Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Stefan Eicker

Description

This course is an introduction to Internet techniques. We will take the point of view of an Internet content provider. The course covers three important areas: Basic Internet techniques including Internet protocols, techniques for providing static content (HTML, XML) and dynamic techniques on the client side (i.e. within a Web browser). The follow-up course Advanced Website Engineering will cover server-side programming including database access.

The first part of the course, on basic Internet techniques, starts with the history of the Internet and fundamentals of network communication. The ISO/OSI reference model, the so-called TCP/IP stack and the TCP/IP protocol family are introduced. The ISO/OSI model is a general framework for communication protocols in heterogeneous networks whereas the TCP/IP protocol family comprises the protocols used in the Internet. Services available in the Internet are presented: Electronic mail and the World Wide Web with their respective protocols, file transfer (FTP), Gopher, NetNews, Telnet, etc. Security of communication as an important precondition for electronic commerce, drawbacks of the existing protocols, and current approaches to enhance security are discussed. The first part concludes with the installation and configuration of a WWW and FTP server under Windows 2000. Such servers are the basis for providing content in the World Wide Web.

In the second part, students learn important tools of Internet programming: the HypertText Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and the Extensible Markup Language (XML). While HTML is the primary language to present documents on web pages, CSS help the developer to define the layout and format of such documents. XML as a universal language adds flexibility to the development of web documents and provides powerful mechanisms for interoperability of web-based systems.

In the third part of the course, the difference between providing static and dynamic information is discussed. Different approaches to client-side and server-side Internet programming are outlined. JavaScript as the most popular language for client-side programming and creating dynamic web pages is presented and studied in detail.

Outline

Part 1: Basic Internet techniques

1. The history of the Internet
2. The ISO/OSI reference model
3. The TCP/IP protocol family
4. Services on the Internet
5. Security on the Internet
6. Installing and configuring an HTTP/FTP server

Part 2: Providing static content

1. Hypertext Markup Language I - IV
2. Cascading Style Sheets
3. Extensible Markup Language I - II

Part 3: Providing dynamic content

1. Limitations of static techniques
2. Overview of dynamic techniques
3. JavaScript I - III

Learning Objectives

After completing this course successfully, students will have gained a basic understanding of the structure of Internet based systems and of the fundamental techniques of Internet programming. They should be able to select appropriate techniques depending on the application problems, and to employ these techniques to develop websites.

Since Internet technology is rapidly changing, and new techniques and tools are becoming available, students should be able to understand, evaluate, and apply such new techniques and tools as well.

Method of teaching

This course is a hypermedia course (type 2). Course material is available as hypertext with links connecting text, graphics and external information sources. Those external sources provide background information from and about organizations that are the driving forces behind the development of the Internet.

The course is divided into lectures and exercises. "Lecture" means that you study hypermedia material in a linear or nonlinear sequence. The time for studying the hypermedia material is approximately two full hours per week.

Exercises are supposed to give you a chance to deepen your knowledge obtained from the lectures. They are planned to take another two hours per week. Exercises comprise theoretical questions, searching for information on the Internet, and solving practical problems with Internet programming techniques. Some exercises require access to tools and technical support provided by the instructor. In such cases, a terminal server at the instructor's site is made available, allowing students to work at home exactly the same way as in a networked computer pool at the instructor's university.

Communication between students and instructors is based on electronic media like discussion forum, bulletin board, chat room, and e-mail.

There will be a final exam at the end of the course.

Requirements

This course requires basic knowledge of using the Internet and elementary programming concepts. You should have Internet Explorer 5.x or above to access the course material and a word processor to answer the homework questions. In order to access the terminal server you will have to use a "Terminal Server Client" or "Remote Desktop Connection". We will provide the necessary software and information on time.

Active participation and hands-on experience are indispensable. Homework will be assigned regularly. Solutions have to be submitted via e-mail and are graded by the instructor.

Credits

5.0 credit points