edxcut: create, read, update, and delete OpenEdX content with scripts and run course unit tests

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I Chuang

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Jul 21, 2017, 11:46:14 AM7/21/17

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edxcut

edxcut = edX Course Unit Tester (https://github.com/mitodl/edxcut)

Have you ever had your open edX course unexpectedly break, due to some change in how the edX platform does grading, or due to some code change in a custom response grading library?

Would you like to be able to automatically verify that all the auto-graded problems in your edX course are functioning as expected, without having to manually click through all the problems and remember test cases to enter?

Would you like to script the creation of course content, or the editing of course structure, including command-line access to download specific problem, html, and video assets from a course, or command-line access to upload new problem, html, and video assets (including video transcripts) to an existing course? Or would you like to copy a single XBlock from one OpenEdX course to another, including static assets?

edxcut is an open source package for performing automated unit tests of answer box grading correctness, across all problems, in a live, open edX course instance. edxcut also allows programmatic creation, reading, updating, and deletion (CRUD) of edX course content, via its edxapi API interface, which mimics an instructor interacting with an OpenEdX Studio instance.

Programmatic Content Creation, Reading, Updating, and Deletion

The core of edxcut is the edxapi module, which can be accessed and used either via a python program, or from the command line - see help text.

Example: list chapters

Suppose you have an OpenEdX site at https://studio.univ.edu, and a course staff user account st...@example.com, with password edx for the course with ID course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course. You can list the chapters in that course using this command:

edxcut edxapi -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course list_chapters

obtaining a response like this:

Found 6 chapters in course edX Demonstration Course
    Introduction -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@chapter+block@d8a6192ade314473a78242dfeedfbf5b
    Example Week 1: Getting Started -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@chapter+block@interactive_demonstrations
    Example Week 2: Get Interactive -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@chapter+block@graded_interactions
    Example Week 3: Be Social -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@chapter+block@social_integration
    About Exams and Certificates -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@chapter+block@1414ffd5143b4b508f739b563ab468b7
    holding section -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@chapter+block@9fca584977d04885bc911ea76a9ef29e

You may also specify the output to be in JSON format with the -j flag, obtaining output such as this.

If your OpenEdX site is behind an HTTP basic auth control, then add --auth username,password with the appropriate username and password for site access.

Example: list sequentials in a chapter, and verticals within a sequential

The list_xblocks edxapi command is useful for listing the contents of a container xblock, such as chapters and sequentials, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    list_xblocks "Example Week 1: Getting Started"

should generate output like this:

Found 2 sequentials in chapter Example Week 1: Getting Started
    Lesson 1 - Getting Started -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@sequential+block@19a30717eff543078a5d94ae9d6c18a5
    Homework - Question Styles -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@sequential+block@basic_questions

and to see the verticals within, say, the "Homework - Question Styles" sequential:

edxcut edxapi -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    list_xblocks "Example Week 1: Getting Started" "Homework - Question Styles"

to obtain output like this:

Found 8 verticals in sequential Homework - Question Styles
    Pointing on a Picture -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@2152d4a4aadc4cb0af5256394a3d1fc7
    Drag and Drop -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@47dbd5f836544e61877a483c0b75606c
    Multiple Choice Questions -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@54bb9b142c6c4c22afc62bcb628f0e68
    Mathematical Expressions -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@vertical_0c92347a5c00
    Chemical Equations -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@vertical_1fef54c2b23b
    Numerical Input -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@2889db1677a549abb15eb4d886f95d1c
    Text input -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@e8a5cc2aed424838853defab7be45e42
    Instructor Programmed Responses -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@fb6b62dbec4348528629cf2232b86aea

You can continue the path specification (chapter...sequential...vertical) to list the contents of a vertical, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    list_xblocks "Example Week 1: Getting Started" "Homework - Question Styles" "Numerical Input"

to obtain output like this:

Found 2 problems in vertical Numerical Input
    Numerical Input -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@problem+block@75f9562c77bc4858b61f907bb810d974
     -> block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@discussion+block@501aed9d902349eeb2191fa505548de2

Note this vertical has two XBlocks, but the second one has an empty display_name (from the usage key (aka asset ID) you can tell it's a discussion XBlock).

Downloading a specific XBlock asset's content

To download the content of a specific XBlock asset, use the get_xblock edxapi command, followed by a path specification (providing chapter sequential vertical url_name e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    get_xblock "Example Week 1: Getting Started" "Homework - Question Styles" "Numerical Input" "Numerical Input"

to obtain JSON output such as this. You can also obtain the same content by specifying the specific XBlock's usage key (also known as an asset ID) instead of the chapter + sequential + vertica + asset content path, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    get_xblock block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@problem+block@75f9562c77bc4858b61f907bb810d974

Downloading a video XBlock and its associated video transcript

To download the content for a video XBlock, use get_xblock, e.g.

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    get_xblock block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@video+block@5c90cffecd9b48b188cbfea176bf7fe9

to obtain JSON output such as this.

To download the associated video transcript, you'll need to point to the OpenEdX LMS site (and not the Studio site), e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    --videoid qWxm7CA2v24 get_video_transcript 5c90cffecd9b48b188cbfea176bf7fe9

Note that the url_name for the video is specified, and not the whole usage_key (although there's a fallback mechanism by which if you do provide a usage_key, edxapi will extract the url_name from it for you).

Also note that you will need to specify the video's ID, here, a youtube ID; that's used by edX's transcripts mechanism to find the transcript with the correct timing.

You shold obtain obtain JSON output such as this; by specifying the --output-srt flag, the transcript will be provided in srt format instead of in srt.sjson format.

Creating new chapter, sequential, and vertical xblocks

To create a new container XBlock, just specify the path desired to the new XBlock, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    create_xblock "New Chapter"

The output should give usage keys for the new XBlock, e.g.:

{
    "locator": "block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@chapter+block@f3b7608b609b4edf881531ca00e99c9d", 
    "courseKey": "course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course"
}

create_xblock will only create a single new XBlock. If you wish to create all the XBlocks needed in a path, e.g. new chapter, new sequential, new vertical, use the updage_xblock command, with the --create flag, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    --create update_xblock "New Chapter" "New Sequential" "New Vertical"

This will return the usage key for the last XBlock created, e.g.:

{
    "data": null, 
    "id": "block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@vertical+block@5b9ef8ee60984408b1047b1d5e4a9ef4", 
    "metadata": {
        "display_name": "New Vertical"
    }
}

Creating and updating html and problem XBlocks

To create a new HTML or problem XBlock, use the update_xblock edxapi command, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    --create -t html  -d "<html>hello world2</html>" \
    update_xblock "New Chapter" "New Sequential" "New Vertical" "New HTML page"

Note that the -t option is used to specify the content type, e.g. html or problem.

The page will contain the HTML string specified in the -d argument, and the return will provide the newly created XBlock's usage key, e.g.:

{
    "data": "<html>hello world2</html>", 
    "id": "block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@html+block@994878a552894f67b28b3e050731d5a7", 
    "metadata": {
        "display_name": "New HTML page"
    }
}

You may also specify that the page content should be taken from a file, using the --data-file option instead of -d.

To update an existing XBlock, use update_xblock, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    -t html  -d "<html>another hello world</html>" \
    update_xblock block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@html+block@994878a552894f67b28b3e050731d5a7

using the usage_key block ID provided from the creation request. This will return data saved to the new page, e.g.:

{
    "data": "<html>another hello world</html>", 
    "id": "block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@html+block@994878a552894f67b28b3e050731d5a7", 
    "metadata": {
        "display_name": "New HTML page"
    }
}

Uploading a video XBlock

A video XBlock needs additional metadata to be specified, e.g. giving the youtube ID. This is provided using the --extra-data argument, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    --create -t video  -d "" \
    --extra-data '{"metadata": {"youtube_id_1_0": "qWxm7CA2v24", "start_time": "00:05:10"}}' \
    update_xblock "New Chapter" "New Sequential" "New Vertical" "New video page"

The response should include the metadata specified, e.g.:

{
    "data": null, 
    "id": "block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@video+block@91b7db1cd22e4e7c9e3068852d78abd8", 
    "metadata": {
        "start_time": "00:05:10", 
        "download_video": false, 
        "display_name": "New video page", 
        "youtube_id_1_0": "qWxm7CA2v24"
    }
}

A transcript can also be uploaded, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    upload_transcript sample_data/example_transcript.srt 91b7db1cd22e4e7c9e3068852d78abd8 --videoid qWxm7CA2v24

and the response should indicate success, e.g.:

{
    "status": "Success", 
    "subs": "qWxm7CA2v24"
}

Deleting an XBlock

To delete an XBlock, use the delete_xblock edxapi command, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    delete_xblock "New Chapter"

The output should confirm deletion, e.g.:

Deleted block-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@chapter+block@f3b7608b609b4edf881531ca00e99c9d, ret=204

It seems the edX platform does properly delete all children of a container which has been deleted, so deleting a chapter deletes all the content in the chapter in addition to deleting the chapter itself.

Static Assets

Listing static assets

To list all the static assets used by a course, use the list_assets command, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
     list_assets

producing JSON output such as this. Note this can be slow, and the output large.

Retrieving static assets

To retrieve a single static asset file, use get_asset and specify the output filename with -o, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
     -o output.js \
    get_asset search_problem_grader.js

To upload a new static asset, use upload_asset, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    upload_asset test.html

with a response indicating success, e.g.:

{
    "msg": "Upload completed", 
    "asset": {
        "display_name": "test.html", 
        "url": "/asset-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@asset+bl...@test.html", 
        "locked": false, 
        "portable_url": "/static/test.html", 
        "thumbnail": null, 
        "content_type": "", 
        "date_added": "Jul 21, 2017 at 12:36 UTC", 
        "id": "asset-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@asset+bl...@test.html", 
        "external_url": "edx.univ.edu/asset-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@asset...@test.html"
    }
}

Deleting static assets

To delete a new static asset, use delete_asset, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    delete_asset test.html

An empty response indicates success; failures will result in an exception being raised.

Getting static asset metadata

To retrieve information about a static asset, use get_asset_info, e.g.:

edxcut edxapi -j -S -v -s https://studio.univ.edu -u st...@example.com -p edx -c course-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course \
    get_asset_info test.html

with output like:

{
    "display_name": "test.html", 
    "url": "/asset-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@asset+bl...@test.html", 
    "locked": false, 
    "portable_url": "/static/test.html", 
    "thumbnail": null, 
    "content_type": "", 
    "date_added": "Jul 21, 2017 at 12:36 UTC", 
    "id": "asset-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@asset+bl...@test.html", 
    "external_url": "edx.univ.edu/asset-v1:edX+DemoX+Demo_Course+type@asset...@test.html"
}

Course Unit Testing

Course Unit Test Specifications

For course functionality testing, edxcut accepts a course unit test specification file (in YAML format), and interacts with the edX course instance, mimicing a live learner, via direct calls to the edX xblock APIs for problem checking and the instructor dashboard, for resetting problem attempts. Test cases specify inputs, and whether the expected graded return should be correct or incorrect, for each case.

The course unit tests file can be produced manually, or by digesting the course XML, or automatically, during compilation using latex2edx. When using latex2edx, you can specify multiple test cases within the \edXabox macro, including both expected correct and incorrect cases.