COSC260 - Web Application Development

Spring, 2007

pages.central.edu/emp/fyfes/courses/web/

• Course Resources
• Instructor Information
• Course Description
• Course Objectives
• Software/Hardware
• Course Procedures
• Grading Procedures
• Course Schedule

COURSE RESOURCES:

• Required Textbooks
  Programming the World Wide Web, third edition. Robert Sebesta. Addison Wesley Publishing.
• Reserve Books
  • cyber ethics, Morality and Law in Cyberspace by Richard Spinello. Jones and Bartlett Publishing.
  • Readings in CyberEthics edited by Richard Spinello. Jones and Bartlett Publishing.
• Web Sites
  • www.jbpub.com/cyberethics
    Take the link for the different chapters at the top of the page. Site provides other material on the ethical issues being studied in the class. Tools for learning link also provides resources that may be helpful.
  • www.javascript.com
    Web site with some possibly helpful javascript scripts and tutorials. There are many other javascript sites - just do a search for javascript.
  • www.w3schools.com/asp/default.asp. ASP tutorial. You can probably find others by doing a search.
  • www.asptutorial.info Another ASP tutorial and list of resources.
  • www.php.net. PHP's web site. Includes a tutorial.
  • webmonkey.com/programming. Includes information about several different languages including javascript, asp and php.
  • samples.gotdotnet.com/quickstart/aspplus/. Several ASP examples presented in class

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Studies the tools and techniques used in developing client server applications for the World Wide Web (Web). Topics include the client server application paradigm, the HTTP protocol, Scripting and other Browser (client) side application tools, and CGI and other Server side application tools. Also includes a study of some of the ethical issues related to the use of the Internet and World Wide Web in today's society.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives for this course include:

• Students will study the typical components of the client server application paradigm.
• Students will learn about the HTTP protocol and how browsers and servers communicate with each other.
• Students will learn and use tools and languages such as Javascript for client side (browser) scripting
• Students will learn and use tools and languages such as ASP and PHP server side scripting and applications.
• Students will consider various ethical issues related to the Internet and World Wide Web and will begin to formulate their own opinion about those issues

SOFTWARE/HARDWARE:
The math and computer science department maintains two servers which will be used for this course. They include a Windows 2000 server running IIS as a web server, and a Linux server running apache as a web server. Three different languages/software packages will be used and studied: Javascript, ASP, and PHP. There are many different languages and tools available today for developing a web application and it would be impossible to study them all. These were chosen because they were representative of what is available, and because they seem to be fairly widely used. While we will be studying the different languages. The main purpose of the class is not to become an expert in the language being used, but rather to learn about the general techniques and procedures that are used not matter what language is used for development.

COURSE PROCEDURES: This course will include some lecture/presentation and lots of hands on work. It is impossible to cover all the aspects of developing a web site in detail in a single course. Typically an overview of some tool or method will be given in class, and then students will be given time to explore some more and build on what was presented in class. A typical format for a week will be to begin a topic on Tuesday and to explore that topic through lecture and small example scripts, then to begin an assignment on Thursday that will be due the following week. Course work will involve the following:

• Paired/Individual Exercises. As tools and techniques are presented in class students will often be given an exercise to complete that uses that tool or technique. This exercise will often begin in class and then students will need to complete the exercise outside of class. Students may work on these exercises as an individual or paired with another person. These exercises will often be due in one or two class periods. For these exercises it is acceptable to find code from other sources as long as you understand what the code is doing!
• Individual Test Exercises. In lieu of tests. Two - Three exercises will be designated test exercises. These exercises must be completed individually, and all code must be yours. Your only resources should be your text book and the instructor. NO BORROWING CODE FROM ANY OTHER RESOURCES IS ACCEPTABLE. ANY VIOLATION OF THIS WILL RESULT IN A SCORE OF 0 FOR THE ASSIGNMENT AND WILL BE REPORTED TO THE ACADEMIC DEAN.
• Quizzes. 2 - 5 short (10 minute) written quizzes will be given throughout the semester. These quizzes will be announced 1 - 2 class periods ahead of time and will cover material just presented in class.
• Group Project: Students will be paired with another student to complete a project that involves a multi-page web site that includes both client and server side development. Groups of 3 students may be possible, but must be approved by the instructor. A project topic will be chosen approximately 1 month into the semester, and project work will begin about mid-term. Some ideas for project topics will be given, but each group will decide what the topic of their web site will be. Attempting to duplicate a site you have seen or used is acceptable as long as the code is not simply taken from that site. Each project should be selected so that it provides opportunities to incorporate many of the topics in the course in a meaningful way. The main requirements for the project are as follows:
  • Content is well designed and uses appropriate HTML tags to format the document
  • Content includes 3 - 10 pages (or more) that are statically or dyamically generated
  • Dynamic content is generated using both client side scripting and server side scripting and/or programming.
  • The site has at least some pages that maintain "state" from one page to another. Information from one page is passed to and used to generate the content of another page.
  • The site involves the storage and retrieval of information on both the client side and the server side.

  In place of a final exam, students will give 10 - 20 minute presentations on their project. A score for the presentation will be included in the final grade for the project. The presentation will be an important tool for you to highlight what you did on the project, and make sure the instructor sees all the interesting work you did. It should be viewed as a presentation being made to a client who has contracted you to develop their web site. Students will also be asked to view other groups sites and provide a rating of that site.

• Social Issues Project: Students will also complete an ethical issues project that will involve researching an issue of their choosing through reading and class discussion, and writing a short paper and giving a brief presentation on the issue. The research and writing will be completed early in the semester and the presentations will take place during the second half of the semester. A timeline for completing the parts of the project is given in the course schedule below.
  • Choosing a topic and reading. The topic should be chosen from the books that are on reserve in the library. Students are required to pick one Chapter from cyberethics, and one article from the corresponding chapter in Readings in Cyberethics. Several students may choose the same chapter from cyberethics, but students may not choose the same article from the readings book. The chapters in the 2 books correspond as follows:
    • Chapter 1 in cyberethics should be read with articles from either Chapter 1 or Chapter 6 of the readings
    • Chapter 2 in cyberthics should be read with articles from Chapter 2 of the readings
    • Chapter 3 in cyberthics should be read with articles from Chapter 2 of the readings
    • Chapter 4 in cyberthics should be read with articles from Chapter 3 of the readings
    • Chapter 5 in cyberthics should be read with articles from Chapter 4 of the readings
    • Chapter 6 in cyberthics should be read with articles from Chapter 5 of the readings
    You should notify the instructor after you have selected your readings. In addition to these two sources, students must also find several other sources related to their topic. This might be material from another book or journal in the Library or an article from a web site. One of the links above includes a web site for the readings book that includes links to additional articles.
  • Paper and Presentation. Following the reading and research, each student will be required to write a 2 - 3 page paper on their issue. The paper should provide an overview and background of the issue taken from your reading and research, and give your opinion on the issue. A 5 minute presentation about your paper will then be given to the class.

Academic Honesty. Collaboration in Computer Science, as in almost any field, is very important. Many apects of this course can be completed in pairs or groups. However, it is also important that individual students learn the material. When working on homework projects, you are encouraged to discuss your answers with other students and to look for other resources on the web and elsewhere. However, you should understand the code that you are turning in! When developing a program it is often beneficial to talk with others to get their input, however you or your group should not be turning in the work of another individual or group. It is acceptable to look at another individuals code if you are assisting them. You should not, however, let someone look at your code in order to show them how you did it, or to give them specific instructions on how they should change their code (other than to find syntactical errors).

Plagiarism and cheating of any form are serious offenses and may result in an F for the assignment, the course, or expulsion from the college. The details of Central's Academic Integrity policy are found in the Student Handbook, on the web. A copy will be sent to you via e-mail during the first week of the semester. It is your responsibility to read and understand the contents of that policy before you submit work to be graded. Questions regarding the policies and enforcement of the policies may be addressed to me during class or during office hours.

GRADING PROCEDURES: Students will be evaluated on their understanding of the concepts being covered in class, and their ability to apply those concepts in the assigned projects, exercises and quizzes.

The final grade will be determined by the following distribution:

and the following TENTATIVE scale will be used to determine the final grade

Projects, exercises, and papers will be due by 5:00 pm on the day they are due. Late work will be accepted, but will lose points at the discretion of the instructor. Work that is turned in after it has been graded and handed back will receive a more severe late penalty.

Mock Trial participants, choir tour participants, athletes, and others who must miss a class for participating in a college sanctioned event are expected to notify me in advance and complete work including tests in advance of the absence. It is the student's responsibility to communicate with me in advance regarding their absences and determine a schedule for make up work.

Central College abides by interpretations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that stipulates no student shall be denied the benefits of an education "solely by reason of a handicap." Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, hearing, sight, or mobility impairments, and other health related impairments. If you have a documented disability that may have some impact on your work in this class for which you may require accommodations, please see me and Nancy Kroese, Director of Student Support Services and Disabilities Services Coordinator, (x 5247) during the first two weeks of the semester so that such accommodations may be arranged.

COURSE SCHEDULE: The following topics will be covered in the class. Changes to the schedule may be made as necessary. Exercises and Projects will be posted here as well.