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Lab: Skills - Using Autolab


Instructions: Answer the following questions one at a time. After answering each question, check your answer (by clicking on the check-mark icon if it is available) before proceeding to the next question.

Getting Ready: Before going any further, you should:

  1. Download the following files:
    to an appropriate directory/folder. (In most browsers/OSs, the easiest way to do this is by right-clicking/control-clicking on each of the links above and then selecting Save as... or Save link as....)

1. Preparing to Login to Autolab: This part of the lab will help you gain the skills you need before you can login to Autolab. Unfortunately, this can be a complicated process because, for security reasons, the JMU Autolab site is only available to members of the JMU community.

You only have to complete these steps if you are logging in to Autolab from off-campus. If you are on-campus, the system will be able to identify you from your Internet Protocol (IP) address.

  • Read the description of the "VPN" and "Tunneling traffic through Stu" in the page that discusses "Remote Access to JMUCS Departmental Resources" on the Computer Science Wiki.
  • In general, you should use the VPN when it is available. So, follow the appropriate instructions (for your operating system) for installing the VPN and connecting to JMU SSLVPN.
  • At this point, you will be able to use Autolab, even if you are off-campus.
  • 2. Logging in to Autolab: This part of the lab will help you gain the skills you need in order to login to Autolab.
  • Load Autolab in your WWW browser.
  • If this is the first time you have used Autolab at JMU then you must set your password. To do so, click on the "Forgot your password" link near the bottom of the page and follow the instructions. You must use your full dukes.jmu.edu email address. If you get a message like "email not found", contact your professor; you may need to be added to the course roster.

    Note that Autolab requires "complicated" passwords but does not specify specific rules. So, you may have to try different passwords before you you get one that it accepts. Usually, it is a good idea to include upper-case letters, lower-case letters and numbers. For security reasons, you should not use the password associated with you JMU eID.

  • Login with you full dukes.jmu.edu email address (e.g., Prof. Bernstein's would be bernstdh@dukes.jmu.edu ) and your Autolab password.
  • 3. Submitting Code to Autolab: This part of the lab will help you gain the skills you need to submit programs to Autolab. If you have trouble at any point, you should refer to the CS Department Wiki on Autolab Common Tasks.
    1. Create a .zip file named lab1.zip that contains WhatAnEgo.java. (If you need help, see the CS Department Wiki on creating .zip files.)
    2. In Autolab, under the heading "Current", click on the CS149 if necessary.
    3. Under the heading "Assignments", look for the category "Labs" and click on Lab1.
    4. Confirm the statement about the honor code and then click on SUBMIT.
    5. Navigate to lab1.zip and click on Open.
    6. Wait while your submission is evaluated. After 10 seconds or so, "refresh" the page. The dash will change to a number. (You may need to refresh more than once.)
    7. How many points did you earn for "Style"? Out of how many?


      0 out of 20.
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    8. How many points did you earn for the "OfficialTests"? Out of how many?


      0 out of 80.
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    9. Click on either of the two points earned for details.
    10. Your submission had both style defects and logic defects. What are they?


      There are two style defects on line 5 (a missing @author tag and a missing @version tag), one style defect on line 6 (the { is on the wrong line), one style defect on line 7 (the first sentence in the comment must end with a period), and on style defect on line 13 (the { is on the wrong line).

      The code doesn't pass one of the official test (named Test_WhatAnEgo.output()). The word "great" should have been followed by two exclamantion points, not one.

      Expand
    11. Modify WhatAnEgo.java so that it it no longer has any style defects.
    12. Before re-submitting to Autolab, run Checkstyle locally to ensure that you corrected all of the defects. (Remember, you should always run Checkstyle locally before submitting to Autolan. It will save you and your classmates time.)
    13. Re-create the .zip file and re-submit it by clicking on "Lab1" at the top and following the same process as before.
    14. What is different from yout last submission?


      This submission earned 20 points for style.
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    15. Modify WhatAnEgo.java so that it prints both exclamation points.
    16. Re-create the .zip file and Re-submit.
    17. What is different now?


      This submission earned 20 points for style and 80 points for the official tests.
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    18. Logout of Autolab by clicking on your name in the upper right and pulling down to "Log Out".
    4. Disconnecting from the VPN or Stopping Tunneling: Remember to disconnect from the VPN (or stop tunneling, if that's the approach you are using) so that those resources can be made available to someone else.

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