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Web Publishing
Course Links
| Textbooks
| Miscellaneous Thoughts
Web Pub I
Course
Sample Files
Web Pub II
Course
Sample Files
Useful
Links
DHTML
Quiz
Web Pub III
Web Pub III
Sample Site
All listed textbooks have links to amazon.com to
purchase. You can buy the books anywhere you like -- here is a link to
the UCSD Bookstore extension
ordering page
Web Pub I
Required:
HTML
& XHTML : The Definitive Guide by Chuck
Musciano, Bill Kennedy
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates;
ISBN: 059600382X
5th edition (August 2002)
Web Pub II
Required:
HTML
for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide, Fifth
Edition
by Elizabeth Castro
Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Peachpit Press; ISBN: 0321130073;
5th edition (September 17, 2002)
DHTML
and CSS for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide
by Jason Cranford Teague
Paperback: 592 pages
Publisher: Peachpit Press; ISBN: 0201730847;
2nd edition (May 24, 2001)
Web Pub III
Required:
Information
Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites
by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates;
ISBN: 0596000359;
2nd edition (August 15, 2002)
AND
Don't
Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
by Steve Krug, Roger Black
Paperback: 195 pages
Publisher: Que;
ISBN: 0789723107;
1st edition (October 13, 2000)
Recommended:
Web
Navigation: Designing the User Experience
by Jennifer Fleming, Richard Koman (Editor)
Paperback: 253 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates;
ISBN: 1565923510; (July 1998)
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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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