Professor needs help - using Table GUID to ascertain of student plagiarized

[Bernd Koehler]

Hi:

I am a EE prof currently teaching an IT course.

One the assignments students recently completed was designing a small
MS Access Database.

I have two submissions that are remarkably similiar..<sigh> the
structure (number of tables, field names, table names) is virtually
identical. Some of the data in each table is different.

I used the documenter to dump for each database; i noticed each access
object (specifically tables) get a Guid. Comparing the two, I noticed
the table guid's are the same for both.

I have done a lot of reading, searched the knowledgebase, etc.
Unfortunately, I am running out of time.

Any help with the following questions would be appreciated:

- does each Access object automatically get a GUID upon creation? I
know they are assigned if you are doing replication, but it looks like
they are always created when the object (table, record, etc) is. If
so, is there a document (book, article etc) you could point me to.

- under what circumstances could the table GUID's be the same in two
different database files?

- are there any other items I could check to ascertain if they are
the same underlying database?

txs

-- ben koehler
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Kevin3NF]

see below, with the caveat that I am guessing....

--
Kevin Hill
President
3NF Consulting

www.3nf-inc.com/NewsGroups.htm

Hi:

I am a EE prof currently teaching an IT course.

One the assignments students recently completed was designing a small
MS Access Database.

I have two submissions that are remarkably similiar..<sigh> the
structure (number of tables, field names, table names) is virtually
identical. Some of the data in each table is different.

I used the documenter to dump for each database; i noticed each access
object (specifically tables) get a Guid. Comparing the two, I noticed
the table guid's are the same for both.

I have done a lot of reading, searched the knowledgebase, etc.
Unfortunately, I am running out of time.

Any help with the following questions would be appreciated:

- does each Access object automatically get a GUID upon creation? I
know they are assigned if you are doing replication, but it looks like
they are always created when the object (table, record, etc) is. If
so, is there a document (book, article etc) you could point me to.

My "never replicated" test database has GUIDs for each object (tables,
columns, etc.)

- under what circumstances could the table GUID's be the same in two
different database files?

My hunch - none. GUIDs as I understand them are globally unique by virtue
of the way they are created.

- are there any other items I could check to ascertain if they are
the same underlying database?

Not that I am aware of, short of maybe looking in the MSysObjects table (ID
Field), and date created/modified properties for the tables.

I created a new database and imported some test tables. They got new IDs in
MSysObjects.

I would venture that these two databases are a copy of each other with
altered data, as you suspect.

 

[Michel Walsh]

Hi,



Basically, through automation,
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/com/htm/cmf_a2c_05r8.asp,
or through Guidgen.exe,
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/automat/htm/chap8_025b.asp,
you can be *almost* sure there won't be duplicated values so generated,
unless they are intentionally copied (like for Access owns interface id,
they are always the same, on any computer)... but there is always a winner
at any lottery, but most importantly, there may be a valid reason or a
logical explanation about why the same GUID is found on something two
students should have independently generate.

Simple scenario, an example was initially available for illustration of the
problem, they may have started with a copy of that example... or they both
start from a single existing source from the same reference material (book,
web site, ... ) you officially recommended at a point or at another at the
course! You surely don't want "punish" students that were more attentive to
the references you supplied, to what you said during a course, isn't it?
Assuming you have established it is a copy, you still have to establish if
it is an "illegal" copy, that your students were just innovative in some
ways..




Hoping it may help,
Vanderghast, Access MVP

 

[StCyrM]

Good afternoon

As mentioned in other replies, the chances of getting duplicate GUID's are next
to nil.

If you would like a copy of the code of how GUID codes are generated, I'd be
happy to supply it to you, in either MS Access or VB ... your choice.

Best regards

Maurice St-Cyr
Micro Systems Consultants, Inc

 

[Bernd Koehler]

Hi:

Txs for all the replies. Your point is well taken, in
fact, that is what a subset of the students are claiming -
that I handed out a "template". Which I did not...nor is
their case bolstered by the fact that looking up the
document properties reveals the same title as the other
group.

I'm fairly convinced GUIDS are globally unique -- agreed.

Here is a snippet from one of the databases that's output
by the documenter function:

Table: Aircraft Info Page: 1
Properties
DateCreated: 10/8/2003 2:48:57 PM
DefaultView: Datasheet
GUID: {guid {06BFA33B-066D-4161-
LastUpdated: 10/22/2003 11:58:12 PM
BE4A-7695FA464C4B}}
NameMap: Long binary data OrderByOn:
False
Orientation: Left-to-Right RecordCount: 4
Updatable: True

This is for just one table. If you compare the two
submissions table by table, all the GUID's are the same.

What I'm trying to confirm is that when you create a
database, all the objects within it (fields, records,
tables, etc) get a GUID, and that this GUID is the same
as what's created by Guidgen.exe, assigned to Active X
controls, and so on.

txs again!

ben koehler