PAPER
TOOL FOR VALIDATION SOFTWARE PROJECTS IN PROGRAMMING LABS
Tool o Valida ion So wa e P ojec s in
P og amming Labs
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.3991/ijep. 2i2.2080
A.J. Sie a, T. A iza, F.J. Fe nández, G. Madinabei ia
Uni e sidad de Se illa, Se illa, Spain
Abs ac —This wo k shows a es ing ool used in Fundamen-
als o P og amming II labo a o y in Telecommunica ion
Technologies Enginee ing Deg ee a Uni e si y o Se illa o
check he s uden p ojec . This ool allows s uden s o es
he p ope ope a ion o hei p ojec in au onomous way.
This is a lexible and use ul ool o es ing he p ojec
because he ool iden i ies when he s uden has ca ied ou
a p ojec ha mee he gi en speci ica ions o he p ojec .
This implies a high a e o success when he s uden deli e s
i s p ojec .
Index Te ms—Tool, Telecommunica ion Technologies
Enginee ing, Fundamen als o P og amming, S uden -
cen e ed Lea ning Sys em, Fi s -Yea S uden s, S a is ical
Analysis
I. INTRODUCTION
In his pape , we p esen Tool o Valida ion So wa e
P ojec s (TSVP), a ool o es ing he cou se P ojec , used
in he Fundamen als o P og amming II labo a o y in
Telecommunica ion Technologies Enginee ing Deg ee a
Uni e si y o Se illa. This ool allows au onomous e i i-
ca ion o cou se p ojec by he s uden . We show a lexible
and use ul ool o checking he cou se p ojec . Fu he -
mo e, i is used o iden i y when he cou se p ojec i s he
equi emen s. I has led o an inc ease in success a e in
he e alua ion o he s uden p ojec in FPII.
The Eu opean Highe Educa ion A ea (EHEA) was
launched along wi h he Bologna P ocess' decade anni e -
sa y, in Ma ch 2010, du ing he Budapes -Vienna Minis e-
ial Con e ence [2]. The ounda ion o EHEA is based on
s uden ’s wo k. Labo a o ies a e essen ial o de elop
heo e ical con en and implemen abili ies in a la ge
scale wo k. The TVSP acili a es bo h he eache ’s and
s uden ’s wo k, in he con ex o a p ojec -based lea ning
me hodology.
The e a e ools ha au oma e comple ely o pa ially he
ask o assessmen so wa e (Compu e Aid Assessmen o
CAA) a uni e si y scope [1] [7]. Among hese sys ems we
highligh he ollowing, BOSS [3], Cu a o [6], Goodle
GMS [14], Cou seMa ke [11], Assys [10], HoGG [15]
and OnlineJudge [5].
Con e sely o ep esen a ion o assessmen con en and
esul s [12] ha is s anda dized, CAA has no been s an-
da dized.
The e o e, he e is a p oblem o po abili y and in e op-
e abili y be ween hem, which makes i di icul o adap
hese sys ems o o he uni e si y en i onmen s.
This pape p esen s a ool o speci ic educa ional e-
qui emen s in Fundamen als o P og amming II in EHEA.
The Tool o Valida ion So wa e P ojec s (TVSP) is
implemen ed in C language. I has been based on p e ious
implemen a ions, in o he p og amming languages. These
languages a e Pe l [17] and shell sc ip [16]. The objec i e
o his wo k is o p o ide a simple ool o s uden s. This
ool is easy o use and is in eg a ed in o he wo king
en i onmen o he labo a o y. This ool is implemen ed
wi hou an ex e nal se e and can pe o m he es s wi h-
ou In e ne connec ion.
This pape is o ganized as ollows: i s , he labo a o y
is shown in he con ex o he cou se Fundamen als o
P og amming II in Telecommunica ion Technologies
Enginee ing Deg ee o e ed a he Uni e si y o Se ille in
2010-11. Nex , we show he labo a o y in which we use
he ools. Then, we desc ibe he implemen ed ool desc ib-
ing he unc ionali y, goals and usabili y. And inally
esul s and conclusions a e shown.
II. BACKGROUND
A. EHEA
EHEA is a se o ag eemen s adop ed by all Eu opean
coun ies o ha monize hei uni e si y educa ion. I
includes no only he membe s a es o he Eu opean
Union, bu a o al o 46 coun ies.
The p inciples which egula e he EHEA a e ou :
a) A uni o measu emen common aining.
b) A common aining s uc u e.
c) Quali y assu ance.
d) T anspa ency o in o ma ion.
The basic objec i e is o acili a e mobili y o s uden s,
acul y and g adua es among all membe coun ies o he
EHEA, so ha s uden s can con inue hei s udies in
ano he uni e si y sys em, i can gene a e acul y ex-
change p og ams and acili a es mobili y o wo ke s wi h
highe educa ion. Ano he aim is o make he EHEA an
a ac i e en i onmen o come o Eu ope o s uden s om
hi d coun ies, wi h he ad an ages i b ings o he coop-
e a ion and in e na ional solida i y.
B. The Eu opean C edi : A uni o measu emen s udies
Un il now, Uni e si y s udies in Spain we e compu ed
using LRU [13] c edi s. These c edi s indica e only he
numbe o class hou s composing a cu iculum (10 hou s
o class we e 1 c edi ). The Eu opean C edi is a ha moni-
za ion o he du a ion o he s udies. All Cou ses ha e he
same leng h, ega dless o he deg ee you a e pu suing.
This allows an accu a e assessmen o aining achie ed a
a gi en ime i s uden s wan o o a e obliged o change
he Uni e si y and acili a es he ecogni ion o s udies.
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TOOL FOR VALIDATION SOFTWARE PROJECTS IN PROGRAMMING LABS
A Eu opean c edi ep esen s 25 hou s o s udy and
akes in o accoun no only he session in class oom
(including heo e ical sessions, p ac ical labo a o y ses-
sions, semina s o wo kshops), bu also compu es he
hou s o s udy o sol e he a ious asks assigned (exams,
pape s o conduc ing semina s).
Each cou se consis s o 60 Eu opean c edi s. The
EHEA does no change he ime de o ed o s udy, bu
makes i much mo e explici and anspa en .
C. Changes in he Uni e si y
The se o EHEA is s uc u ed in h ee le els:
 The basic le el is he Deg ee. In Spain deg ees con-
sis o 240 Eu opean c edi s (4 cou ses). The deg ee
enables o de elop a p o ession ha equi es a uni-
e si y educa ional le el.
 The second le el is he Mas e . This is a specializa-
ion o a speci ic ield o knowledge o mul idiscipli-
na y s udies ( ep esen ing disciplines om a ious
a eas). Guidance can be o esea ch, o p o essional
p ac ice, o mixed. The du a ion o he Mas e will be
ECTS 60, 90 o 120 c edi s (1 and 2 cou ses), de-
pending on he na u e o he s udies.
 The hi d le el is he PhD. In gene al, he PhD is a
esea ch p ocess aimed a de eloping he hesis. To
en oll in a doc o al p og am, he pe son conce ned
will ha e o be o e come a leas 60 c edi s Eu opean
Mas e s le el o be in possession o a g adua e de-
g ee o a leas 300 Eu opean c edi s.
D. EHEA a Uni e si y o Se illa
The Uni e si y o Se ille cu en ly o e s 77 deg ees
and double deg ees and 81 Mas e Deg ees [19].
E. School O Enginee ing a Se illa
The implemen a ion o he EHEA a he School o En-
ginee ing a Se ille (Escuela Técnica Supe io de In-
genie ía, o ETSI) has been based on Ae onau ical, Indus-
ial, Telecommunica ions, and Chemical Enginee ing.
These quali ica ions ha e enabled cu en ly o e ed in he
ETSI G ade he ollowing quali ica ions:
 Deg ee in Ae ospace Enginee ing
 Deg ee in Indus ial Technology
 Deg ee in Telecommunica ions Enginee ing Tech-
nology
 Deg ee in Chemical Enginee ing
 Deg ee in Ci il Enginee ing
 Deg ee in Elec onic Enginee ing, Robo ics and
Mecha onics
 Deg ee in Ene gy Enginee ing
 Deg ee in Indus ial Enginee ing
The pos g adua e p og am is s uc u ed a ound se en
Mas e 's p og ams, each o hem associa ed o a doc o al
p og am:
 Mas e in Elec onics, Signal P ocessing and Com-
munica ions.
 Mas e in Elec ic Powe Sys ems.
 Mas e in Au oma ion, Robo ics and Telema ics.
 Mas e in Ad anced Mechanical Enginee ing Design.
 Mas e in Indus ial O ganiza ion and Managemen .
 Mas e in En i onmen al Enginee ing.
 Mas e in The mal Ene gy Sys ems.
F. Telecommunica ion Technologies Enginee ing
Deg ee
In Telecommunica ion Technologies Enginee ing De-
g ee (o TTED) a Uni e si y o Se illa, he echniques
and echnologies o ansmission, ea men and in o ma-
ion managemen , a e s udied. This will p o ide ex ensi e
knowledge o communica ions, elec onics, signal p oc-
essing, in o ma ion managemen , and compu e ne wo ks.
TTED o e s ou acks o specializa ions:
 Telecommunica ion Sys ems
 Elec onic Sys ems
 Telema ics
 Sound and Image
S uden s accessing his quali ica ion mus ha e disposi-
ion o wo k and ha e analy ical skills. You need a good
backg ound in ma hema ics and physics, and ha ing
language and in o ma ion echnology skills is highly
ecommended.
G. Fi s -yea a TTED
The i s -yea o Telecommunica ion Technologies
Enginee ing Deg ee a Uni e si y o Se illa consis s o
wo e ms.
Each e m has di e en cou ses. The Fi s e m has he
ollowing cou ses:
 Ma hema ics I.
 Ma hema ics II.
 Physics.
 Compu e Basics.
 Fundamen als o P og amming I.
 The Second e m has he ollowing cou ses:
 Fundamen als o P og amming II.
 Ci cui Theo y.
 Ma hema ics III.
 S a is ics.
 Technology de ices and Componen s.
III. LABORATORY CONTEXT
This labo a o y is augh in he subjec o Fundamen als
o P og amming II (FPII) in Telecommunica ion Tech-
nologies Enginee ing Deg ee a Uni e si y o Se illa. In
his sec ion we show he con ex o he labo a o y. To
accomplish his pu pose, we p esen he objec i es, he
con en s, he used me hodology and he e alua ion sys em.
A. Fundamen als o P og amming II in EHEA
FPII in EHEA is a e m co e subjec a he i s -yea o
Telecommunica ion Technologies Enginee ing Deg ee.
This subjec consis s o 6 ECTS c edi s co esponding o
150 hou s o s uden wo k. 1.5 ECTS c edi s a e dedica ed
o heo e ical con en s (15 class oom hou s and 22.5 hou s
o s udy) and 4.5 ECTS c edi s a e dedica ed o p ac ical
classes (45 class oom hou s and 67.5 hou s o s udy). This
subjec has a high p ac ical con en .
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TOOL FOR VALIDATION SOFTWARE PROJECTS IN PROGRAMMING LABS
B. Objec i es in FPII
The subjec aims o consolida e basic skills ob ained in
FPI by sol ing a complex p oblem. The p inciples and
undamen als o p og amming a e de eloped by means o
p oblem’s esolu ion, in p ac ical sessions.
The objec i es o his subjec a e he ollowing:
 Resolu ion o p oblems h ough s uc u ed p og am-
ming echniques by he decomposi ion o complex
p oblems.
 Managemen and implemen a ion o abs ac da a
ypes.
 De elopmen o p og ams in a p og amming lan-
guage such as C, p o iding he me hods o handling
da a s uc u es.
 Design applica ions using Objec -o ien ed p og am-
ming (OOP) echniques. This echnique includes ea-
u es such as da a abs ac ion, encapsula ion, messag-
ing, modula i y, polymo phism, and inhe i ance in
Ja a.
C. Con en s in FPII
The con en in FPII is he ollowing:
 Resolu ion o p oblems using abs ac da a ypes.
 De elopmen o p og ams in a p og amming lan-
guage such as C using abs ac da a ypes.
 Resolu ion o p oblems h ough OOP echniques.
This echnique includes ea u es such as da a abs ac-
ion, encapsula ion, messaging, modula i y, poly-
mo phism, and inhe i ance in Ja a.
 De elopmen and implemen a ion o an applica ion
in an OOP language such as Ja a, using OOP ech-
niques.
The p ac ices ca ied ou in he pa co esponding o
he abs ac da a ypes a e he ollowing:
 Basic ope a ions on linked lis s.
 Resolu ion o wo p oblems using a linked lis : One
o hem consis s o eading wo ds and coun ing he
numbe o imes ha each wo d is epea ed, and he
o he one consis s o eading da a om a ile, inse -
ing o de ly hem in o a lis and w i ing hese da a in o
a ile.
 Sum o a ce ain numbe o polynomials using linked
lis s.
 S acks and queues implemen ed wi h ables and lis s.
 Ci cula lis s.
 Use o ees.
The p ac ices ca ied ou in he pa co esponding o
OOP a e he ollowing:
 P og amming en i onmen ools (ja a, ja ac, ja ,
ja adoc, jdb).
 A ays.
 The Ja a Debugge (jdb).
 Handling Excep ions in Ja a.
 Encapsula ion (classes, inhe i ance and packages)
and u ili ies (S ing class and o he basic classes).
 Polymo phism (o e loading me hods and cons uc-
o s).
 Inhe i ance, o e w i ing me hods.
D. Me hodology in FPII
The me hodology used in FPII o he acquisi ion o
knowledge is he ollowing:
 Lec u es: classes whe e he eache makes a heo e i-
cal exposi ion o he subjec ma e , explaining he
basics o he subjec .
 Labo a o y p ac ices: hese classes a e dedica ed
p ima ily o he s uden add ess and esol e he p ob-
lems p oposed by he eache .
 Ac i e use o e-lea ning echnologies: his echnol-
ogy has been used o s o ing con en s, submission o
p ac ices, con inuous e alua ions, o ums, in e nal e-
mail. The i ual lea ning en i onmen sys em used
is WebCT (Blackboa d Lea ning Sys em) [22].
 P ojec -based lea ning, o PBL, is he use o in-dep h
and igo ous class oom p ojec s o acili a e lea ning
and assess s uden compe ence. S uden s use echnol-
ogy and inqui y o espond o a complex issue, p ob-
lem o challenge. PBL ocuses on s uden -cen e ed
inqui y and g oup lea ning wi h he eache ac ing as
a acili a o . E e y s uden mus comple e wo cou se
p ojec s ha will consis o de eloping an applica-
ion, comp ising he s eps o unde s anding he p ob-
lem, designing o he p og am, coding and subse-
quen es ing. One cou se p ojec is in C, and o he
p ojec in Ja a.
E. E alua ion in FPII
The e alua ion o he cou se in FPII is based in he ol-
lowing concep s:
 A endance a p ac ices: i is indispensable o a end a
minimum numbe o p ac ical classes, and he sub-
mission o some exe cises de eloped du ing he p ac-
ice sessions.
 Theo e ical g ade: es s and inal exam is he 65% o
he inal g ade.
 Tes s: he e a e wo es s wi h a alue o 10% o he
inal g ade. The i ual lea ning en i onmen sys em
is used in hese e alua ions.
 Final exam: he exam wi h a alue o 80% o he i-
nal g ade. I may con ain a mix u e o mul iple
choice ques ions ( heo e ical o p ac ical issues) and
p oblems o be sol ed by he s uden .
 P ac ical g ade: Design and implemen a ion o wo
cou se p ojec s in C and Ja a is he 35% o he inal
g ade.
 Cou se p ojec in C: De elopmen and implemen a-
ion o p og ams in a p og amming language such as
C o handling abs ac da a ypes. This p ojec con-
sis s o a comple e p og am whose equi emen s will
be p o ided a he beginning o he cou se. This wo k
mus be de ended by he s uden in an exam. The
eache will eques new modi ica ion o he p o-
g am.
 Cou se p ojec in Ja a: Design and implemen a ion
o an applica ion using Objec -o ien ed p og amming
(OOP) echniques. This p ojec consis s o a com-
ple e p og am whose equi emen s will be p o ided
a he beginning o he cou se. This wo k mus be de-
ended by he s uden in an exam. The eache will
eques new modi ica ion o he p og am.
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TOOL FOR VALIDATION SOFTWARE PROJECTS IN PROGRAMMING LABS
So, we a e using con inuous e alua ion in he subjec .
In addi ion o moni o wha s uden s a e doing in he
labo a o y, he e a e wo small es s be o e he inal exam.
Exams a e dis ibu ed h oughou he cou se and mee
se e al objec i es:
 Ensu ing ha he s uden has he skills o make he
p ac ices and unde s and he ollowing opics o he
cou se. I leads he s uden o o ganize he s udy o
he subjec p ope ly. Fu he mo e, hey mus s udy a
pa o he subjec be o e s a ing he nex , so ha
classes and labo a o y sessions a e mo e use ul.
 T aining s uden s in examina ions o he subjec .
 The s uden ecei es in o ma ion on hei cu en
knowledge and he/she iden i ies gaps ha mus be
o e come.
IV. METHODOLOGY IN THE LABORATORY
The p ojec -based lea ning is e ec i e o s uden s o
acqui e p og amming skills [4]. P ojec s mus be e alu-
a ed by he eache . The p ojec -based lea ning has adi-
ionally been used in cou ses wi h ew s uden s, bu is
di icul o implemen in cou ses wi h many s uden s.
Due o he la ge numbe o s uden s in FPII, a ool is
necessa y o acili a e he e alua ion o he s uden 's
cou se p ojec . So, he eache can alida e easily and
quickly he unc ionali y o he comple ed p ojec . Fu -
he mo e, his ool will also acili a e he de elopmen o
he p ojec by he s uden . The s uden can es he p ope
ope a ion o he p ojec in he de elopmen phase. The
ool will epo iden i ied p oblems.
The cou se p ojec wo ks p ope ly when i has passed a
se ies o es s ca ied ou using he ool. Then he s uden
can deli e s i o he eache .
Access o he ool mus be in eg a ed wi h he lea ning
en i onmen used in he cou se. The i ual lea ning
en i onmen sys em used is WebCT. The e o e, s uden s
can ge he ool h ough he i ual lea ning pla o m.
The s uden needs o ha e an en i onmen simila o
ha used in labo a o y p ac ices. This de elopmen en i-
onmen is used o he execu ion o he ool and he
p ojec . To his pu pose, a i ual machine is p o ided o
he s uden . This i ual machine is iden ical o he p o-
g amming en i onmen used in he p ac ical classes. The
i ual machine includes he same ope a ing sys em and
he ools necessa y o compila ion and execu ion o
p og ams. We p o ide he necessa y ins uc ions o
download he i ual machine.
The use o he ool mus be easy and in ui i e o he
s uden . The ool keeps he en i onmen (compila ion and
execu ion) used in he labo a o y by p o iding a use
iendly in e ace.
The e iew o he s uden p ojec should be au oma ed
as much as possible o enable he co ec ion o a la ge
numbe o p ojec s.
S uden s a e examined o he p ojec as ollows:
 The s uden mus deli e in ad ance he cou se p o-
jec comple ed and es ed wi h he ool so ha i
passes all he p o ided es s. The deli e y akes place
ia WebCT.
 On he p ac ical exam, he s uden mus i s
download his p ojec om he i ual lea ning pla -
o m.
 He will be equi ed o pe o m new es s using he
ool. In o de o do his, we p o ide new inpu iles o
he p og am and he co esponding ou pu s.
 The s uden mus pe o m ce ain p og am modi ica-
ions ha change some basic unc ionali y. This en-
su es la gely ha he s uden is he au ho o he wo k
and unde s ands i pe ec ly. I also ensu es ha he
s uden has o ganized he p ojec in a sui able way
and ha he unc ions a e in ui i e (easy o unde -
s and).
 The s uden , be o e he end o he es , will use
WebCT o deli e all he es ing esul s. The s uden
mus make a copy o i s modi ica ions. This copy
will be used i any p oblems a ise, o example, i he
sends he w ong iles.
 Finally, he eache e i ies he esul in he e iew
i sel o in he i ual lea ning pla o m. Check he
p og am's s uc u e, commen s, legibili y, e c ... o
assign a a ing.
V. DESCRIPTION OF THE TOOL FOR VALIDATION
SOFTWARE PROJECTS (TVSP)
A. Backg ound
The e a e ools ha au oma e comple ely o pa ially he
ask o assessmen so wa e (Compu e Aid Assessmen o
CAA) a uni e si y scope [1] [7] [3] [6] [14] [11] [10] [15] [5].
CAA ools help o assess mo e objec i ely. Howe e , i
equi es mo e ca e ul design o he asks and he assess-
men c i e ia. I is necessa y speci ying s ic ly he esul s
o be ob ained and he es sui e designed ying o co e
all possible cases. These es s, along wi h he expec ed
esul s can be p o ided o s uden s so hey can make es s
be o e deli e y o he wo k. A subse o he es s is p o-
ided o s uden s. The s uden s a e wa ned ha he gi en
es s will only check pa o he code, encou aging hem o
u he es ing, as done in [23].
Typically, a CAA ools use he model o black-box as a
componen o assessmen .
The s uden p og am is conside ed a black box. CAA
ools e alua e he p og am's ou pu compa ed o a e e -
ence co ec ou pu o di e en inpu es s. Tes s can be
done o a whole p og am ( o be compiled) o pa s o a
p og am ( unc ions, code snippe s, lines, e c.). In TVSP
bo h op ions a e possible. Al hough so a we ha e only
assess comple e p og ams.
In addi ion o compa ing he ou pu , o en measu e-
men s o he e iciency o p og am a e aken (CPU usage,
execu ion ime, memo y usage).
The black box model equi es unning unknown code.
I is desi able using a sand-box model (isola ed and secu e
execu ion en i onmen ) in he implemen a ion. So, i is
p e en ed possible ha m ha may esul om e oneous o
malicious code when unning dynamic es s.
In addi ion o he dynamic analysis o he p og am
gi en by he s uden , CAA ools can pe o m a s a ic
analysis o he code deli e ed.
The s a ic analysis can de ec hidden p oblems ha ha e
no been ob ained by he limi ed numbe o es s. The
s a ic analysis can de ec hidden p oblems ha ha e no
been ound by he limi ed numbe o es s
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TOOL FOR VALIDATION SOFTWARE PROJECTS IN PROGRAMMING LABS
The compila ion can be conside ed a basic s a ic analy-
sis o he code, and gene a es wa ning when i de ec s a
possible e o .
Some imes, i is necessa y o sea ch o pa icula
wo ds o ph ases in he code, o example o o ce o
o bid he use o ce ain s uc u es o unc ions.
Howe e , as ci ed by e e ence [9], i is no possible o
au oma ically e alua e all aspec s o good p og amming.
The au oma ic assessmen should be supplemen ed wi h
human e alua ion. In his case, he ool may se he weigh
o he sco e gi en o each pa o he e alua ion.
This sec ion shows he ool used a he i s yea in
FPII. The Tool o Valida ion So wa e P ojec s (TVSP)
allows he s uden a guided lea ning. In addi ion, he
s uden can e i y i s cou se p ojec in au onomous
way [18]. The ool is implemen ed in C language. I has
been based on p e ious implemen a ions, in o he p o-
g amming languages. These languages a e Pe l and shell
sc ip .
Nex , he wo king en i onmen used o he de elop-
men o labo a o y p ac ices is shown. Then, he a ge s
se o he implemen a ion o TVSP a e desc ibed. A e
his, he a chi ec u e o he ool is shown and, inally how
o use he ool.
B. Wo king en i onmen
The ollowing en i onmen was used o labo a o y
p ac ices o FPII:
 Ope a ing Sys em: Ubun u 11.04.
 Compile : gcc and JDK.
 Debugge : gdb and ddd.
 Edi o s: emacs and gedi .
 O he ools: make.
A i ual machine is p o ided o s uden s. Thus he p o-
jec can be de eloped anywhe e and e e ywhe e.
The i ual machine p o ided is a clone o he ope a ing
sys em and applica ions used in he labo a o y. This
i ual machine is compa ible wi h VMwa e Playe [31]
and Vi ualBox [30] ( eewa e).
The ad an ages o using i ual machines include he
ollowing:
 Any s uden can wo k wi h he same ools om any-
whe e, ega dless o ope a ing sys em ins alled on i s
compu e .
 Ensu ing ha he wo king en i onmen exac ly
ma ches he lab en i onmen used.
 Faul managemen .
The p ac ical classes a e held a he Compu e Cen e
(CC) o he Enginee ing School. The CC cu en ly has 12
class ooms wi h capaci y o abou 25 o 50 s uden s. The
PC's ha e he necessa y en i onmen o he di e en
subjec s augh a school.
In he cu en yea (2011-2012) 5 lec u e class ooms
ha e been enabled so ha s uden s can b ing hei com-
pu e s and do he p ac ices.
The Uni e si y o Se ille p o ides each s uden a lap op
wi h a low cos , e undable e u ning he lap op.
C. Obje i es o he Tool
The ool, in FPII, allows he s uden he ollowing op-
e a ions:
 Compila ion he sou ce code o he cou se p ojec
and check whe he his ope a ion is done wi hou any
e o s o wa nings.
 Tes s o he memo y managemen . This ask e i ies
ha all dynamic memo y used by he cou se p ojec
is eleased.
 I uns a es sui e and e i ies ha he ou pu is p op-
e ly gene a ed.
This ask includes e i ica ion ha he ou pu gene a ed
by he s uden 's p ojec ma ches he expec ed ou pu . The
e i ica ion asks include he ollowing poin s:
 Check he ou pu iles.
 Check he s anda d ou pu .
 Check he s anda d e o ou pu .
D. TVSP Func ionali y Diag am
The S uden P ojec Code (SPC) is he s a ing poin o
he alida ion p ocess.
A Global E o Repo (GER) is gene a ed a he end o
his p ocess. The Fig. 1 shows he TVSP unc ionali y.
The alida ion has he ollowing s eps:
 Compila ion o he SPC. This phase gene a es bug
epo , including compila ion e o s and wa nings.
 Gene a ion o Modi ied S uden P ojec Code
(MSPC) om he SPC. The MSPC includes he man-
agemen o signals p oduced in excep ional si ua-
ions. Fu he mo e, he MSPC es s he memo y used
by he p og am o each case.
 Compila ion o he MSPC o gene a e he Modi ied
Execu able (ME).
 Execu ion o he p og am h ough he use o es s o
gene a e he e o ou pu epo . This e o ou pu e-
po is included in he GER. In TVSP, he SPC is
es ed in an isola ed i ual machine (no in e ne con-
nec ion) simila o ha used by s uden s in labo a o y
p ac ices.
The e o epo gene a ed om he execu ion o he
ME includes he ollowing in o ma ion:
 S anda d Ou pu Repo (SOR). This shows he di -
e ences be ween he expec ed s anda d ou pu and
s anda d ou pu ob ained by he s uden ’s p ojec .
 S anda d E o Ou pu Repo (SEOR). This shows
he di e ences be ween he expec ed s anda d e o
ou pu and s anda d e o ou pu ob ained by he s u-
den ’s p ojec .
 Gene a ed File Repo (GFR). This shows he di e -
ences be ween he expec ed ou pu iles and ou pu
iles ob ained by he s uden ’s p ojec .
 Memo y Repo (MR). This shows he e o s in
memo y managemen in he s uden ’s p ojec .
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TOOL FOR VALIDATION SOFTWARE PROJECTS IN PROGRAMMING LABS
Figu e 1. TVSP Func ionali y Diag am.
E. Using TVSP
Bo h he ool and ins uc ions o use a e p o ided in he
i ual lea ning pla o m WebCT.
The ool uns on he command line. The use ’s manual
is p o ided in a ile README. x . The use in e ace o
he ool is simple and in ui i e o apid deploymen and
e icien managemen by he s uden , as shown in Fig. 2.
In he cou se 2010/11 he cou se p ojec consis s o
emula ing a Ne wo k Add ess T ansla o (NAT). The
p og am eads a NAT con igu a ion ile and an inpu ile
wi h he packe s ha a e ecei ed o NAT. The p og am
gene a es an ou pu ile con aining he ansla ed packe s.
The applica ion uses linked lis s o s o e he lis o ansla-
ions used by he NAT and o s o e he packe s a i ing o
i .
TSVP has been used du ing he cou se o di e en
pu poses:
 Summa i e assessmen : Summa i e assessmen is
ha which is used o assess he s uden 's inal wo k.
Re y is no allowed. Ini ially his was he main use
o he ool.
 Fo ma i e assessmen : In o ma i e assessmen is
conside ed ha he co ec ion is mainly used as eed-
back o he s uden , o showing i s ailu es and ena-
bling a be e implemen a ion. In his case, he s u-
den can pe o m mul iple deli e ies. In ou case his
assessmen is done p io o deli e y, because he s u-
den has he assessmen ool.
 Online exams: Du ing he online exams s uden mus
use his ool. In he e alua ion, s uden s mus make
mino modi ica ions o he code. O he au ho s ha e
made simila ac ions [8].
F. The managemen sys em o deli e in TVSP
O he ools include an assignmen managemen sys em.
In FPII, WebCT, as i ual lea ning pla o m, acili a es
his ask. WebCT allows us o ha e a collec ion o issues
a ailable o s uden s ( ha can be pe o med by le els),
gene a e epo s and s a is ics, pos esul s, e c.
VI. RESULTS
TVSP has been used a he i s yea in FPII labo a o y
in Telecommunica ion Technologies Enginee ing Deg ee
a Uni e si y o Se illa o es ablishmen o EHEA.
This ool allows a guided lea ning o he s uden . In ad-
di ion, he s uden can independen ly e alua e he p ope
unc ioning o he p ojec . TVSP has been implemen ed in
C and has been based on p e ious deploymen s in o he
p og amming languages (Pe l and shell sc ip ).
The cou se p ojec examina ions a e ealized on a ious
da es, sp ead along he e m. TVSP allows s uden s g ea
lexibili y o he e alua ion o hei wo k and o o ganize
hei e o s.
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TOOL FOR VALIDATION SOFTWARE PROJECTS IN PROGRAMMING LABS
Figu e 2. Use in e ace o he ool.
Figu e 3 show he esul s o di e en assessmen s using
his ool. Fi s , we show he esul s ob ained du ing he
cou se co esponding o he i s o dina y call in he Fi s
Examina ion Da e (FED). Nex , we compa e he call in
June, wi h Sep embe and Decembe , ealized a Sep em-
be (Second Examina ion Da e, o SED) and Decembe
(Thi d Examina ion Da e, o TED), espec i ely.
A. Fi s Examina ion Da e (FED)
A he beginning o he cou se all he ma e ial necessa y
o implemen he cou se p ojec is deli e ed, including he
equi emen s. Along he cou se, ou e alua ions ha e
been es ablished o he assessmen o he cou se p ojec .
Once an assessmen has been passed he s uden ex-
ceeds ha ma e . The s uden mus ealize one o hose
exams. The p ojec mus pass he quali y c i e ia se by he
ool TVSP. A s uden who passes he exam will no ha e
o make ano he p ojec deli e y. A s uden who does no
exceed he exam can p esen o he nex call.
The i s deli e y was made in Ma ch, he second in
Ap il, he hi d in May and inally he las in June 2011.
Below a e shown he esul s o he e alua ions pe -
o med o he i s call in he Fi s Examina ion Da e
(FED).
We p esen he esul s o s uden s who pass he assess-
men (o S uden Passing PS) and s uden s who ailed he
assessmen (No Passing o NPS). Table I shows he
esul s o PS compa ed NPS.
TABLE I. RESULTS IN THE COURSE
FED SED TED
PS 75 13 9
NPS 11 13 2
To al 86 26 11
Figu e 3. Resul s in he Cou se (pe cen age)
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These esul s a e shown o he ou deli e ies o he
i s call (Fi s Examina ion Da e EDF), and ou sched-
uled da es in Ma ch (Fi s ), Ap il (Second), May (Thi d)
and June (Fou h).
The las ow (To al) shows he o al numbe o s uden s
who ha e p esen ed o he call o Ma ch (Fi s column),
Ap il (Second column), May (Thi d column) and June
(Fou h column). Acco ding o he esul s shown, in all he
assessmen s he o al numbe o s uden s who passed he
examina ion was o e 60% o s uden s p esen ed, e en in
he FED’s hi d call he pe cen age o success ul s uden s
is 100%. This shows ha he s uden deli e ies he cou se
p ojec when i has he minimum quali y. These esul s a e
shown g aphically in Fig. 4.
B. Resul s o he Cou se
Table II shows he esul s o he h ee calls made along
he cou se 2011 in June (EDF), Sep embe (SED) and
Decembe (TED) a e shown. This able shows he esul s
o PS compa ed wi h NPS.
Acco ding o he esul s shown in he h ee calls, a high
pe cen age o s uden s ha e o e come he assessmen .
This implies ha , he s uden knows when he p ojec has
a minimum quali y o success ully o e come he e alua-
ion. Figu e 5 shows ha he pe cen age o success (PS) is
highe in all e alua ions o he pe cen age o ail (NPS).
This can also be seen g aphically aking in o accoun
he o al numbe o s uden s p esen ed o each o he calls
(June, Sep embe and Decembe 2011).
Figu e 5 shows ha he o al numbe o s uden s p e-
sen ed o he i s call (EDF) is qui e high compa ed o he
es o calls. This is because he cou se has acili a ed and
eased p ojec deli e y.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
In his pape we ha e p esen ed a es ing ool used in
FPII labo a o y o Telecommunica ion Technologies
Enginee ing Deg ee a Uni e si y o Se ille o he
e alua ion (and sel -e alua ion) o he s uden p ojec .
This ool allows au onomous e i ica ion by he s uden
ha can e alua e independen ly he p ope execu ion o
he cou se p ojec . The esul s ha e shown ha he use o
his ool along wi h he lexibili y o deli e he p ojec o
he eache leads o a high deg ee o success.
TABLE II. RESULTS IN FED.
FED
Fi s Second Thi d Fou h
PS 27 8 31 9
NPS 3 2 0 6
To al 30 10 31 15
Figu e 4. Resul s in FED: he ou op ions.
Figu e 5. Resul s In The Cou se ( o al)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The au ho s would like o hank o all eache s o he
bo h cou ses (FPI and FPII) Ra ael Bachille Sole , Isabel
Román Ma ínez, An onio José Es epa Alonso, José
Manuel Fo nés Rumbao, José Ángel Gómez A gudo,
Fe nando Cá denas Fe nández, Pablo Neb e a He e a,
Godo edo Fe nández Requena. These esul s would no
ha e been possible wi hou hei dedica ion.
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AUTHORS
A.J. Sie a is wi h he Depa men o Telema ic Engi-
nee ing a he School o Enginee ing o he Uni e si y o
Se illa, Camino de los Descub imien os S/N, 41092
Se ille, Spain (e-mail: an onio@ ajano.us.es).
T. A iza is wi h he Depa men o Telema ic Enginee -
ing a he School o Enginee ing o he Uni e si y o
Se illa, Camino de los Descub imien os S/N, 41092
Se ille, Spain (e-mail: [email p o ec ed]).
F.J. Fe nández is wi h he Depa men o Telema ic
Enginee ing a he School o Enginee ing o he Uni e -
si y o Se illa, Camino de los Descub imien os S/N,
41092 Se ille, Spain (e-mail: j j@ ajano.us.es).
G. Madinabei ia is wi h he Depa men o Telema ic
Enginee ing a he School o Enginee ing o he Uni e -
si y o Se illa, Camino de los Descub imien os S/N,
41092 Se ille, Spain (e-mail: [email p o ec ed]s.es).
This a icle is an ex ended e sion o a pape p esen ed a he In e na-
ional Con e ence IEEE EDUCON2012, held in Ap il 2012, in Ma -
akesh, Mo occo. Recei ed, 22 Ap il 2012. Published as esubmi ed by
he au ho s 30 Ap il 2012.
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