1 This files describes API changes for code that uses the question API.
5 1) The core_question_generator::update_question has been changed so that it no longer modifies the $question
6 object that was passed in. Instead, the update question is returned (which was already the case).
7 If you were relying on the old behavioru in your tests, you will need a change like
8 $questiongenerator->update_question($question, ...);
10 $question = $questiongenerator->update_question($question, ...);
11 Also, the $question object returned now has fields questionbankentryid, versionid, version and status.
13 2) question_stats_cleanup_task has been removed. It is no longer required. Instead,
14 older statistics are deleted whenever a new set are calculated for a particular quiz.
16 3) In the past, the methods get_last_calculated_time() and get_cached() of \core_question\statistics\responses\analyser
17 and \core_question\statistics\questions\all_calculated_for_qubaid_condition
18 only returned the pre-computed statistics if they were computed less than 15 minutes ago. Now, they will
19 always return any computed statistics that exist. Therefore, the constants TIME_TO_CACHE in those classes
22 4) The cache() methods of classes analysis_for_question, analysis_for_subpart, analysis_for_class
23 and analysis_for_actual_response now take an optional $calculationtime, which is used the time
24 stored in the database. If not given, time() is used.
29 1) The question/qengine.js has been deprecated. We create core_question/question_engine
30 and core/scroll_manager to replace it.
32 2) For properties that were previously only declared dynamically, a few classes now include property declarations to support PHP 8.2.
33 The affected classes are:
34 * restore_qbank_customfields_plugin
37 * question_behaviour_attempt_updater
38 * question_engine_attempt_upgrader
39 * qformat_blackboard_six
40 * qtype_multianswer_edit_form
41 * qtype_ddimageortext_drop_zone
42 * qtype_randomsamatch_qe2_attempt_updater
45 Some existing code and variables must be removed while working on this issue, including:
46 * Removed $replace in class qtype_calculated_variable_substituter
47 * Removed $wizarddisplay qtype_calculatedsimple_edit_form::definition_inner()
48 * Removed '$question->places[$placeno]->fieldname = $fieldname' in qtype_ddtoimage_renderer_base::formulation_and_controls()
49 * Removed $mc->single in qtype_multianswer_test_helper::make_multianswer_question_multiple()
51 3) display_move_form() in qbank_managecategories\question_category_object class is deprecated and moved the logic to
52 the question/bank/managecategories/category.php.
57 1) get_bulk_action_key() in core_question\local\bank\bulk_action_base class is deprecated and renamed to get_key().
61 1) Question bank plugins can now define more than one bulk action. Therefore, plugin_features_base::get_bulk_actions has been
62 changed to return an array, rather than a single bulk action class. Please update the plugin_features class in your plugin if necessary.
66 Moodle 4.0 included the results of a major project to re-work the question bank.
68 1) Database changes (as usual, all existing data is updated automatically).
69 * Previously there was a single {question} table. This has now been split into three to handle versionning questions:
70 - question - This now has a row for each version of each question. Therefore, some of the metadata
71 (e.g. category) is moved to the next table. However, data that defines how a question works
72 is unchanged, so question type plugins will mostly keep working.
73 - question_bank_entries - Each question bank entry is a question that appears in the question bank, which can
75 - question_versions - This joins all the versions of a question in the {question} table to the
76 {question_bank_entries} row they belong to.
77 * Also, how other parts of the code refer to questions they want to to has changed, to be managed by the core
78 API in two new tables.
79 - question_references -> Records where a specific question is used.
80 - question_set_references -> Records where groups of questions are used (for example random questions in quizzes).
81 As a result of this, data from the two quiz tables {quiz_slot} and {quiz_slot_tags} was moved to these new tables.
83 2) There is a new plugin type 'qbank' for adding features to the question bank. See question/bank/upgrade.txt.
85 3) Many previously core features have been moved into new plugins, meaning that many old functionsand classes in
86 lib/questionlib.php and other locations have been deprecated and moved:
87 * Moved to qbank_previewquestion:
88 - question_preview_url() is moved to qbank_previewquestion\helper::question_preview_url()
89 - question_preview_popup_params() is moved to qbank_previewquestion\helper::question_preview_popup_params()
90 the following were really part of the internal implementation of preview, so should not have been used elsewhere,
91 but they were also moved (from previewlib.php).
92 - restart_preview() => qbank_previewquestion\helper::restart_preview(),
93 - question_preview_form_url() => qbank_previewquestion\helper::question_preview_form_url(),
94 - question_preview_action_url() => qbank_previewquestion\helper::question_preview_action_url(),
95 - question_preview_question_pluginfile() => qbank_previewquestion\helper::question_preview_question_pluginfile(),
96 - class preview_options_form => 'qbank_previewquestion\form\preview_options_form',
97 - class question_preview_options => 'qbank_previewquestion\output\question_preview_options',
98 * Moved to qbank_managecategories:
99 - qbank_managecategories\helper::question_remove_stale_questions_from_category()
100 - flatten_category_tree() => qbank_managecategories\helper::flatten_category_tree()
101 - add_indented_names() => qbank_managecategories\helper::add_indented_names()
102 - question_category_select_menu() => qbank_managecategories\helper::question_category_select_menu()
103 - get_categories_for_contexts() => qbank_managecategories\helper::get_categories_for_contexts()
104 - question_category_options() => qbank_managecategories\helper::question_category_options()
105 - question_add_context_in_key() => qbank_managecategories\helper::question_add_context_in_key()
106 - question_fix_top_names() => qbank_managecategories\helper::question_fix_top_names()
107 - class category_form => qbank_managecategories\form\category_form
108 - class question_category_list => qbank_managecategories\question_category_list
109 - class question_category_list_item => 'bank_managecategories\question_category_list_item
110 - class question_category_object => qbank_managecategories\question_category_object
111 - class question_category_edit_form => qbank_managecategories\form\category_form
112 - class question_move_form => qbank_managecategories\form\question_move_form
113 * Moved to qbank_exporttoxml:
114 - question_get_export_single_question_url() -> qbank_exporttoxml\helper::question_get_export_single_question_url().
115 * Moved to qbank_exportquestions:
116 - class question_export_form => qbank_exportquestions\form\export_form
117 - class export_form => qbank_exportquestions\form\export_form
118 * Moved to qbank_importquestions:
119 - class question_import_form => qbank_importquestions\form\question_import_form
120 * Moved to qbank_tagquestion:
121 - submit_tags_form and associated external services for question tag,
122 - tags_form in question/type,
123 - core_question_output_fragment_tags_form() => /question/bank/qbank_tagquestion/lib.php.
125 4) The following functions in questionlib.php now using type hinting. So, if you call them with the wrong types,
126 you will now get fatal errors.
129 - get_question_version()
130 - get_question_bank_entry()
131 - core_question_find_next_unused_idnumber()
132 - question_module_uses_questions()
133 - question_page_type_list()
134 - core_question_question_preview_pluginfile()
135 - question_rewrite_question_preview_urls()
136 - question_rewrite_question_urls()
137 - question_get_all_capabilities()
138 - question_get_question_capabilities()
139 - question_require_capability_on()
140 - question_has_capability_on()
141 - question_default_export_filename()
142 - get_import_export_formats()
143 - question_categorylist_parents()
144 - question_categorylist()
145 - question_make_default_categories()
146 - question_get_top_categories_for_contexts()
147 - sort_categories_by_tree()
148 - print_question_icon()
149 - question_sort_tags()
151 - question_preload_questions()
152 - question_move_category_to_context()
153 - move_question_set_references()
154 - question_move_questions_to_category()
155 - idnumber_exist_in_question_category()
156 - question_move_question_tags_to_new_context()
157 - question_delete_activity()
158 - question_delete_course_category()
159 - question_delete_course()
160 - question_delete_context()
161 - question_delete_question()
162 - delete_question_bank_entry()
163 - question_category_in_use()
164 - question_category_delete_safe()
165 - question_context_has_any_questions()
167 - question_save_qtype_order()
168 - question_reorder_qtypes()
170 5) Function question_hash() from questionlib.php is deprecated without replacement.
172 6) The following classes have been moved, to better follow Moodle's name-space usage rules:
173 'core_question\bank\action_column_base' => 'core_question\local\bank\action_column_base',
174 'core_question\bank\checkbox_column' => 'core_question\local\bank\checkbox_column',
175 'core_question\bank\column_base' => 'core_question\local\bank\column_base',
176 'core_question\bank\edit_menu_column' => 'core_question\local\bank\edit_menu_column',
177 'core_question\bank\menu_action_column_base' => 'core_question\local\bank\menu_action_column_base',
178 'core_question\bank\menuable_action' => 'core_question\local\bank\menuable_action',
179 'core_question\bank\random_question_loader' => 'core_question\local\bank\random_question_loader',
180 'core_question\bank\row_base' => 'core_question\local\bank\row_base',
181 'core_question\bank\view' => 'core_question\local\bank\view',
182 'core_question\bank\copy_action_column' => 'qbank_editquestion\copy_action_column',
183 'core_question\bank\edit_action_column' => 'qbank_editquestion\edit_action_column',
184 'core_question\bank\creator_name_column' => 'qbank_viewcreator\creator_name_column',
185 'core_question\bank\question_name_column' => 'qbank_viewquestionname\viewquestionname_column_helper',
186 'core_question\bank\question_name_idnumber_tags_column' => 'qbank_viewquestionname\question_name_idnumber_tags_column',
187 'core_question\bank\delete_action_column' => 'qbank_deletequestion\delete_action_column',
188 'core_question\bank\export_xml_action_column' => 'qbank_exporttoxml\export_xml_action_column',
189 'core_question\bank\preview_action_column' => 'qbank_previewquestion\preview_action_column',
190 'core_question\bank\question_text_row' => 'qbank_viewquestiontext\question_text_row',
191 'core_question\bank\question_type_column' => 'qbank_viewquestiontype\question_type_column',
192 'core_question\bank\tags_action_column' => 'qbank_tagquestion\tags_action_column',
193 'core_question\form\tags' => '\qbank_tagquestion\form\tags_form',
194 'core_question\output\qbank_chooser' => 'qbank_editquestion\qbank_chooser',
195 'core_question\output\qbank_chooser_item' => 'qbank_editquestion\qbank_chooser_item',
197 7) The Behat class for question-related steps has been renamed to behat_core_question
198 to match the expected naming convention. In the unlikely event that you are directly
199 referring to the behat_question class name (nothing in the standard Moodle code was)
200 then you will have to update your reference.
205 1) For years, the ..._questions_in_use callback has been the right way for plugins to
206 tell the core question system if questions are required. Previously this callback
207 only worked in mods. Now it works in all plugins.
209 At the same time, if you are still relying on the legacy ..._question_list_instances
210 callback for this, you will now get a debugging warning telling you to upgrade.
212 2) Previously, the functions question_delete_activity, question_delete_course and
213 question_delete_course_category would echo output. This was not correct behaviour for
214 a low-level API function. Now, they no longer output. Related to this, the helper
215 function they use, question_delete_context, now always returns an empty array.
217 This probably won't acutally cause you any problems. However, you may previously
218 have had to add expectOutputRegex calls to your unit tests to avoid warnings about
219 risky tests. If you have done that, those tests will now fail until you delete that expectation.
224 If you have customised the display of the question bank (using $CFG->questionbankcolumns)
225 then be aware that the default configuration has changed, and you may wish to make
226 equivalent changes in your customised version. The old column question_name_column
227 has been replaced by question_name_idnumber_tags_column. The old question_name_column
228 still exists, so it is safe to continue using it.
230 There is a new question bank column edit_menu_column which displays all actions
231 in a drop-down menu, instead of as separate icons. This is now used by default.
232 Specifically, it gathers all other columns which implement the new interface
233 menuable_action. If you have made a custom subclasses of action_column_base,
234 you probably want to implement the new interface. If your column is a simple action,
235 the easiest way to do this will be to subclass menu_action_column_base. If your action
236 is more complex, and does not follow the simple pattern that menu_action_column_base
237 uses, then you will need to implement menuable_action yourself. The commit for
238 MDL-66816 updates all the core action columns. Looking at that change should make
239 it clearly the changes you need to make to your columns.
244 The code for the is_valid_number function that was duplicated in the
245 qtype_numerical and qtype_multianswer plugins in the qtype_numerical_edit_form
246 and qtype_multianswer_edit_form classes has been moved to a static function
247 in the qtype_numerical class of the qtype_numerical plugin.
249 The exportprocess function of the qformat_default class doesn't output a blank line
250 if the result of the writequestion function is null. This permit to qformat plugins
251 to ignore some questions without the need to overwrite this function.
253 * The question_preview_cron() has been deleted. Please use \core\task\question_cron_task::execute().
254 * The question_usage_statistics_cron() has been deleted. Please use \core\task\question_cron_task::execute().
255 * The method question_bank::cron() has been deleted, please use question related scheduled tasks.
259 1) The question format exportprocess function now adds a
260 $checkcapabilities boolean to allow questions to be exported in
261 certain circumstances.
265 1) The following renderers have been deprecated in favour of the renderable
266 core_question\output\qbank_chooser and associated render_* method.
268 * qbank_chooser_types
269 * qbank_chooser_qtype
270 * qbank_chooser_title
274 1) The argument $requirecourseid was removed from question_edit_setup() and
275 is no longer respected. The behaviour was found to be buggy and now throws
276 debugging notices if passed.
280 1) Some functions in questionlib.php which were deprecated in the past have now
284 * question_list_instances
286 * question_category_isused
287 * save_question_options
288 * question_get_real_state
291 * question_rewrite_questiontext_preview_urls
292 * question_send_questiontext_file
293 * question_pluginfile no longer falls back to using the old
294 {$previewcomponent}_questiontext_preview_pluginfile callback if the new
295 {$previewcomponent}_question_preview_pluginfile callback is missing.
300 1) This is just a warning that some methods of the question_engine_data_mapper
301 class have changed. All these methods are ones that you should not have been
302 calling directly from your code, so this should not cause any problems.
303 The changed methods are:
304 * insert_question_attempt
306 * update_question_attempt_step
311 1) Changes to class question_bank_view:
313 Filters, including $recurse and $showhidden, are now implemented as
314 pluggable \core_question\bank\search\condition classes.
316 Therefore $recurse and $showhidden are no longer passed to the following functions:
317 protected function display_options [deprecated, use display_options_form()]
318 protected function build_query_sql [deprecated, use build_query()]
320 protected function display_category_form() is deprecated. Use \core_question\bank\search\category_condition
322 protected function display_category_form_checkbox deprecated use html_writer::checkbox and separate JavaScript
324 To add filters, local plugins can now implement the function local_[pluginname]_get_question_bank_search_conditions,
326 2) To make columns available to question_bank_view, plugins can extend core_question\bank\column_base.
327 Users may choose to display additional columns by setting $CFG->questionbankcolumns to a comma-delimited list of columns.
329 3) The subsort separator has changed from _ to - in order to distinuguish subsorts vs frankenstyle component separators.
331 4) Because of the move to autoloading, $knowncolumntypes and known_field_types() are no longer used.
333 5) question_bank_column_base and it's derived classes have been namespaced to core_question\bank\column_base.
338 1) Modules using the question bank MUST now declare their use of it with the xxx_supports()
339 flag FEATURE_USES_QUESTIONS. question_module_uses_questions() should be used to determine
340 if a module uses questions.
342 2) It is sometimes necessary to display bits of question content without having
343 and attempt (question_usage) in progress. Two examples of this are the option
344 in the question bank to display the questiontext, and in the quiz statistics
345 report, where it displays the question text above the report.
347 Previously, this display was done using a special method that only worked for
348 the question text, but which would not work for other parts of the question.
349 That old mechanism has been deprecated, and there is a new method that you
352 To display the question, replace calls to question_rewrite_questiontext_preview_urls
353 with calls to question_rewrite_question_preview_urls. Because the new function
354 is more flexibile, you have to pass more arguments.
356 To perform the necessary permission checks when the file is downloaded, you need
357 to implement the callback [component name]_question_preview_pluginfile.
358 (Previously you implemented [component name]_questiontext_preview_pluginfile.)
359 quiz_statistics_question_preview_pluginfile is an example of what to do.
361 question_send_questiontext_file has been deprecated. It is no longer necessary.
363 To ensure you are no longer using or defining any deprecated functions,
364 search for the regular expression:
365 question_rewrite_questiontext_preview_urls|_questiontext_preview_pluginfile|question_send_questiontext_file
367 3) The argument list for core_question_renderer::mark_summary has changed.
368 Please update your calls. (The most likely scenario for this is if you have
369 overridden core_question_renderer::info in your own renderer.) You need to
371 - $this->mark_summary($qa, $options);
372 + $this->mark_summary($qa, $behaviouroutput, $options);