CSCI 1150 - Fundamentals of the Internet and the World Wide Web - Spring 2008

General Information

Course Description

Topics covered include electronic mail, Internet service providers, text editing, basic UNIX programming, researching and publishing online, the Internet, the World Wide Web, searching the World Wide Web, telnet and FTP, HTML programming, web graphics, newsgroups, mailing lists, chat rooms, programming CGI scripts, multimedia, and privacy and security issues.

Textbook

Raymond Greenlaw, Ellen Hepp, Inline/Online: Fundamentals of the Internet & the World Wide Web, 2nd Edition McGraw-Hill, 2002, ISBN: 0072367555

Prerequisites

MATH 1001 or MATH 1111

Tentative Course Plan

Lectures

1. Internet Applications
   1. Remote Shell
   2. File Transfer
2. Jump Start: Browsing and Publishing
   1. The Browser
   2. HyperText Markup Language Introduction
   3. Web Page Installation
3. The Internet
   1. The Internet Defined
   2. Internet History
   3. The Way The Internet Works
4. HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
   1. Basics
   2. Web Graphics
   3. CSS Tutorial
5. Searching The World Wide Web
   1. The World Wide Web Defined
   2. Search Fundamentals
   3. Search Strategies
   4. How Does a Search Engine Work
6. Advanced HTML
7. Fundamentals of Electronic Mail
   1. Mail Terminology
   2. Mail Program Features
   3. Email Inner Working
8. Other Internet Applications
   1. Newsgroups
   2. Mailing Lists
   3. Chat
9. Electronic Publishing
   1. Electronic Magazines and Newspapers
   2. Online Books
   3. Multimedia
10. Web Programming Material
    1. Client Side Programming
    2. Server Side Programming
11. Privacy and Security Topics
    1. Encryption Schemes
    2. Digital Signatures
    3. Software Complexity and Firewalls

Labs

I plan to have four labs in this class, possible more if necessary. All labs should be used to work on the web project and to clarify any questions you may have. Besides that I plan to address the following topics:

• Lab 1: Learn how to create and edit files using programs and how to organize files in folders.
• Lab 2: Learn to use a text editor to create your first web presentation. Learn to use SSH Shell and SSH File Transfer programs and set up your web page on the Unix machine. Learn how to update your web presentation and how to add links to your pages.
• Lab 3: Learn how to add images to your presentation and how to resize an image.
• Lab 4: Learn a few techniques for debugging your web presentation:learn to view an HTML document source code, learn how to verify the correctness of your HTML code using WDG HTML Validator and check for broken links using the Link Checker

Grading

Grading will be based on:

• four assignments (12% each)
• a project checkpoint (12%)
• a project (20%)
• a final exam (20%)

Make-up exams and late assignment policy

If you miss an exam or you miss a deadline for an assignment, you need to have a serious reason for which you provide documentation to be able to retake the exam or resubmit the assignment. You should contact me about rescheduling an exam or resubmitting an assignment as soon as possible.

Project

You will design and publish a web project. You decide on a theme for your project. You can do a personal page, a hobby, your major, or some other topic.

The evaluation will be based on how well the theme ties together, presentation, creativity and on how well the guidelines are followed. Section 4.4 and 4.5 from the textbook describes a few good web presentations and describes some key elements of an effective web presentation. Here is some advice on how to improve your web presentation based on mistakes I have seen in students projects.

Project guidelines

• Your project should be accessible at http://astro.armstrong.edu/~yourUserName/
• Your project should include at the beginning a paragraph describing what the project is about. Express what your theme was and what you were trying to do.
• You should include at least 5 links and one outside link.
• You should include at least five images
• Your project should contain at least 5 typewritten pages of text (300 words per page).
• Your project should be free of errors: spelling errors, HTML errors (broken links, broken images)
• Your HTML code should be formatted nicely: 80 characters per line, begin and end tags should be either aligned or at the beginning and the end of a paragraph.
• Your project should look good in both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox

Make sure you finish your project by the deadline date. No late projects are accepted. Once the project due date passes do not modify your files until your receive a grade.

Project checkpoint

You should have your theme chosen by this time. Your project should be published on astro and about 50% of the content should be available.

Important dates

1. Semester: January 9 - April 30
2. Lab One: January 15
3. Lab Two: January 29, February 5
4. Last date you can drop the class without getting a WF: February 29
5. Lab Three: February 19, February 26
6. Project Checkpoint: March 24, March 25
7. Lab Four: April 8, April 15
8. Project Due: April 30
9. Final Exam: May 8, class time