UCSD
Web Publishing Resources
Web Pub I
Blackboard.com
Track your grades, take your quizzes, etc. --
Requires registration and an enrollment
password
Course Sample Files
Web Pub II
Web
Pub II Blackboard.com
Track your grades, take your quizzes, etc. --
Requires registration and an enrollment
password
Course Sample
Files
Web Pub III
Web Pub III
Blackboard.com
Track your grades, take your quizzes, etc. --
Requires registration and an enrollment
password
Web Pub III
Sample Site
Web Pub I
Required: HTML
& XHTML : The Definitive Guide
Recommended:
HomeSite
4.5 for Dummies
-or-
Sams Teach Yourself HomeSite 4 in 24 Hours
Web Pub II
Required: HTML 4 for the World Wide Web, Fourth Edition: Visual QuickStart Guide
by Elizabeth Castro
Recommended:
DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide
by Jason Cranford Teague
Web Pub III
Required:
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville
AND
Don't
Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
and Roger Black
Recommended: Web Navigation: Designing the User Experience
by Jennifer Fleming
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At UCSD our analogy is that there are many paths to
the Web Development "pond" and individual technical and design
skills as well as aptitude help determine the Web development path you will
choose.
In the Web Pub courses, I try and expose all of my students to a variety of
development tools so that when you come out the other end with a certificate,
you are able to develop Web Sites using a variety of software programs.
So, while most assuredly not software instruction courses, you are exposed to
a variety of Web Site development methods.
In Web Pub I you start off developing pages in notepad
-- a pure ASCII environment that requires you to understand structure and
format. In a very short time you "graduate" to Allaire's HomeSite
-- the HTML Editor of choice for many high-end developers. HomeSite (and
it's big brother Cold Fusion -- same user interface more expensive with
Database connection and scripting components) seem to have captured the
international mind share of high-end Web Site developers and is a very robust
development tool. A recommend text for Web Pub I is HomeSite 4.5 for
Dummies or Sams Teach
Yourself HomeSite 4 in 24 Hours to help you master this robust development
tool!
In Web Pub II, class is divided into two instructional parts.
Classic HTML (advanced layout using tables, frames
and forms, color, fonts and typography for the Web) continues with HomeSite
as the development tool of choice. Final choice is always up to each
individual student and you can use whatever non-WYSIWYG tool you want in Web
Pub I and II.
The second half of Web Pub II focuses on DHTML --
Dynamic HTML, a marketing terms coined by the browser-boys. DHTML is a
combination of technologies: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript
(JS) and the DOM, the Document Object Model which enabled developers to
address areas of the browser window at will moving objects and overriding
default behaviors. For this portion of the class we use a little
HomeSite, just to hand-code an in line cascading style sheet, and embedded
CSS and link to an external CSS. We also use HomeSite or Notepad for a
limited JavaScript component where you learn to debug existing scripts.
The main thrust of learning DHTML, CSS and DOM is through the use of a
WYSIWYG tool, primarily Macromedia's Dreamweaver or Adobe's GoLive. I
have gathered literally hundred of tutorials to get you started and we spend
time in class discovering "which tool is best?"
Web Pub III switches gears and is NOT a coding class.
Web Pub III is all about information architecture -- we look at organizational
schemes and structures, navigation systems, labeling
systems, indexing and searching methods and, as such, we
look into FrontPage 2000 as a fascinating tool for rapid prototyping and
development of site maps, automatically generated and updated tables of
contents, robust navigation via shared borders and internal search tools.
Again, a series of hands-on guided exercises let's you rapidly develop Web
Sites containing the key information architectural components of consistent
navigation and labeling via shared borders, complete site maps via the
Navigation view, complete site table of contents built with a wizard and
internal search capabilities on every page. In November 2000 the
World Wide Web reached over 3 BILLION unique web pages (source www.cyveillance.com)
we have a module on Searching, Finding and being found, what are log files,
who do you analyze them, what are meta tag and how do you include them, how do
you add search to your site via JavaScript, cgi, for free? What are tips
and tricks you can leverage for making sure your website gets found in the billions web pages that are now out there??
Final Thoughts
I am often asked in class the difference between a Web
Designer and a Web Developer. I was in a newsgroup where the debate was raging
on and we came up with this:
Web Designer:
In charge of establishing the visual experience of
a site or web-based form of communication.
Creates or oversees the creation of graphics,
chooses and sometimes manipulates photographs, and defines the interactive
"experience" for the site.
A web designer will primarily have a very strong
creative and artistic background but must also have a working
understanding of HTML, JavaScript, Flash, video and other web
technologies.
Web Developer:
- In charge of creating the functionality of a site.
A developer will typically put together the code that defines a users
experience on the web.
- From JavaScript rollovers to ASP code needed to
send user information to databases, a good developer is able to turn an
interactive website into a functional and vital business/commerce tool.
See you all in class!
Diane Cunningham
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