INFO/CS 1300 - Introductory Design and Programming for the Web

General Information

Intro level course in Information Science and Computer Science (crosslisted under both departments). Required course for all Information Science majors. Taught with HTML, CSS, and PHP.

Prerequisites

None, assumes zero programming experience

Topics Covered

• HTML & CSS markup, syntax, debugging
• HTML(5) elements, markup
• CSS classes, IDs, selectors, and specific terminology
• Best practices for HTML & CSS
• Visual design principles & ideas
• Responsive design for variable browser and device size, type, resolution
• Document Object Module presentation, editing, interaction with HTML, CSS
• Introduction to PHP as it interacts with frontend code
• Code partials/templates (include/require) (PHP)
• Control Statements (if/elif/else) (PHP)
• Functions (PHP)
• Iterative and recursive loops (PHP)

Workload

Class is being changed for Fall 2016 semester to be composed of 10 small assignments, versus 3 large projects with relevant milestones. Do not put assignments off until the last minute; see a TA if you need help.

General Advice

• Attend lecture and take notes; while there are lots of online resources for web design, learning things the way it was taught in lecture may save you trouble later if some small nuance comes up.
• Give your best effort to the class and don’t do assignments at the last minute. It’s not possible to get a grade you’re comfortable with by submitting assignments the day before/of.
• Start assignments early and go to office hours if you need help. If you go to OH when it’s quiet, it’ll be like having a one-on-one tutor for free.
• Download an editor that you will like using and doesn’t give you problems. Recommended editors are Atom, Brackets, Notepad++, Sublime.

Testimonials

I took this course with Dan Cosley in Fall 2014 and enjoyed it greatly. The projects were time consuming, but not difficult in nature as long as you started early. Professor & TA were approachable and eager to help with the class. I also TA’ed the course Fall 2015, with Steve Paling. He has a different teaching style that some people are not fans of, but he’s much better one-on-one than in lecture.

Most of the class topics are easily accessible online; I recommend playing around with websites and webpages on your own time, and using the class to check best practices and ask questions. I found the Apple Fest Website redesign project to be very good practice in mock client work. If you are already experienced in the class topics via internships or projects, I don’t recommend taking this class as it is very geared towards those who are absolute beginners. It would be better in that case to take INFO 2300 directly.

Past Offerings