Class Overview

Class Overview

This class has a primary focus on developing skills and techniques which will be part of the foundation of almost any technology project with which you are involved. Almost any website you visit, any app you use or web enabled device you use relates to a database in some way. It’s not too strong to say that you will use what you learn in this class in nearly every other technology situation you find yourself in. At the very least you will have a better understanding as to what goes into the pages, apps, and devices you use on a given day.

Through the 10 weeks, you will be working on a project that we will build in a little each week. As we introduce new concepts, you will incorporate them into this project. For this class, we will be starting with a rudimentary static pages bookstore and turning it into a dynamic site which will include book and product listings, a management tool, a user account with login and some other bells a whistles. Don’t worry!! As long as you have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS you will be ok. One of the first “events” we have on Blackboard will be a review of these HTML concepts and techniques.

Quick Note: This is a class which involves thinking through technical issues, writing code and imagining how people interact with web sites and data. Obviously, the web is a visual media but the primary focus is not stellar graphics or flawless graphic design. A basic level of visual appeal is expected but don’t worry if you are more code oriented than graphic/color focused. Working code is more important that perfectly coordinated color choices and just that oh-so-perfect accent color. Do your best but don’t stress.

Another Quick Note for those who have taken other programming classes: DO NOT UNDERESTMATE THE AMOUNT OF WORK IN THIS CLASS. This is mostly directed to people who taken more advanced programming classes such as Java or C. This is a completely different realm of code, thought process and development. Many former students who have not done well did so because they had an “it’s ‘only’ HTML” mentality and put it off all the work until the end of the semester and found the learning curve a bit steeper than they expected.

Another Quick Note for those who have NOT taken other programming classes and are freaked out by the previous quick note: Relax. You’ll be fine! The pre-reqs for the class are HTML and CSS and that’s all you need to know to start.