system to be advanced, rational, flexible, secure, scalable, and open-ended.
Network examination system uses distributed computing and management system based on
B/S structure and the calculation model. The system structure provides a unified environment
for complex distributed applications. The teachers and administrators are accessible to the
server through LAN or Internet at one end, on the other hand, students are connected to test
server from different places, also through LAN or Internet.
Teacher Student Administrator

User Interface (Web browser)

Code Behind
ASP. NET
Administrator management
Students' test Examination management

Intranet/ Internet

Business Layer(Web server)

Papers maintenance Papers organization

Grade analysis Test
analysis
Examination management
management

Data Layer (Database server)

User database Test database System database

Figure 1. System structure

The .net framework is a kind of multi-language environment; it is used to build up, to
configure, and to operate Web services and applications. It contains three main parts; common
language runtime unified programming class and asp.net. Based on the.NET three-layer
framework, the design of Web online examination system mainly adopts B/S three layer
structure model, SQL database technology, ASP.NET, ADO.NET, and many other technologies,
and make requirement analysis, design and construct system models by combination of
component-oriented and object-oriented method.

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 Distributed Examination System Based on .NET Technology
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The B/S (Browser/Server) model of three layer structure is a simple, fully developed
application architecture which is now used widely.
The application structure is divided into three relatively independent layers, and each layer
only achieves its relatively independent function. And when one layer undergoes any change,
keeping the same interface connection, the other layers will not be affected. Asp .net brings
three-layer system structure into use, that is, user interface layer, business logical layer and data
access layer [6]. It ensures effectively a relative independence of each function in the system as
well as flexibility, expansibility and maintainability of the system. Layered management system
makes layer deployment become a reality. This can greatly improve the performance of the
system and security, to meet the growing needs of the B/S model of the application system.
The three-layer structure model in the system is an application software system structure
designed with new computing distributed project. Fig. 1 shows the system structure model.
User Interface layer is located in the student workstation, business logical layer is located in
WEB server and application server, and data layer is in the database server [7]. The structure of
the system is beneficial to load balance and system maintenance, and guarantees information
security.
The user interface layer provides a set of standard interfaces to distribute, edit and accept
data, and it maintains the consistency and integrity of the user interface. The client codes in the
layer activate affairs by transaction processing interface which is packaged by service layer.
The users in the system take online examination and manage the network system mainly through
browsers such as IE. It singles out the user layer, and reduces the coupling of the system. The
development and maintenance of each layer are relatively independent .
Business logic layer handles logic affairs of the system. It packs the business rules and
process, and thus every single object has a clear purpose and role. The work of constructing
affairs in the business logic layer structure can be done simultaneously with the affair project in
the user interface layer. When a set of fixed affair object is formed, a particular computing
environment is created. Later it may be reused when another new affair object is to be
developed in the same field or just a small amount of change might be needed.
The work of building affair components is more complicated, which requires a very thorough
understanding of user’s problem domain, and the way by which each component interacts with
the public affairs object. For instance, in the test system, a lot of businesses have the
requirement of inquiries, as they will inquire information in some way. Therefore, there is a
good reason for creating an inquiry agency object to enable users to use query information.
Component-building work itself can be a project, which is a positive step towards a rational and
efficient application.
Data layer provides service for business logic layer, which makes the business logic layer
free from the type of the underlying database or not subjected to the change in the structure of
the internal data in the database. The object mechanism in the data layer is fulfilled mainly by
the database management system (DBMS), including the data table and storage process, trigger,
etc [9]. Data layer provides data for business logical layer to use, and this makes these data
independent of the decision-making rules in business logic layer. It can be a database
management system, or another subsystem.

3. System Design

In order to make the system convenient for students to take examination and for educational
administrators to manage, its interface should be designed according to integrity, practicability,
consistency and opening principles. Its functions should be independent and connective with
each other. According to the distributed system’s characteristics and some technical
applications, the paper presents one model and a framework structure of the distributed
examination system based on web and .net.
The system consists of three modules, that is, system management, online examination, grade
analysis. Among them, the system management and online examination are the center of it.
System management includes subject management, score management, user management, paper
management, etc. in which subject management can be further divided into production and

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 Distributed Examination System Based on .NET Technology
Xiaoling Tan, Yong Qu

maintenance of the question bank. The online exam includes exam type, the online examination,
papers submitted. The score analysis includes test scores, examination paper analysis. Fig. 2
shows the function of the system.
Examination system

Online examination

Choose exam type Online examination Papers submitted

system management

Subject management Score management User management Examination paper management

Create subject

Maintenance subject

Statistics analysis

Grade analysis Examination paper

analysis

Figure 2. The function of the system

The online examination module is another important part of the system, which includes test
type, test paper, and test paper submitted. Among them the test paper includes the randomly-
selected questions , the refresh system that avoid the refreshing from the examinees and the
pop-up window that prevents refreshing in the test interface. The system scores immediately
after the paper is done and answers are submitted, which ensures fairness and efficiency of the
test. Fig. 3 shows the communication principle of online examination.

Figure 3. The communication principle of online examination

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 Distributed Examination System Based on .NET Technology
Xiaoling Tan, Yong Qu

4. Database design

In general, the distributed database is a data muster that in physics disperse on various
computer network nodes but logically belong to the same system, that is, they are stored on
multiple computers, but presented as a single database to the application program. Therefore the
distributed database is actually a virtual database and its various components are physically
stored in many different sites in different real database. In effect, the distributed database is the
data muster of these real databases, and these data distributed in different databases, controlled
by different database management system (DBMS), run on different machines, supported by
different operating systems with different communication network connections. It has the
features of data distribution and database coordination. The system places emphasis on the
autonomy nodes instead of centralization of control. The distribution system should maintain
data transparency, which means from a logical point of view, the operation of application data
seems to be running on a single machine in a single database management system just as these
data are stored in a single, local database, and the structured query language (SQL) issued by an
application is transparently converted into a SQL understandable by various database systems .

4.1. Design of database structure

Database is the core of the entire examination system, and it may choose SQL SERVER as
the database SERVER as SQL SERVER can completely satisfy the need of data storage, and it
has a complete database security mechanism which can be very significant in security
management of questions.
As the test information stored in server is about different subjects, it is required to have it
classified by different types, and managed in a unified way. In this way can it be easily accessed
and orderly organized. A simple way to deal with it is that each subject corresponds with one
database file and the different types of questions on one subject corresponds with the tables
under the same database file. By this way, it is easy to set up a mapping table, that is, "subject
→ the database name → the table name", by which a random extract of questions and the
algorithm design such as access control would become much easy.
In addition, the database design should fully take into account the integrity of the data to
eliminate being incompatible with semantic data, to have necessary control over some important
operations, to use the rollback mechanism to protect the integrity of data, and to enable the
users to be accessible to virtual address instead of directly accessing to the table entities, with
an aim of data protecting .
According to the above basic theory of relational database technology, the designs of various
databases follow “requirements analysis → conceptual schema design → logical pattern design
→ physical design” process, and the conceptual schema in storehouse structural design process
describes and gives the definition by adopting the Entity-Relationship method (the E-R method).
In standardizing the data, it follows the paradigm principle of improving data relationship as
much as possible, in order to reduce data redundancy and improve the efficiency of data access.
This main table in this system consists of user information table, examination paper information
table, question bank information table and examination results information table, and so on .

4.2. Design of application services

Application server is a middleware that connects the client and the WEB server with database
server, and its main function is to extract the application logic from the client and the WEB
server and to get it packaged. When the client and WEB server requires access to the database,
it simply submits the request to the application server, which completes database access
operations and sends back the result .

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 Distributed Examination System Based on .NET Technology
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At present, there are some popular means to connect WEB Server and the Database Server;
CGI (Common Gateway Interface) / ODBC (Open Database Connectivity), API (Application
Program Interface) / ODBC, JDBC (Java Data Base Connectivity) / ODBC, ASP (Active Server
Page) / ADO (ActiveX Data Objects), ASP.NET/ADO.NET etc, as well as the application of the
distributed object connected with middleware.
Among them, the Web applied by the distributed object of middleware type works with high
efficiency, and it also require highly for its system environment. In the four kinds of interface,
JDBC is better than the CGI, API is better than the JDBC, but owing to linear synchronous
problem, API is more complex, and has heavier load on WEB server, while the ASP/ADO is
characteristic of its simple programming, easy management, multiple databases supporting,
being expandable, object-oriented, and irrelevant to the browser.
Test server and database server are connected by C/S mode. The reason lies mainly in three;
(1) The connection and data transfer do not occur frequently, and it is only needed before and
after the test; (2) C/S mode is able to deal with a lot of timely data flow, with fast transmission
and strong interaction; (3) there is relatively high safety in transmission. Corresponding
database driver (SYSBASE DRIVER, SQL DRIVER or ORACLE DRIVER) is designed using
ODBC or ADO technology to realize the connection with database, and database DRIVER can
be developed with tool DELPHI or VB [15].

4.3. Access control design

In the user resource access control, the system uses the access control mechanism based on
role. In the system application, access comes mainly from three different roles;
 Specific WEB users who are involved in database maintenance.
 Ordinary WEB users participating in the test.
 Test servers from different LAN.
The Second and third type of users need to have access to the question bank of a specified
subject and operate on randomly retracted questions by following the designed algorithm, but
not allowed to modify the data in the database. The first type of users need to maintain question
bank on the specified subject and are qualified to modify the data. Therefore, when there is
application for access to the database, the access control logic should be able to tell first what
type of the role that the user belongs to and what his/her permission is, and besides, it should be
able to determine the location and identification of the question information needed by the user
in the database. Therefore the design of access control is related to user management as well as
the database storage mechanism .
In terms of user management, the first type of the user should open a particular account, and
the second opens a general account and both of them are open to access right by network
operation system and database management system. In practical application, users should login
by an authorized account. As for third type of users, they may login by a further password
through the server-side program on the server due to the use of C/S model.
As for database storage mechanism, it can use above-mentioned form of test storage. In this
way, different users must provide the number of the disciplines visited in addition to their user
names and passwords. They can obtain the information storage locations and the logo by
inquiring "discipline number → database name → table name" which is established beforehand.

5. Testing and maintenance

The aim of software testing is to look for and to correct possible errors of all sorts including
logic errors, coding error, the assembly operation error, etc, and check the function and
performance of the software in order to meet the requirements. As this system is a type of
applied software, it adopts a direct method to do the spot test by actual operation of data and a
comparison of the results, based on the combined form of random test, artificial test and
programmer test. This is also the most simple and convenient test method of the application
software test.

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 Distributed Examination System Based on .NET Technology
Xiaoling Tan, Yong Qu

Software maintenance refers to some essential modifications with an aim to improve the
correctness, reliability, flexibility, perfection of the software product. The maintainability of the
software and its maintenance efficiency is one of the important indicators to measure its quality.
The software considers fully the maintainability of the system, such as user addition, the
network operation environment, software running initialization finishing and code maintenance
etc., which greatly improves the maintenance performance of the software. In addition, it
provides a powerful and convenient function of help and study to enable the user to maintain the
software more easily. Software maintenance is a long-term and extremely important task. A
continuous debugging and perfecting for promotion, and close contact and communication with
users, is the foundation for any software to keep their vitality.
Since the system is based on campus network with a combination of two different database
access modes, and its question bank is relatively open to the user, it should be designed with
much consideration in system security which, is mainly achieved in two aspects;
The first is to make good use of the safety mechanism provided by system platform (network
operating systems and database management systems). Take WINDOWS NT and SQL SERVER,
as an example, WINDOWS NT allows identifying the validity of the user’s identity through
account number and password, and gains control over documents and resources access, and
provides security assurances by domain; SQL SERVER has the functions of login management,
object management of the users using database, license management, and etc. The functions
should be taken into account in system design, and access permissions are set for three different
users (normal WEB user, specific WEB users, test server), strictly limiting access to files and
resources, to control the permissions such as read and write.
The second is the corresponding security mechanism in the design of application systems.
The main plan includes (1) the use of data encryption technology on transmitted question
information, to prevent eavesdropping, tampering, forgery in the communication process; (2)
identification of the user can be done by Kerberos authentication system besides some simple
methods such as the user name and password. (3) In an application design, there is strict control
on user’s access to resources.

6. Example

We have worked out a set of software correspondingly and applied it to a certain university in
Chongqing to arrange examinations. The result is very satisfactory. The system has characteristics such
as easy operation, a good interface, good usability, high security, high stability, and reliability.
The software can display all the courses arranged in each examination time and allow the personnel
of the educational administration to adjust the examination time if necessary. The software can also
allow adjusting a certain course and improve the examination arrangement result. The software can
detect clashing of students, the examination time or the examination room automatically. And it can
distribute the examination rooms once again automatically after the intervening.

7. Conclusion

Distributed computer examination system which is based on campus network is a kind of integrated
system combined with the computer test that makes full use of campus network resources, provides
different ways of examination, and offers remote test maintenance. It adapts better to the teaching
management and examination need in colleges. At the same time, this model can also be applied to
other exam environment based on Intranet/Internet and provides a new model to promote the computer
test approach in a further way.

8. Acknowledgment

The authors wish to thank the subsidizing from Chongqing Educational Program (2011-KS-016)
and Chongqing Three Gorges University Science Research Program (11ZD-15).

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