CS 385
Internet programming
Spring 2022

Contact information: phone extension 8157  email: briggs dot w at lynchburg dot edu  office: Hobbes 104. If the door's open (and it almost always will be, if I'm there), you are welcome office hours TBA Please understand that office hours are not the only times you can come to my office! Those are just the hours that I guarantee to be there.

General info:

Class information:

Web site: http://cs.lynchburg.edu/briggs/
Text:  HTML Dog's HTML Tutorial online; Robin Nixon, Learning PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, & CSS, 6th Edition, O'Reilly; something on Javascript you won't have to pay for
Class time:  11-11:50 MWF.
If we ever have to do virtual (hope not!), here's the link: https://meet.google.com/jub-bnsu-nxf

Motivation:

In this project-based course students develop an intermediate-level proficiency in the use of HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, and (possibly) JavaScript in building interactive sites for the World Wide Web.  This also prepares students to work with existing content management systems (e.g. Joomla! and Wordpress) and their themes.

Grading:

Weekly assignments, mostly culminating in one overall project.  I am not planning any tests.

Equipment:

Your PC.  The software we'll be using is XAMPP and Microsoft Expression Web.  (You're free to use other editors if you like.) 

FAQ

• How do I succeed in this class? 
  • Read ahead.
  • Turn in all the assignments, even if they don't work.  I give partial credit.  Not turning in an assignment gets you a zero.  Turning in one that doesn't work (but has all its parts written and is indented and commented) usually gets you at least a 50. Turn them in on time, even if they don't work.  If you do turn an assignment in on time, but you have a chance to improve it, you'll get 2 more days to work on them, with a 5 point penalty.  I'll grade the later one if you like.  I strongly suggest that if you don't get it working on time, you come by and talk to me about whatever difficulty you were having.
    
  • Don't get behind.  In this class, one assignment will build on another.  You really need to get one completed to succeed on the next.
  • Show up for all classes.  I see it regularly:  those who don't come always do worse than those who do.

  Now, some less crucial suggestions:

  • Ask for help when you need it.  I have never had a student fail whom I see in my office regularly.
  • Do a lot of programming -- nothing works like practice.  (You wouldn't expect to go out on the field and be a sports hero w/o practice, right?  Programming is similar.)
  • Play with what you've learned.  It's hard to get all you need just by doing my assignments -- think of what you want to do with programming, and how to do it. 
  • Use the notes posted for getting our software working, and use the links posted on the course page to look up function names, etc., and to see examples of how to solve this or that problem.
• Can I have extra credit?  If the amount of work you have now is getting you down, is more work really the answer?  I've never known students to benefit from extra credit.  The way to succeed is to do the assignments well.
• My program doesn't work; should I erase it and start over?  NO!  You'll just get the same problems, with a fresh set of typos. 
• Can I start on this the night before and get it working?  I doubt it.  I couldn't.
• Am I stupid?  No, you're a new PHP programmer.  It looks like C++, but there are differences.

Other helpful hints:

• Keep your old programs -- a following assignment may build on one (in my class, or in a upper-division class).
• Put comments in, and indent correctly, as you write. The purpose of comments and indenting is to make it readable -- and if it isn't readable, you won't be able to get it working.

Policies:

• Assignments are due at midnight of the due date.  If you turn it in by that time, and you want more time to work, you can have 2 more business days to work on it with a 5 point penalty.  If you don't turn it in on time, you don't get credit.
• Absences:  You can have 4 of them.  If you have more, you are withdrawn from the class.  We can deal with special circumstances, such as playing an out-of-town game, if you tell me in advance.
• Handouts and assignments will all be posted on this site.
• How to turn in an assignment: email. The name of your folder should be your name and the lab, as in "briggs_hw1." After naming it, ZIP and send as an email attachment.
• Cheating is dealt with by the Honor Board. How much help is too much with an assignment? If you're stumped on a problem, and someone shows you how to solve a similar one, that's OK. If you're shown how to solve your problem, that's too much.
• There is NO GROUP WORK IN THIS CLASS unless two or more are involved in the same project.
• See accomodations for disabilities below.

University of Lynchburg is committed to providing all students equal access to learning opportunities. The Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources(CADR) works with students who have documented medical, physical, mental health and cognitive diagnoses to make arrangements for appropriate, reasonable accommodations. Accommodations are available as applicable in both live and virtual classroom settings for all terms (Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer). Students registered with CADR who receive approved accommodations are required to provide letters of accommodation each semester to each professor if they wish to use their accommodations. A meeting to discuss accommodations the student wishes to implement in individual courses is strongly suggested. Accommodations are not retroactive and begin when the accommodation letter is provided to faculty. For information about requesting accommodations, please visit https://www.lynchburg.edu/academics/center-for-accessibility-and-disability-resources/intake-and-accommodations/ or use the contact information below. (Effective: 12/5/22)

Contact Information