File Conventions for Canvas Assignments

The file conventions outlined here apply specifically to any homework and test files that you submit on Canvas. Note that these conventions do not apply to the HTML and CSS exercises that we ask you to post on the public web, since these require special naming conventions.

How to name homework or test files

For us to keep track of files that you submit on Canvas, it is important that we can organize them by your last names, and by their file extensions. Therefore, we ask that you follow these guidelines in naming your files:

• Filenames must begin with your surname in all lower case letters
• Filenames must end with a file extension and it must be the right file extension for the assignment. For example, an XML filename must end with .xml, a Relax-NG Schema file must end with .rnc, and an HTML filename must end with .html. (We’ll tell you what file extensions you will need to be using as we proceed in the course.)
• Filenames must not contain white spaces! This is very important!
• Filenames may only contain letters, digits, hyphens, underscores, and periods (no other characters or punctuation marks are permitted).

Filenames for homework assignments should begin with your surname and include information to help identify the assignment, such as the unit and the date. Here is a good example of how to name the second homework assignment in the XML unit that is due on September 2:

Either system is appropriate. The most important parts of the file names for us are the surname and the file extension at the end.

File formats

Prepare and submit your coding assignments on Canvas as plain-text files with the appropriate file extension at the end. For each kind of code we write, we will show you how to do this. If we ask you to submit papers to Canvas, prepare them as Word documents with a .docx, .doc, or .rtf file extension. Please do not submit PDF files, since we will be commenting directly on your files as we grade and that is difficult to do with a PDF file.

Uploading files and including comments within your files

Assignments or tests submitted to Canvas must be uploaded as attachments, not copied and pasted into a text field. We ask that you do not type comments or questions into these Canvas text fields either (because we may not see them and because they will be distant from your work). Instead, please include your comments and questions inside your assignment file. Note: It is a very good idea to include comments and questions for us, and we will show you how to format these inside your assignment files for the different forms of code we are writing.