Ambient compiler

There was some thought about how to improve the teaching of programming at the OU. I had an odd thought.

Why not have a 'compiler' on line? that is your code is stored on the server and then you access the code from a text box on a web form. One of the form buttons is 'compile' which does some ajaxy magic which then sends the text back to the server where the text is compiled. The error messages are then stuffed back into the html code. When the user clicks 'run' the code is executed on the server and the result is piped back to the output a new window on the client.

Ok why do this? The problem is how to automatically evaluate the work of students. I suspect most people think about how to take the 'product' ( final source code) and mark it ( together with supporting info). This requires trying to understand the process from the source (alone). That process is one which requires someone experianced not only in the lanaguage but java and process I belive that would be impossible to automate. The degree of success of this depends on how much you belive in automatic teaching.

Well if you have the code on the server then you get a stream on log files that indicate who the code evolved. the problem is to find out if the code genuinly the result of the pupil or the result of some creative 'cutting and pasteing'. As such providing the code matches the desired output then if the production process appears normal then the pedigogical results must be achived.
http://try.flex.org/ example of one line compiler of a flex language.
http://nirvana.informatik.uni-halle.de/~thuering/php/latex-online/latex.php Online LaTex compiler.
Online java upload based compiler

i like the idea of a website where the documentation and compiler text box are surrounded by other useful links ( chat room?). not perfet for hard core coders but good as a beginner space.