CS 403 is an introduction to developing content for the web. The web is first and foremost about exchanging documents. Students will learn how to design and develop individual documents called web pages and collections of them called a web site. In practice, this means students will learn two web languages used to develop web pages - HTML and CSS.
In addition to supporting the exchange of documents, the web supports the exchange of data. When we look at web pages that contain stock quotes or weather forecasts we see something that isn't the result of the hard coding of information by some person, but the result of an exchange of information between computers.
Another example is the bookshelf application available on facebook.com. The book cover that is displayed is the result of the bookshelf application talking to a computer which provides a service about books. When we think about amazon.com we think about a web site that sells many things, but, most prominently books. But, it also provides services, one of which is the delivery of book covers to those that request it.
The foundation of these services is the ability to describe information using a language that a computer can understand rather than through natural language which only a person can understand. To describe this kind of information, information available to a computer, students will be introduced to the web langauge XML.
Sometimes, the exchange of information is only an intermediate goal. Sometimes, we want to take that information and ultimately make it avaiable to the user. This ability to transform information from a language designed to exchange information between computers into information accessible to a user is made possible using the language XSLT. Exposure to XSLT will be minimal.
Students will also be introduced to computer networks, because the architecture of the computer network influences much about the design of web languages.
Each time we encounter a new language we need to think about whether it allows us to easily express what we want to express.
At the end of this course, although you will be tested on your knowlege of the individual languages, the expectation is that the lasting effect of this course will be your ability to take this exposure to web languages and leverage it to help you solve problems when you leave the university and start your career. Most, if not all, of you will work in an industry that has a web presence and you will have to contribute to your institution's presence in some way. Hopefully, this course will give you the foundation you need to make that contribution. Not, necessarily, by doing the development yourself, but advising those that will.