Releases

Welcome EduTools plugin v2.7: YAML support, Algorithmic Toolbox by Coursera, and more

Our newest plugin update to v2.7 comes with YAML support for course creators, multiple-choice task support, new courses, and 2019.1.2 IDE builds for PyCharm Edu and IntelliJ IDEA Edu.

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Scala Tutorial
Algorithmic Toolbox

YAML support

Course creators, welcome a completely reworked solution for course configuration files storage! Previously, all course metadata was stored in XML format. Now you can see all the information about your course conveniently stored in YAML format. We worked hard to make this possible and we hope that you will like the YAML support as much as we do.

YAML has a number of advantages such as:

  • Simple and understandable structure of configuration files
  • Easy VCS storage with a more clear diff
  • Highlighting for invalid values and suggestions of available variants for values in completions
  • Lightweight and readable document appearance achieved by the reduction of tags and delimiters

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Read the documentation for more information about YAML and new configuration guides.

You can also take a quick look at a YAML guide in the Course Creator mode – select YAML Help tab next to the Task Description panel.

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Multiple-choice tasks

We’ve added multiple-choice tasks support for courses created via the plugin (previously, only choice tasks from Stepik courses were supported).

To create a multiple-choice task:

  • open the task-info.yaml file
  • set type to choice
  • set true or false for is_multiple_choice field
  • add properties for task options

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New courses

Scala Tutorial

Our new featured Scala Tutorial course provides a quick intro to the Scala programming language. Its content is based on the open source Scala Tutorial and covers the basics of functional and object-oriented programming in a hands-on series of exercises.

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Install the Scala plugin or download the IntelliJ IDEA Edu with the bundled Scala plugin, go to File | Learn and Teach | Browse courses, select Scala Tutorial, and get ready to learn!

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Algorithmic Toolbox by Coursera

The Algorithmic Toolbox course on Coursera is a part of the specialization “Data Structures and Algorithms”. The course covers basic algorithmic techniques and ideas for computational problems arising frequently in practical applications: sorting and searching, divide and conquer, greedy algorithms, and dynamic programming.

Image by coursera.org
Image by coursera.org

Since the course was introduced, learners have been able to complete programming assignments in various programming languages. Now, for those students who are submitting solutions in Python, the course provides integration with the EduTools plugin and encourages learners to solve programming challenges in PyCharm Edu before submitting the solution on the course page. As a professional IDE, PyCharm Edu helps learners format and structure their code, as well as test and debug it.

Go to File | Start Coursera Assignment and select Algorithmic Toolbox. Solve programming assignments and submit them to Coursera.

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Note that the course is featured on Coursera and is a paid one. You can still solve tasks and run basic local test cases for free, but you need to join the course on Coursera to submit, verify on a large number of test cases and get a certificate. At Coursera, a trial period and financial aid are available.

IntelliJ IDEA Edu and PyCharm Edu 2019.1.2

Please welcome the IDE builds for PyCharm Edu 2019.1.2 and IntelliJ IDEA Edu 2019.1.2 (IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition with the EduTools plugin). They combine the builds for PyCharm 2019.1.3 and IntelliJ IDEA 2019.1.3 and the latest plugin updates in v2.7.

CHOOSE YOUR EDU IDE

Your Educational Products Team

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