Course introduction

Instructor

• Kye S. Hedlund, SN 333, Email: hedlund@cs.unc.edu
• Lecture: MWF 12:00–12:50 PM in FB 007
• Office Hours: Tue & Thr 10:00–11:45, or see me after class, or by appointment
• Phone: 962–1756 (office)
• Web Page: http://www.cs.unc.edu/~hedlund/comp416/

Course overview

What characteristics contribute to a successful web site? How do large sites organize their information? How is the WWW evolving to become more interactive and responsive to the user? These and other questions will be addressed in this course.

Textbooks

"Programming the World Wide Web, 7th ed" by R.W. Sebesta, 2013(!), Pearson Pub. Both print and online versions are available.

Grading

The first test is on Friday, October 5, in class, and the second test is on Friday, November 16, also in class. The final exam is on Friday, December 14, at 12 PM. Everyone will be expected to take the exams at their assigned times and dates.

During the semester there will be a number of in class exercises that will not be announced in advance. They are not quizzes over your knowledge of the reading but are exercises challenging you to apply the course material to a practical problem. Much of the material in this course is learned this way. The in class exercises are a mini-assignment to help reinforce your understanding of the material before you have to tackle a full blown programming assignment.

Making up homework and examinations

Serious illness, a death in the family, and activities such as intramural meets and student exchange programs can justify waiving or relaxing the usual rules for class work and examinations. (But the problems of student life, including the consequences of procrastination and commitments to other courses, cannot.) In circumstances that merit special treatment, documentation is usually available to the student, and a request for special consideration should be accompanied by appropriate written material supporting the request. In cases where events that will interfere with course work are foreseen, a student should discuss the matter with me well before the work is due. A grade of Incomplete will be given only in dire emergencies. Documentation (such as a physician's note) will generally be required. Falling behind in your work is not an emergency.

Courtesy

We will try to be courteous to you; we ask that you be courteous to us. Please do not read the newspaper or use your computer during class. If you must be late once or twice, take an aisle seat quietly; likewise if you must leave early. If this becomes habitual, you should drop the course.