Groups external database sync tool for Moodle

This plugin syncs course groups using an external database table.

Author

Michael Vangelovski, Canberra Grammar School [email protected]

Features

• Can be triggered via CLI and/or scheduled task.
• Syncronises course groups
• Syncronises users in cohorts
• Does not affect groups that are created/managed separately to this plugin.

Installation

1. Download the plugin or install it by using git to clone it into your source:

   git clone [email protected]:cgs-ets/moodle-tool_groupsdatabase.git admin/tool/groupsdatabase

2. Then run the Moodle upgrade

External database requirements

Only a single table/view is required in the external database which contains a record for every course => group => user combination. If the table is large it is a good idea to make sure appropriate indexes have been created. The table/view must have the following minimum fields:

• A unique course identifier to match
  • the "idnumber" field in Moodle's course table (varchar 100), which is manually specified as the "Course ID number" when editing a course's settings
  • the "shortname" field in Moodle's course table (varchar 255), which is manually specified as the "Course short name" when editing a course's settings
  • the "id" field in Moodle's course table (int 10), which is based on course creation order
• A unique group identifier
• A name for the group
• A unique user identifier to match one of the following fields.
  • the "idnumber" field in Moodle's user table (varchar 255), which is manually specified as the "ID number" when editing a user's profile
  • the "username" field in Moodle's user table (varchar 100), which is manually specified as the "Username" when editing a user's profile
  • the "email" field in Moodle's user table (varchar 100), which is manually specified as the "Email address" when editing a user's profile
  • the "id" field in Moodle's user table (int 10), which is based on user creation order

Setting up the groups sync (How to)

In Moodle, go to Site administration > Plugins > Admin tools > Groups external database > Settings.

• In the top panel, select the database type (make sure you have the necessary configuration in PHP for that type) and then supply the information to connect to the database.
• localcoursefield - in Moodle the name of the field in the course that uniquely identifies the course (e.g., idnumber).
• localuserfield - in Moodle the name of the field in the user profile that uniquely identified the user (e.g., username).
• remotegroupstable - the name of the remote table/view.
• remotecoursefield - the name of the column in the external database table that uniquiely identifies the course.
• remotegroupcodefield - the name of the column in the external database table that uniquiely identifies the group.
• remotegroupnamefield - the name of the column in the external database table that contains the group name.
• remoteuserfield - the name of the column in the external database table that uniquiely identifies the user.
• removeaction - Select whether to remove or keep groups/group memberships that are removed from the external database table.

The edit the cron schedule, go to Site administration > Server > Scheduled tasks and edit the task named "Sync groups with external database".

Support

If you have issues please log them in github here: https://github.com/cgs-ets/moodle-tool_groupsdatabase/issues