[Building Sakai] GradebookService, which API to use?

[Wagner, Michelle R.]

Hi Steve,
It depends what you want to accomplish with your gradebook integration.  I think the comment in GradebookExternalAssessmentService.java explains its purpose fairly well:
"This service is designed for use by external assessment engines. These use the Gradebook as a passive mirror of their own assignments and scores,  letting Gradebook users see those assignments alongside Gradebook-managed  assignments, and combine them when calculating a course grade. The Gradebook application itself will not modify externally-managed assignments and scores"

Thus, if you want to add assignments to the gradebook that cannot be graded or edited within the gradebook tool and that adhere to your own requirements (ie the gradebook won't restrict you to its own permissions, etc), use the GradebookExternalAssessmentService.  An example would be in the Assignments tool when you "Add assignment to gradebook."  Grading, setting the points possible, etc must be done from the  Assignments tool.  You have minimal control over this assignment from the gradebook tool itself.

Again, I like the comment in the GradebookService.java API:
"This is the externally exposed API of the gradebook application.  This interface is principally intended for clients of application services --  that is, clients who want to "act like the Gradebook would" to automate what  would normally be done in the UI, including any authorization checks.  As a result, these methods may throw security exceptions. Call the service's authorization-check methods if you want to avoid them."

An example of this usage would be the option to "Associate with an existing gradebook item" in the Assignments tool.  Via the GradebookService you can add/update grades for a gradebook item that is also controlled by the gradebook, but you will hit permission exceptions if you don't respect the business rules set by the gradebook.  I don't believe the GradebookService gives you access to externally-managed assignments and vice versa for the GradebookExternalAssessmentService.

Let me know if you need more information.

Have a great day,
Michelle


On 11/12/09 4:25 PM, "Steve Swinsburg" <steve.swinsburg at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

 From looking at the JavaDocs for GradebookService it seems many, but
not all, methods have been deprecated in favour of
GradebookExternalAssessmentService. Is the ExternalService the
preferred one that external applications are meant to be using? Looks
like we need to use a mix of the two in order to do a full set of
operations on an Assignment/score?

cheers,
Steve
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