Technical Report: Define a customized course and import it into Moodle without changes to the configuration of the Moodle system

This paper describes an investigation into the possibility of defining a customized course in Moodle, a popular learning management system. The aim was to define a course independently of Moodle, and to implement the course without making any modifications to the configuration of the Moodle system. Two methods were considered: The Moodle REST-API and the restore functionality of Moodle. The latter method was chosen, and the paper details the structure of Moodle backup zip (MBZ) files and the creation of a generator that builds the required file and folder structure. The generator reads a Domain-Specific Language (DSL) document, parses it, and creates the required backup folders and XML files, which are then packed into an MBZ file. This paper provides technical details about the MBZ file structure and the implementation of the generator, as well as a flow chart that describes the steps needed to create an H5P-File into the MBZ file structure. This work has implications for the development of customized courses in Moodle without modifying the Moodle instance.