aSc to ManageBac

Getting started

Requires Python 3.6 or above. For Windows, install Python via the Microsoft Store. For Mac, install Python at python.org. Installing Python also installs a package manager (called pip) that can install the command asc2mb into your command line environment.

After installing Python, open the terminal or command line or PowerShell, and peform the following:

pip install asc2mb

If for some reason the pip command doesn't work, you can manually install it by following the relevant instructions for your system.

Upgrade

Should you need to update to the latest version, you can do:

pip install --upgrade asc2mb

Use

After pip install worked, it is now installed on your path, and the command asc2mb should be available:

asc2mb ~/path/to/xml.xml ~/path/to/save/timetable.csv ~/path/to/save/classes.csv

It takes only a second to run. It reports how many records it processed.

Algorithm

This script uses input from more than one international school to generate the expected output. The key to success is using aSc Divisions to match the uniq_ids found in ManageBac classes.

Help

For built-in help, and list of options and their functionality:

asc2mb --help

Options

The command takes three required arguments — where the xml file is located, and where to save the two csv files — plus options that depend on your school's needs.

The class ID is how ManageBac knows which class you are referring to, so the program derives it from information in the xml file. It's up to you to ensure there are classes with those IDs in ManageBac, but the program does produce a csv so they can be uploaded in bulk.

• --class_id_pattern picks a named rule for building class IDs. The default combines the class short name and the division name, e.g. G6_Science A. Other rules use the class name or the subject name/short. Adding a school-specific rule is a small pull request: write one function in asc2mb/patterns.py and register it.
• --class_id_prefix / --class_id_suffix add consistent text around every class ID (for example -2526 for the academic year).
• --section_pattern picks a named rule for each class's Section; the default numbers the divisions starting at 1.
• --teacher_email_pattern builds teacher emails when the xml doesn't include one. It is a template with the fields {name}, {first}, {last}, {initials}, and {name_dotted}; the result is lowercased. The default is {name_dotted}@example.com, producing e.g. abbott.alice@example.com.
• --smart_combine (on by default) merges divisions joined under one teacher (aSc "Join classes") into a single class: G6_Science_A + G6_Science_B becomes G6_Science_AB. Turn it off with --dont_combine.
• --student_enrollments <path> also writes a student-enrollments csv. It requires a subject-based --class_id_pattern (subject_short or subject_name), because aSc does not associate student enrollments with divisions.

Development

The code lives in the asc2mb package: parser.py reads the xml into typed records, patterns.py holds the named class-ID/section/email rules, convert.py turns lessons into rows, output.py writes the csvs, and cli.py ties it together.

To run the tests:

pip install -e . pytest
pytest