LCCC- CISS243 - Fall 2004

home stretch!

2004-12-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

don't give up now...
get your projects and labs in!

not really relevant, but a very interesting article...

2004-11-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

Are Usability and Security Two Opposite Directions in Computer Systems?

asp.net tutorial...

2004-11-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

here is a nice asp.net tutorial

winding down...

2004-11-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

i know we have gone over a lot of stuff over the last week or two. the good news is that, in terms of concepts, we have gone over most everything. what we will be doing over the next few weeks is working on applying these concepts in some of the many ways they can be applied. so if you missed something the first time through, we'll probably hit it again,

if, hypothetically...

2004-11-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

your instructor wanted you to create a hyperlink column on a datagrid, this article might be useful

datagrids: the mini-series...

2004-10-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

a 16 part(!?) series from 4 Guys From Rolla

reflections...

2004-10-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

this is where the fun really starts in this class. the first 8 or 9 weeks are making sure we have the fundamentals down, now we are putting it all together to start where we can build more robust applications. you folks are doing great - keep those assignments coming!!!

midterm

2004-10-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

i was in general very pleased with the results of the midterm. coding in a timed testing environment is never easy, but you folks did well.

take a minute to pat yourselves on the back...

but just a minute, cause the toughest work is ahead!

however, you are in a position to handle it...

browser compatibility issues in asp.net

2004-10-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

here is a discussion of the exact thing we discussed today in class...
perhaps we will try the suggestion in class

three tier

2004-10-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

in this class we talk about separating the business logic and database access from presentation. in format terms, this is known as a three tier architecture. this concept is true in all software development, not just .net....

resuability, and ease of maintenance is the key here, as with most good software design. when all three components are tangled together (as was often the case in regular asp) things were hard to change

reminder

2004-10-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

to those keeping blogs...
one "reflective" post per week...

one post that contains a resource about a current topic we are studying plus comments...

we are starting to stray from this format - myself included...

assessment

2004-09-14T06:27:00.000-07:00

today, i am going to give an ungraded quiz.

why an ungraded quiz?

a major push for us at lccc is the notion of assessment - are we actually teaching what should be covered in the class. so i created the quiz to assess how well you understand a specific outcome of this course:

The students shall: evaluate appropriate use and strategies for client-side
scripts, server-side scripts, and compiled server programs.

i will use the results to assess how well i covered the material. i think we covered it adequately. this will show one way or another.

you should also use this quiz to self-assess. if it seemed really easy - good for you. it should. if you struggled with just a few - no worries - might just be the wording, or maybe you need to brush up a bit. but if the quiz was baffling, then we need to work together so you understand this concept, as it is critical.

form design...

2004-09-14T06:23:00.000-07:00

read a chapter about form design from the book defensive design for the web, by the design team 37signals.

the chapter reiterates much of what i discussed in class re:form design, supplements it with real examples and even *gasp* goes beyond what i covered in a few areas. very easy to read. i am going to order the book into the library.

validation

2004-09-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

here's a nice page about validation. the code is kind of involved - the good news - it's fairly well commented

besides the code - the text is good. this particular validation does one field at a time as entered - and does the whole form when submitted - how do you think they do that?

reminder...

2004-09-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

just as a reminder to those keeping blogs:
you are to make 2 posts per week:
one post should be your reflections on ciss243
one should be a link relevant to what we are discussing

assignments

2004-08-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

a number of students misinterpreted the first assignment. i do my best to make them clear, but i sometimes find what seems clear to me can be misinterpreted. i will continue to try to be clear - and if anything seems fuzzy, please don't hesitate to ask. those who misinterpreted the assignment, i will give you the opportunity to redo it for full credit.

client side validation

2004-08-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

here is a nice article about client side validation.

form data validation is very important. a mix of client and server side validation gets you the best of both worlds. for users with javascript enabled (the vast majority), it gives immediate response and saves the server from trying to process obviously bad data. however, server side validation will catch errors for those who have turned off javascript. additionally, more complex validation can be done (say, a credit card number) on the server side.

common web development mistakes

2004-08-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

here is a list of common web development mistakes

many of the mistakes center on one thing - assuming that you know what the client has. examples: being to ie-centric, javascript dependency, flash dependency, using browser or specific deprecated attributes.

good websites work well across all possible platforms. a number of the other errors relate to things that make sites less accessible to those with disabilities.

new semester!!!

2004-08-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

it is always exciting at the start of the new semester. this class is typically a very fun one to teach for a number of reasons. in many respects, this class puts all the pieces together and teaches what one needs to know to put together robust database driven web sites. most of the large sites on the internet use server side technology.

i hope you all try the extra credit project. it is really fairly easy and i think rewarding. those who do attempt it, please let me know the URL and if i can link to it from this and our page on angel.