Online Exam Module

A production-ready online examination system built with Core PHP and MySQL. Features include multi-language support (English, Marathi, Hindi), PDF certificate generation, and a comprehensive admin panel.

Features

• Exam Management: Create and manage exams with customizable settings
• Question Types: Multiple choice (single/multiple answer), True/False, Short Answer
• Multi-language Support: English, Marathi, and Hindi translations
• PDF Certificates: Auto-generated certificates for passing candidates
• Timer & Auto-save: Real-time countdown with automatic answer saving
• Admin Panel: Full CRUD for exams, questions, and viewing attempts
• Security: CSRF protection, prepared statements, password hashing, rate limiting
• Responsive Design: Bootstrap 5 for mobile-friendly interface

Requirements

• PHP 7.4 or higher (compatible with PHP 8.x)
• MySQL 5.7+ or MySQL 8.0+
• Apache with mod_rewrite enabled
• Composer (for PDF library installation)

Installation

1. Clone or Copy Files

Copy all files to your web server directory:

htdocs/OnlineExamModule/

2. Install Dependencies

Install TCPDF for PDF certificate generation:

cd OnlineExamModule
composer install

If you don't have Composer, download it here.

Note: The system will work without TCPDF, but will generate HTML certificates instead of PDF.

3. Create Database

Create a MySQL database for the exam module:

CREATE DATABASE exam_module CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

4. Run SQL Schema

Import the database schema:

mysql -u root -p exam_module < sql/schema.sql

Or use phpMyAdmin to import sql/schema.sql.

5. Load Sample Data (Optional)

Import sample exam data for testing:

mysql -u root -p exam_module < sql/seed_sample_data.sql

6. Configure Database Connection

Edit includes/db.php and update the database credentials:

define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
define('DB_NAME', 'exam_module');
define('DB_USER', 'root');
define('DB_PASS', '');  // Your MySQL password

7. Set Permissions

Ensure the web server can write to the uploads directory (if you add file uploads):

chmod 755 -R OnlineExamModule

8. Access the Application

• Student Interface: http://localhost/OnlineExamModule/public/
• Admin Panel: http://localhost/OnlineExamModule/admin/

Default Admin Credentials

After running the schema, the default admin account is:

• Email: admin@example.com
• Password: admin123

⚠️ Important: Change the admin password immediately after first login!

Directory Structure

OnlineExamModule/
├── admin/                  # Admin panel files
│   ├── index.php          # Dashboard
│   ├── exams.php          # Exam management
│   ├── questions.php      # Question management
│   ├── attempts.php       # View exam attempts
│   ├── settings.php       # System settings
│   ├── login.php          # Admin login
│   └── logout.php         # Admin logout
├── includes/              # Core PHP includes (protected)
│   ├── db.php             # Database connection
│   ├── auth.php           # Authentication functions
│   ├── csrf.php           # CSRF protection
│   ├── translator.php     # Translation functions
│   ├── exam_helper.php    # Exam business logic
│   └── pdf_generator.php  # Certificate generation
├── locale/                # Translation files (protected)
│   ├── en.json            # English
│   ├── mr.json            # Marathi
│   └── hi.json            # Hindi
├── public/                # Public-facing files
│   ├── css/style.css      # Custom styles
│   ├── js/app.js          # JavaScript
│   ├── index.php          # Exam listing
│   ├── exam.php           # Exam details
│   ├── start_exam.php     # Start exam
│   ├── take_exam.php      # Exam interface
│   ├── submit_exam.php    # Submit exam
│   ├── result.php         # Results page
│   ├── generate_certificate.php  # PDF certificate
│   ├── verify.php         # Certificate verification
│   ├── login.php          # User login
│   ├── register.php       # User registration
│   └── logout.php         # User logout
├── sql/                   # Database files (protected)
│   ├── schema.sql         # Database schema
│   └── seed_sample_data.sql  # Sample data
├── templates/             # HTML templates (protected)
│   ├── header.php         # Public header
│   ├── footer.php         # Public footer
│   ├── admin_header.php   # Admin header
│   └── admin_footer.php   # Admin footer
├── vendor/                # Composer packages (after install)
├── .htaccess              # Apache configuration
├── composer.json          # Composer configuration
└── README.md              # This file

Configuration

Database Settings

Edit includes/db.php:

define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
define('DB_NAME', 'exam_module');
define('DB_USER', 'your_username');
define('DB_PASS', 'your_password');

Admin Settings

Access the admin panel at /admin/settings.php to configure:

• Site name and logo
• Default language
• Guest exam permissions
• Certificate customization
• Email (SMTP) settings
• Rate limiting

Adding Languages

1. Create a new JSON file in /locale/ (e.g., fr.json for French)
2. Copy structure from en.json
3. Translate all strings
4. Update the language selector in templates

API Endpoints

AJAX Save Answer

POST /public/ajax_save_answer.php

Parameters:

• csrf_token - CSRF token
• attempt_id - Attempt ID
• question_id - Question ID
• answer - User's answer

Response:

{
    "success": true,
    "message": "Answer saved"
}

Security Features

1. CSRF Protection: All forms include CSRF tokens
2. SQL Injection Prevention: Prepared statements via PDO
3. XSS Prevention: Output escaping with htmlspecialchars()
4. Password Security: password_hash() with bcrypt
5. Session Security: HTTP-only cookies, session regeneration
6. Rate Limiting: Configurable login attempt limits
7. Directory Protection: .htaccess files block direct access

Exam Flow

1. Student browses available exams on index page
2. Student views exam details (duration, questions, passing score)
3. Student enters name/email (guest) or logs in
4. Timer starts, questions load one at a time
5. Answers auto-save on selection
6. Student navigates using question buttons
7. Student submits exam
8. System calculates score and determines pass/fail
9. If passed, certificate is generated with unique ID
10. Certificate can be verified via /public/verify.php

Customization

Styling

Edit public/css/style.css to customize the appearance. The module uses Bootstrap 5 CSS variables for easy theming.

Question Types

The system supports:

• mcq_single - Multiple choice, single answer
• mcq_multiple - Multiple choice, multiple answers
• true_false - True/False
• short_answer - Text input

Adding New Question Types

1. Add type to the questions table type enum
2. Update exam_helper.php calculateScore() function
3. Update take_exam.php question rendering
4. Update admin questions.php form

Troubleshooting

"CSRF token validation failed"

• Clear browser cookies and try again
• Ensure session storage is working

PDF not generating

• Install TCPDF: composer install
• Check write permissions
• Falls back to HTML if TCPDF unavailable

Database connection failed

• Verify credentials in db.php
• Ensure MySQL is running
• Check database exists

403 Forbidden errors

• Check .htaccess configuration
• Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled

Testing Checklist

• Database connection works
• Admin login functional
• Can create/edit/delete exams
• Can create/edit/delete questions
• Student can browse exams
• Student can start exam (guest mode)
• Timer counts down correctly
• Answers auto-save
• Exam submits successfully
• Score calculated correctly
• Certificate generates (if passed)
• Certificate verification works
• Language switching works (EN/MR/HI)
• Mobile responsive layout
• All forms protected with CSRF

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify for your projects.

Support

For issues or feature requests, please create an issue in the repository.