T. Andrew Yang 

(yang@grove.iup.edu)
Computer Science Department

HTTP://WWW.CO103.IUP.EDU/

1. Introduction to Web Development

1. World Wide Web as a new computing platform

2. The client-server model

3. The multi-tier model

4. Sample Web applications

5. Alternative Web development technologies

6. Client side development

7. Server side development

8. Summary

2. Curriculum Design

1. Curriculum Design Issues

2. A Sample Course

3. Lessons Learned

4. Specialty Track in Enterprise Computing

References

Designing and Teaching a Web Development Course

Ö  The evolving computing platforms

    What's next in the platform evolution?  See below.

Ö  Characteristics of the Web platform:

   + Web browser becomes the universal front end.

• nearly identical user interface between different browsers

   + Applications are deployed on the Web server.

• The applications are accessed by the users via the Internet.

• Both the client side and the server side programs are stored on the Web server.

   + Web server serves as the bridge (aka. the middle tier).

• The Web server connects the users to the other servers at the back end, such as database servers, application servers, authentication servers, et al.

Ö  Characteristics of a distributed computing platform

   + distributed software components

• Web browsers, Web servers, database servers, application servers, security servers, video servers, …

   + interaction between software components

• program to program communications (browser – server, server – server)

   + distributed, multimedia data

• multiple database servers, legacy data access, heterogeneous data formats

   + heterogeneous network protocols

• TCP/IP, Novell Netware, DEC/Net, SAN Networks, Banyan, AppleTalk, ...

   + middleware

• software modules/components that provide connectivity between other modules 

Ö  A blessing or a curse?

• Physical “distributedness” is a fact!

• Connectivity

• Accessibility

• Universal front end interface

• Power versus complexity

   + Advantages?

   + Disadvantages?

Ö  What's next?

• wireless portable devices

• distributed data + distributed processing

• single-entry portal (aka. virtual centralized platform)