sagemathinc / cocalc

CoCalc: Collaborative Calculation in the Cloud
https://CoCalc.com
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Use existing DUE_DATE.txt file to pre-populate the due date field when adding assignments #7990

Open lahvak opened 3 hours ago

lahvak commented 3 hours ago

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. When adding an assignment, one has to always manually enter the due date in the due date field. That makes it difficult and error prone to keep the due dates in sync with a syllabus or a learning management system, and creates unnecessary work (and a potential source or errors) when re-using assignment from previous semesters.

Describe the solution you'd like A simple improvement would be to use an existing DUE_DATE.txt file to pre-populate the due date field in the assignment dialog. That way one could generate the DUE_DATE.txt files from a script, or create them manually when preparing assignments (perhaps even upload them with other assignment files from one's laptop). Perhaps the DUE_DATE.txt could only be used when it contains a date that is in the future, but there is a value in having old dates used as well: one could simply edit the old date instead of having to type a new one from scratch.

Describe alternatives you've considered Perhaps even better would be an API end-point for adding and distributing assignments, one that would include setting the due date. That way I could script the whole thing.

williamstein commented 3 hours ago

great idea!