Fast pace Overview, not nitty gritty details, which will be covered in upcoming classes Not an engineering class If there is something you don't understand, please refer to the MS Word supplement, available on line, and then do your own research Huge range of options now available at low cost Let's first look at choices as to type of web account
By increasing price, capability and complexity Blog account may be free, but doesn't do much, and isn't expandable Pre-packaged design may be easy to set up, but will quickly hem you in Pre-configured business account is often a good choice for small businesses which will never require specialized functions Shared hosting is the "sweet spot," in which you can get a truly amazing range of capabilities, all for only about $9.95 per month VPS hosting differs from shared hosting in that your account functions as though it were its own individual server Dedicated hosting means you rent a server in the facility on which you are the only account (minimum $150 per month, can be much more) Colocation means you own a server that is located in the ISP's facility, and either they manage it, you manage it remotely, or a combination In this class, we will concentrate on the "sweet spot" of a shared hosting account. Let's now take a look at a range of methods for constructing web sites.
Hand coding with just a text editor can be done for HTML, CSS, JavaScript and even scripting languages, all to be covered later. Any text editor will do, including Notepad on Windows, or TextEdit on the Mac. Lots of code editors available. Please do your own research. Server Side Includes can give you quick, basic experience with some interactivity. Server Side Includes are files with an extension of .shtml, which tells the server to read the file, scanning for commands such as "include an external file here," or "show when this page was last modified." Dedicated web development applications make many things easier, but may limit specialized development. If you really want the full power of web technology, you have to use a scripting language.
Sub-domains are useful, but be careful not to get carried away. Can share central style sheet, use their own style sheet, use a modified form of a central style sheet, or combinations. In advanced applications, can be used for email routing Careful with the cookies!
Don't get hung up on this, because it's ok to not specify which is used by your web site.
The command to view HTML source code is specific to your browser. Please look it up for your browser of choice.
This a truly important technology that is easily accessible, because you can practice with CSS within your browser, without even being on the Internet, or having a web account.
Explanation of vector-based graphics versus pixel-based graphics NEXT: You must understand the disadvantages of using Flash!
Bad choice as to graphics format can make your site look horrible, and be terribly slow--the worst of both worlds. Quick explanation of RLE - run-length encoding - and its use in GIF NEXT: Lossless versus lossy
Why would you ever be willing to lose information? To reduce file size, and speed up loading of your pages, and because if you do things right, only an expert can tell the difference. NEXT: Number of colors
"Unlimited" actually means 16.7 million colors. NEXT: Transparency
NEXT: Animation
NEXT: Break time of 10 minutes
In the early days, JavaScript was used primarily for simple functions such as rollovers. JavaScript files loaded as external files within a page are cached by the browser, which means if you use the same JavaScript functions across multiple pages, you can speed up load time of successive pages.
Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language Use more and more prevalent, becoming an essential aspect of web site technique
This is where the real fun begins, where the possibilities truly open up, and where the real work is involved. Can be set up to run on your own computer, but most people just use the server, to reflect real world conditions. NEXT: Scripting languages, one by one.
Nevermind if you don't know what "mod_python" or "Apache server" mean. It's easy enough to look that stuff up. NEXT: Choice of scripting language
NEXT: Web databases
NEXT: Now let's look at some of the advantages.
Brief explanation of cPanel. NEXT: AJAX
The good news: growing libraries of free apps
That pre-packaged design sure won't be "easier" when you have to start from scratch when you quickly outgrow it. Does anybody here actually like seeing that "loading" graphic and watching those "splash" pages?
It's all too easy to be talked into using a technology just because someone you're working with wants to use the technology. You have to decide whether it actually makes sense long term to use that technology.
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