An introspective approach to marking graphical user interfaces

Abstract

The increasing expectations of users for ever more functional and impressive Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) have instigated changes to the way in which programming languages are taught. The rise in popularity of the subject matter has caused problems for lecturers with regards to time and costs. The numbers of student solutions that need to be marked in short periods of time are barely feasible for one person alone or even a marking team to manage; this has been a major influence in the development of marking systems. No system exists for marking GUI programs, indeed few exist for marking any programs. This paper presents the concepts behind an introspective testing and marking tool for GUIs. The hierarchical relationship between interface components and the use of an introspective approach allows us to retrieve data from the GUI components themselves, rather than through relative estimations. This not only allows for dynamic testing of the student's solutions but also aesthetic testing measures.