Documented VPL_FILEBASEURL environment variable does not exist

[FeldrinH]

According to the documentation, vpl_environment.sh should contain a variable VPL_FILEBASEURL (https://vpl.dis.ulpgc.es/documentation/vpl-3.4.3+/advancedfeatures.html?highlight=VPL_FILEBASEURL#files-included-and-excluded).

As far as I can tell, the latest version of VPL does not include such an environment variable in the file, and there are no references to VPL_FILEBASEURL in the code that would indicate that this environment variable is ever included anywhere.

What is going on here? Is this just a mistake in the documentation? A remnant of some old removed feature?

[jcrodriguez-dis]

Dear @FeldrinH,

Thank you for reaching out and highlighting the issue with the VPL_FILEBASEURL environment variable in the documentation for VPL version 3.4.3. After reviewing your query, it appears that the mention of VPL_FILEBASEURL in the documentation indeed pertains to a legacy feature that is no longer supported in the latest version of the Virtual Programming Lab (VPL).

This feature was originally designed to generate links in the evaluation report to facilitate easy access to course files. However, The next documentation update will remove this environment var. I apologize for any confusion and inconvenience this may have caused.

For reference, here is a portion of the comment from the Moodle file.php code related to legacy file access:

/**
 * This script fetches legacy course files in dataroot directory, it is enabled
 * only if course->legacyfiles == 2. DO not link to this file in new code.
 */

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Best regards,
Juan Carlos