
                          Sample QASA Database

This file must be compiled with QASA's database compiler, which will
create the file SAMPLE.QA.

This sample database contains questions and answers about QASA. 

A QASA database may contain any of the following options. Any line
not part of one of the following options is considered to be a comment,
which is why this explanatory text may appear here.

Q=	question on following lines, terminated by a blank line or
	another option. Must be on a line by itself.
A=	answer on following lines, terminated by a blank line or
	another option. Must be on a line by itself.
P=	strip all punctuation from following answer list.
N=	quiz name is on next line. Must be on a line by itself.
M=	macro definition on following lines, terminated by a blank
	line or another option. Must be on a line by itself.
T=	time allowed is on next line in the format HH:MM:SS.
C=	clear NOT allowed. No additional lines.
S=	lock in sequential mode (user cannot change mode). No additional
	lines.
R=	lock in random mode (user cannot change mode). No additional
	lines.
F=	output score filename is on next line (no score recording 
	if omitted).
E=	encrypt score file.
W=	assign weighting. Weight appears as an integer on the next line.
	This weight will be used for all questions following until and
	unless another weight is assigned.
D=	disable display of correct answers if answer is incorrect. No
	additional lines.
G=      define letter grade equivalency list or disable display of
	letter grades during execution. To disable letter grade
	display, the following line should contain "OFF" only. Otherwise,
	any number of following lines contain the grade equivalencies
	in the form <score>=<letter grade>.
L=      limit the number of questions to a subset of the total number of
        questions in the database. The number of questions in the subset
        is specified on the following line.
O=      omit the questions in the subset at compile time. Ignored without
        the L= keyword. If L= is given without O=, then the subset will
        be selected at run-time, giving a different subset each time the
        database is run. If O= is given with L=, then the subset will be
        determined by the compiler and the database will be the same each
        time the program is run.

In this sample database, questions are weighted by type as follows:
	multiple-choice		1 point each	
	true/false (yes/no)	2 points each
	fill-in			3 points each

Again, note that comments are just about free-form. Place them anywhere 
except between option keywords and their termination. QASA will discard
all comment text as it compiles this file, so you are not penalized for
commenting your databases.

The sample database configuration follows....

==========================================================================

Set the time limit to 10 minutes.
---------------------------------
T=
10:00

Name the database. This name is displayed in QASA's main window.
----------------------------------------------------------------
N=
Q&A Study Aid Sample Database

Specify a score file. If it already exists, score data will be
appended. Otherwise, a new file will be created using this name.
----------------------------------------------------------------
;F=
;sample.scr

Limit the number of questions to a random 20 out of the total of 25,
and use the "O=" switch to cause the choice to be made at compile time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
L=
20
O=

These are the 'true' and 'false' macro definitions...
-----------------------------------------------------

M=
$TRUE$
True
T
Yes
Y

M=
$FALSE$
False
F
No
N

Define the letter grade equivalency list. The last line (59.99) causes
the letter grade display to be omitted until the user achieves a score
of at least 59.99. Set this to 0 to always display the letter grade.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

G=
95    = A+
90    = A
85    = A-
83    = B+
80    = B
75    = B-
73    = C+
70    = C
67    = C-
65    = D+
63    = D
60    = D-
59.99 = F

If we wanted to turn off the display of letter grades so the letter
grade would be shown only when the quiz was completed and in the
score file (if defined), then we would use the following:
-------------------------------------------------------------------

G=                   [this text turns off the G= keyword detection]
OFF

The first question follows, with a weight of 3.
-----------------------------------------------

W=
3

Ignore all punctuation in the answer.
-------------------------------------
P=

Q=
 1. Fill-in:

 QASA requires a minimum of _____ bytes of memory.

A=
 QASA requires at least 128K of memory.
 128000
 128K

Now the weighting is changed to 1 before multiple-choice questions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

W=
1

P=

Q=
 2. Multiple-choice:

 How many questions and answers can typically be put in a QASA
 database, assuming your computer has 512K bytes of free memory
 when QASA is started?

	A. 1000
	B. Limited by disk space
	C. 40,000
	D. All of the above
	E. None of the above

A=
	C. 40,000. Each question requires 10 bytes of memory.
	C
	40K
	40000

Q=
 3. Multiple-choice:

 How does QASA determine the correct answer?

	1. It knows the answers
	2. By scanning the list of answers in the database and scoring
	   "correct" if your answer matches any of them.
	3. By reading your mind
A=
	2. By scanning the list of answers in the database
	By checking for matches.
	2
	Scanning
	Matching

Q=
 4. Multiple-choice:

 What will QASA do if my question won't fit in the 15 screen 
 lines provided?

	1. Crash
	2. Truncate the question
	3. Display the question in 'pages'
A=
	2. Truncate the question
	2
	truncate

Q=
 5. Multiple-choice:

 Can QASA assign a "weight" to each question?

	a. Yes, provided the total weight adds up to 100.
	b. No.
	c. Yes, without restriction.
A=
	c. Yes, without restriction.
	c

Change the weight to 2 for "true/false".
----------------------------------------

W=
2

Q=
 6. True/False:

 Is there a way to limit the time allowed to answer all questions?
A=
 $TRUE$

And back to 1 again for multiple-choice.
----------------------------------------

W=
1

Q=
 7. Multiple-choice:

 How does QASA save the score?

	1. By appending the score information to the file "QASA.SCR".
	2. It creates a score file defined by the "File/Load" command.
	3. By appending the score to the file defined in the database.
	4. Both 1 and 2 above.
	5. None of the above.
A=
	3. By appending the score to the file defined in the database.
	3

W=
2


Q=
 8. True/False

 Can the score file be exported so that it can be used with other
 programs, such as database and spreadsheet programs?
A=
$TRUE$


W=
2
 
Q=
 9. True/False

 Can I skip questions without answering them and come back to them later?
A=
$TRUE$

W=
1

Q=
 10. Multiple-choice

 If letter grades are assigned, how do they correspond to the score?

	a. In multiples of 5, where 95 is "A", 90 is "B", and so on.
	b. Without restriction, using any grade equivalencies you choose.
	c. Letter grades are not supported.
A=
 b. Without restriction, using any grade equivalencies you choose.
 b


W=
1

Q=
 11. Multiple-choice:

 How does QASA locate my database?

	1. It searches the whole disk
	2. It searches the current directory
	3. It searches the directory specified in the "File/Load" command.
A=
	3. It searches the directory specified by "File/Load"
	3


W=
1

Q=
 12. Multiple-choice:

 How does QASA locate its HELP file?
	1. It searches the whole disk.
	2. It searches the current directory.
	3. It searches the directory specified by the "File/Load" command.
	4. It searches all of the directories given by the PATH variable.
   	5. It will ask for the directory if it cannot find the file.
	6. Both 2 and 4 above
	7. 2, 4, and 5 above
	8. All of the above
A=
	7. It searches the current directory, then the PATH, then asks.
	7

W=
2

Q=
 13. True/False

 Is QASA distributed with any features turned off to provide
 an incentive to register the program?
A=
NO! The ASP forbids this practice, but you are required to register.
$FALSE$


W=
2

Q=
 14. True/False

 The name of the database definition file must end with ".QA".

A=
No! It CANNOT end with ".QA". The QASA compiler uses this extension!
$FALSE$

W=
1

Q=
 15. Multiple-choice:

 The number of correct answers that I can give for a question is

	A. Two
	B. Five
	C. Unlimited
	D. Limited by available memory
A=
	D. Limited by available memory, but essentially unlimited.
	D

W=
1

Q=
 16. Multiple-choice

 How much memory will QASA use?

	1. As much as is available below 640K.
	2. All memory, including Extended (XMS) and Expanded (EMM) memory.
	3. Two full 64K frames.
	4. All of the above.
	5. None of the above.
A=
 1. As much as is available below 640K.
 1

W=
2
	


Q=
 17. True/False

 Can QASA handle an essay question?
A=
No. Scoring an essay question would require language interpretation.
$FALSE$


W=
0

Q=
 18. Multiple-choice

 Where is the password stored that enables access to the score file?

	A. In the configuration file QASA.CFG.
	B. In the help file QASA.HLP.
	C. In a hidden file on disk.
	D. Both A and C above.
	E. None of the above.
A=
Sorry, there is no correct answer to this question!


W=
1

Q=
 19. Multiple-choice:

 Which of the answers given in the database does QASA display as correct
 if I answer incorrectly?

	1. All of them
	2. The last one
	3. The first one
A=
	3. The first one
	First
	3
	1st

W=
2

Q=
 20. True/False

 Does QASA regard case ("A/a") in an answer as significant?
A=
$FALSE$


W=
1

Q=
 21. Multiple-choice:

 What will QASA do if I put tabs in my database?

	1. It will crash
	2. It will expand them using 8-column tab stops
	3. It will convert them to blanks
A=
	2. The QASA compiler will expand them using 8-column tab stops.
	2
	expand

Q=
 22. Multiple-choice:

 How does QASA locate the keyword tags (e.g., Q=, A=) in the database?

	1. It looks at the first character of each line
	2. It looks for those characters alone on a line
	3. It assumes 7-line spacing
        A=
	2. It looks for those characters alone on a line
	2

W=
2

Q=
 23. True/False

 Is QASA public domain, or 'freeware'?

A=
NO! QASA is SHAREWARE. If you use it, you must pay the registration fee.
$FALSE$


W=
1

Q=
 24. Multiple-choice

 What if I want to change the database file?

	1. You may change it any time you wish.
	2. You must recompile it.
	3. You cannot change the database.
A=
	2. You must recompile it using the QASA compiler.
	2

W=
2

Q=
 25. True/False

 If I type the database to the screen using the DOS command
 "type filename.qa", can I see the answers?

A=
No, the database is encrypted for just this reason.
$FALSE$


End of sample database.....
---------------------------

