16 February 2004
Today's Topic: Basic PHP Programming
PHP is a bit like server-side includes on steroids. Like SSI, it’s embedded in the HTML of a page, and is processed by the server before it sends the page to the browser. Unlike SSI, it is a fully-featured programming language, complete with database query capability.
PHP is most often used to create dynamic sites that pull content from a database. However, it can also be used for a variety of non-database operations—customizing the display of a page based on user input, for example, or sending email messages.
In class I’ll show you how to use PHP to build a simple menu system that allows you to avoid framesets while replicating some of their most useful functions, and how to create a PHP-driven alternative to FormMail.
9 February 2004
Today's Topic: Dynamic Sites and CGI
This week’s topic is CGI, or the “common gateway interface.” This is the interface that allows the web server to run a program on the server, and then return the results of the program to the user. Typically, the program will take as an input the contents of a form—whether it’s a simple one-box search form (like Google), or a complex, lengthy registration form.
Before starting on the exercises (which will be a separate post), read Chapter 11 of the Webmaster in a Nutshell book, and the Webmonkey article “CGI Scripts for Fun and Profit.”
You should also review the information we covered on forms, since form attributes like “action” and “method” become very important in the context of CGI.
2 February 2004
Today's Topic: Server-Side Authentication & Server-Side Includes
Tonight we’ll discuss basic web server operation—what gets sent back and forth between a client and a server, and what’s the order of operations.
We’ll cover how to create an .htaccess file to restrict access to a directory on your site (server side authentication), as well as to create a custom 404 error page, or change the way the server handles various file types.
Then we’ll talk about server-side includes, which allow you to process commands on the server for inclusion on your web page.
26 January 2004
Advanced Javascript & DHTML Resources
In class, we’ll be working through the “Revenge of the Menu Bar” DHTML tutorial on BrainJar. This is one of a number of excellent tutorials on the site.
The BrainJar site also has excellent introductions to the Document Object Model and the DOM Event Model, which are useful if you’re going to write your own DHTML scripts.
I’ve also linked to a number of DHTML and Javascript resources over on del.icio.us.
As promised, here’s the link to the CSS Selectors guide I mentioned in class.
Today's Topic: Advanced Javascript & DHTML
Now that you’ve got the basics of Javascript down, we’ll start using it to manipulate CSS objects—turning them on and off, moving them around the screen, etc. When we combine those two technologies, that’s called DHTML, or Dynamic HTML.
This will let us build interesting and useful tools for navigation, site-skinning, and the like.
19 January 2004
Today's Topic: HTML Forms, Javascript, and the Document Object Model
Tonight’s class will have lots of hands-on exercises. We’ll be playing around with javascript and forms, looking at cross-platform issues and incompatibilities.
14 January 2004
Site Survey
Fernanda Viegas, a graduate student at the MIT Media Lab, is doing a survey of people who have weblogs. She’d be grateful if you’d take the time to fill this out:
Thanks!
Don't Post Midterm URLs Here!
There’s no need to post your midterm URLs to this site—but you should place a link to your midterm project on your personal page (the one you turned in for your first assignment).
—
Update, 4:15pm
I guess I was unclear above. Let me try again…
Do not post a comment to the class weblog with your midterm project URL.
Just make sure that there’s a link from the page you created last month (the one you just got a gradesheet for) to the midterm. I already have a list of links to your personal pages…I’ll use that to get to your midterms.
12 January 2004
Today's Topic: Information Architecture II & Usability
We’ll follow up on last week’s material, talking more about thesauri, taxonomies, and ontologies. Then we’ll segue into usability and navigation issues.
We’ll also look at different kinds of web tools for collaborative site and information development, including wikis and the del.icio.us bookmarking site.
5 January 2004
Interesting Links
Many of the links that I discuss in class can be found on my del.icio.us page. It’s a freeform bookmark maintenance system that allows you to share links with others, and subscribe to other people’s lists of links.
group accounts
I have created accounts for each group on our polaris server. The user ID is your group name, and the default password will be given out in class (I strongly encourage you to change the password as soon as possible).
The default web directory on polaris is public_html, rather than www. You’ll need to create the public_html directory in your home directory, and set the permissions (for it and anything you put in it) to allow reading (there’s no “ofw” script on polaris!).
Polaris now supports secure shell (ssh) connections, so I strongly encourage you to use ssh instead of telnet when connecting to the server (you should do this on grace, as well).
information architecture schema examples
Exact Organizational Schema
- Alphabetical: RIT Web Site Catalog
- Chronological: Most weblogs (like Widgetopia)
- Geographical: Weather Underground
- Numerical: Internet RFC Index
Ambiguous Organizational Schema
- Topical: A List Apart
- Task-Oriented: Cartoon Network
- Audience-Focused: FrontierOnline
- Metaphorical: Neopets
Hybrid Schema
- Ebay uses more than one kind of navigation…how many do you see?
Today's Topic: Information Architecture I
The best web sites start with careful planning, and avoid the “Winchester Mystery House” style of on-the-fly architecture.
As we’ve discussed, the difference between 741 and 737 is that in the former we talk about how to build pages while in the latter we talk about how to build sites. That’s the focus of this week’s lecture…how to effectively organize and present large amounts of information in a way that’s useful to the intended audience.
4 January 2004
trip details
A couple of the groups have interviewed me about the requirements for the trip site. Rather than responding to additional individual emails, I’m going to post some general information here.
We leave for Tokyo on February 21st, and will be there until March 3rd, when we leave for Shanghai. We leave Shanghai for Rochester on March 6th.
The trip is almost exclusively for pleasure/touring, and I’m particularly interested in fun and interesting (and not too expensive!) things for my son to do while we’re there—as well as background material for him to read before we go. I’ll be doing some professional work while I’m there, but it’s not the focus of this site, and I’ll have a colleague there taking care of the details.
While in Tokyo, we’ll be staying with friends. They live in Kawasaki, walking distance (a hilly mile) from the Yomiuri Landomae stop on the Odakuu subway line. That goes straight in to Shinjuku.
I have never been to Japan, and speak no Japanese. My son, age 9, has also not been to Japan, but he speaks and reads a bit. My mother has visited Japan many times (and lived there for 3 months at one point in the ‘90s), and speaks and reads basic Japanese (though not fluently).
We’re particularly interested in finding good deals while we’re there—for example, are there reasonably-priced restaurants to eat at in the Shibuya area?
Here are some general thoughts from my mom:
Health: can you find any good advice on how to avoid catching some nasty cold or flu during that long flight?I’ve never taken a tour of Tokyo, though I’ve visited there five times, once for three months. I’ve never seen the emperor’s palace or garden. Will it be open? Is it worth the time? Is there some kind of river tour? Is it supposed to be good? I’ve heard about some new tower in Roppongi — what’s the story on that?
We’ll want to go to Kamakura, where Liz has a former student who offered to act as a guide. Is there some relatively easy material you’d recommend for my grandson to read as preparation? He’ll see the big Buddha and he’ll ask what Buddhism is. And Shintoism.
What shrines will be the most spectacular and dramatic in Tokyo? ( don’t think we can afford the time or money for a trip to Kyoto this time around.)
English language used book bookstores? (Something in Kanda?) New books are good, too, but English language books can be very expensive in Japan.
When we get off the plane at Narita around 5 PM, we’ll be exhausted — especially Lane. Can you help us locate a good and not too expensive hotel near the airport where we can spend the first night?
Oh…and for those of you curious about why I mentioned Inba, my friend and colleague Joi Ito, a Japanese venture capitalist, just bought a new house in Inbamura, and I’m hoping to go out and visit it.
15 December 2003
group assignments
Here are the group assignments:
Group 1 (sake)
Kenichiro Araki
Joseph Carino
Matthew Copeland
Robert Kostin
Aaron Sanders
Group 2 (sushi)
Namgyal Dolker
Vince Falbo
Cher Stanley
Wennie Tao
Chandra Wilson
Keisuke Yamamoto
Group 3 (sashimi)
Christian Crews
Stephanie Chester
Neil Davis
Bakhtiar Dossul
Fuyuko Takegawa
Christopher Lister
Group 4 (sukiyaki)
Anne Buck
David Chelus
Yusuke Kuwahara
Curtiss Markham
Robert Mullen
Matthew Penna
Today's Topic: CSS Positioning and Visual Design
In today’s class, we’ll talk about CSS positioning, and CSS-based design as an alternative to tables-based design. We’ll look at a variety of techniques for laying out pages using CSS, and the advantages of pure CSS-based design.
We’ll also talk about visual design principles and guidelines.
At the end of class, I’ll assign you to your project groups, and we’ll discuss the first group project assignment so that you can get a head start on the design document over the winter break.
12 December 2003
Discussion Items
A few people have asked where they can ask questions about the project so that others can see the answers. One option is to post the questions directly to the assignment. But I’ll start putting discussion items (like this one) up for each assignment as well.
In terms of finding and sharing resources related to class topics, I’d suggest posting those as comments to the class topic entry for that date.
8 December 2003
Today's Topic: Web Standards, Accessibility, and Typography
Today’s discussion will be on web coding standards, which tend to generate almost as many religious battles as operating system choices.
We’ll cover the HTML standards development process, existing HTML and XHTML standards, problems with existing standards, and browser support for standards. We’ll also discuss the issues surrounding separation of presentation and content, and the importance of CSS in standards-based web development.
Closely related to the topic of standards and appropriate coding is the topic of web site accessibility. We’ll talk about different kinds of accessibility, the reasons for building accessible web sites, and some techniques for making sure sites are accessible to all users.
We’ll spend the last hour of class talking about web typography and CSS formatting.
5 December 2003
unavailable
My sister’s husband was killed in a car accident yesterday; as a result, I will not be available on campus or via email until Monday.
3 December 2003
Files Uploaded to myCourses
Since I keep getting email asking me if I received uploaded files, here’s a screen shot of my inbox in myCourses. If your name isn’t here, your upload didn’t work. (Click on the image for a larger version…)
If you emailed it to me, please also upload it to myCourses so that I have them in one place.
If you don’t have access to myCourses yet, please contact the ITS Help Desk (helpdesk[at]rit[dot]edu or 475-HELP) ASAP to get that fixed.
1 December 2003
Today's Topic: Course Overview, Weblogs, and CMS Systems
We’ll review the course web site, including the syllabus and the course outline. We’ll also do introductions, and talk about what makes a web site “good.”
We’ll spend some time discussing weblogs. What are they? How are they different from “regular” web sites? What opportunities and challenges do they present for web developers? Weblogs are a specialized type of CMS, or content management system, so we’ll talk about CMS more generally, as well.
Weblogs will be an integral part of the course this quarter. This site, for example is a special-purpose weblog. Each of you will be creating your own weblogs for posting in-class exercises and links to assignments, as well as your thoughts on lectures and readings.
Because the Movable Type weblog software we’ll be using is a set of programs that run on the web server, we’ll review some basic server concepts so that you can install the programs in your Grace account.
At the end of class, I’ll do a brief review of basic CSS formatting concepts for students who did not have CSS in 320 or 741 class.
26 November 2003
Readings Posted for Weeks One and Two
The readings for the first two weeks of class are now available. Click on a class meeting date in the calendar on the left, or select the class topic from the class outline to see the list of readings—all of which are online. You won’t need your books until after the third week of class.
I’ve also put an “Introductions” item up in the Discussions section of the site. Feel free to post your introduction there before class starts.
Book Changes
I made a mistake in the book order sent to the bookstore, and forgot to remove Steve Krug Don’t Make Me Think! and replace it with Christina Wodtke’s Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web.
I’ve notified the bookstore, and while they may not get the new book right away, you won’t need it until the third week of class.