| ITEC 325 |
| 2020fall |
| ibarland |
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ITEC325 is an introduction to programs to generate web pages and server-side processing, focusing on PHP, forms and data validation, and XSLT. Topics include:
In-person and Zoom lectures This class will be a combination of in-person and Zoom meetings. We'll be in-person for the first week (three meetings, Aug.12(Wed)–17(Mon)). After that, we will play it by ear: For example, we might alternate weeks of in-person and remote (zoom) instruction. Subscribe to the discussion-board D2L » Discussions » Logistics for updated plans and announcements.
As possible, in-person lectures will also be streamed via Zoom. If you are unable to attend an in-person lecture (e.g. because you are quarantining, or are choosing not to attend for health reasons), this option is available. Of course, in my experience (and perhaps yours too), such streams or recordings will likely be a substantially weaker experience than being present. We'll all try to make the best of it.
I'll try to record Zoom meetings and have the cloud-recordings available for 30days (at D2L » Content » Zoom) within 2hrs of lecture finishing. However, sometimes problems occur, so this should not be 100% relied upon.
Office hours:
You don’t need an appointment to drop by during scheduled office hours.
These hours (if printed) are subject to change;
see the class web page for the most up-to-date times.
| MWF | 15:00–16:00 |  |
| TuTh | 13:30–14:30 | |
| or email me some times that work better for you (incl. weekend zoom/discord chat, possibly). | ||
You are encouraged to post (and answer) questions on the D2L discussion board, since you might get another student’s ideas within a few minutes, instead of my response perhaps a day or more later. If your question requires giving away part the answer (e.g. part of your solution), feel free to email me; please include the course-number “ITEC###” in the subject, thanks.
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Larry Ullman
PHP for the Web (The 4e version is acceptable as well.) ISBN 978-0-13-430186-0, |
Optional |
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Larry Ullman
PHP and MySQL (The 4e version is acceptable as well.) ISBN 978-0-13-430184-6, |
Optional. This book largely overlaps with the preceding PHP for the Web; I prefer that for the basics, but this has some material on security that we’ll discuss. |
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Kevin Howard Goldberg
XML ISBN 978-0-321-55967-8, |
Optional |
The above texts are available electronically from
McConnell Library,
via their Safari Electronic Books (you can click on the titles above).
(They require authenticating with your RU password.
They may not always be available: only a limited number
of licenses have been purchased by the commonwealth.)
Between the library’s e-book, the posted lecture notes, and web searches
you should have all the materials you need.
However, many students (and, your prof) still find a physical copy of the book
better for both studying and referencing.
Evaluation:
| Assignments | 60% |
| Project/ | 15% |
| Exams (2) & Quizzes (weekly-ish) | 25% |
Clarity counts in all work for this class (including spelling, grammar, and layout). All submitted material (hardcopy or electronic) must contain both your name and the hw/quiz/exam-number near the top. Any hardcopy submitted must be stapled. If something is due both on-line and hardcopy, the hardcopy must be turned in by the start of first lecture on/after the electronic deadline.
Homeworks may be spot-graded -- some problems graded in detail, others with a cursory ✓+ / ✓ / ✓- / 0. Some problems might be auto-graded (and perhaps not further examined), so be sure to use any function/program/type names specified in the homework. Programs will be graded not only for the extent to which they produce the required results, but also for good style. In particular, the code should be well designed, straightforward and use meaningful identifier names. Every function should have a purpose-statement, signature, and unit tests. A program which does not compile/run might summarily get a 0. (Beware making a last-moment change right before submitting, without verifying that it still passes all unit tests.)
A special word of caution: The assignments for this class will generally require more time than you might assume at first glance. Because error messages can be sparse or non-existent in a web programming context, significant time can be spent tracking down problems like file-permissions or files in the wrong directory (totally unrelated to the complexity of the program itself). You should begin working (at least a little) on each assignment as soon as it is distributed. Allow time for unexpected problems and difficulties such as minor computer downtime.
Some lectures will be traditional, and some will be flipped — the assigned reading / lecture notes (possibly with a video) is to be completed before the class meeting. This frees up the corresponding lecture time to apply those concepts in-depth, perhaps working in small groups. Your cue that a lecture is flipped will be a D2L quiz due at the start of the next class (such quizzes will be posted at least one full class-meeting in advance, unless otherwise announced).
As mentioned above, flipped lectures will include a comprehension quiz on D2L, due at the start of a class. These quizzes are typically un-timed, and may be the average of two attempts (not the maximum). You are welcome to have the quiz open, while reading/watching the lecture notes.
There may also be some short quizzes in class (with or without advanced notice). Fair game for these quizzes to include definitions and examples from the assigned reading/comprehension-quiz, as well as any previous lectures or homework problems.
Final Exam: 2020.Nov.19 (Thu) 10:15–12:15, as per the final exam schedule.
Late Policy: If you know in advance you won’t be able to turn in homework on time (e.g. military duty, or university sports) you must get permission in advance to turn the homework in late. For significant illness or emotional crisis without advance notice, contact the professor as soon as possible to arrange to catch up on the work, and do not access any posted solutions or discuss with others if you are planning to ask to submit late work. Include a pledge statement to that effect at the top of any submitted-late work.
You may not:
You may:
Search the web for solutions to small coding tasks (1–3 lines) which are not the gist of the assignment.
(Even if finding code snippets on the web,
you must type them in yourself from memory, not copy/paste them.
This is to (a) help you process/think about the code you are typing,
and also (b) help keep you from inadvertently copying so much that you’d violate the honor policy.
If you think an exception is reasonable, check with the instructor (perhaps via the message-boards).)
For example, if the assignment is to write a CPU simulation, and happens to involve reading/writing a preferences file, you can certainly search up a sample program which opens a file, reads or writes the words "hello file", and then closes the file (catching any exceptions).
However, if one of the assignment’s problems is to write code which copies one file to another while filtering out all punctuation, up-casing all words, and adding a "#" in front of each numeral you should not search up a program which does all/most of that. (Combining samples that do each of these independently is fine.)
Again, the ultimate requirement is that everything you end up writing should be coming from your own understanding, (not just writing from short-term memory, what somebody else said would work).
If you aren’t sure whether a certain level of help is acceptable, or feel that an exception to these rules is reasonable, stop—don’t give/receive such help until you've clarified it with the instructor. (Starting assignments early enough can give you better opportunity to get help/clarification, should it be needed.)
Class Courtesy
Please refrain from texting during lecture,
and use a computer only for taking notes and looking up material related to lecture
(e.g. looking up how
Zoom Etiquette For classes held entirely on zoom, I ask that you have a webcam, and enable it most of the time. It adds to the ambiance of the entire class, when people can visually see the others attending. (It's fine to eat/drink on camera.) Let me know, if this presents difficult for you. Please contribute to the class discussion (via voice, or Participants » Chat). It's fine to have a chat-thread that's not 100%-discussionm-related, and side chats, within reason.
Other University Resources: Radford has many resources to help you in different ways, including the student counseling services (x5226), and the Harvey Knowledge Center (“HKC”, formerly “LARC”, x7704, radford.edu/hkc ) including access to tutorTrac.
Students seeking academic accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act must register with RU's Center for Accessibility Services (CAS) in Russell Hall 301. Qualifying students should meet with me to arrange accommodations. For more information, call the CAS at 540-831-6350.
 This page licensed CC-BY 4.0 Ian Barland Page last generated | Please mail any suggestions (incl. typos, broken links) to ibarland  radford.edu |
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