Week 1

Python, and our first project.

Reading: Chapters 7 (High-Quality Routines) and 22 (Developer Testing) from Code Complete, 2nd edition by Steve McConnell.: Be ready to discuss in class on Monday, April 2.
A web server log summarizer program, written in Python.: Submit to your Courses/cs204-s12-00/Hand-in/yourname directory by 9:40 AM Friday, March 30.

Week 2

Getting started on a web application.

The first phase of a database-driven web application.: Submit your PDF file to your Courses hand-in directory by 9:50 AM Wednesday, April 4.
The second phase of your web application.: Submit as described in the assignment by 9:50 AM Monday, April 9.

Debugging, testing, and MySQL in the context of your web application.

The first code review.: Exchange URLs on April 9 in class. The code review sessions will be in class on Wednesday, April 11.
Some steps I took to build a simple database.: Try doing this with your own data before Friday, when we'll discuss database design in class.
The third phase of your web application.: Hand in by 11:59PM Monday, April 16.

Finish web app. Style, assertions, other miscellanea.

Finish your web application.: Hand in by 5:00PM Friday, April 20.
Reading: Chapter 8 (Defensive Programming) and Section 32.3 (The Commento) from Code Complete, 2e.: Be ready to discuss in class on Wednesday, April 18.

Hodgepodge week: encoding, XML, REST, make, etc.

Reading: learn what you can about UTF-8, UTF-16, ISO 8859-1, and Python facilities for manipulating them.: Wikipedia is a good place to start, but there's lots more out there.
Reading: learn what you can about REST (Representational State Transfer).: We'll discuss this in class on Monday, April 23. The Wikipedia article isn't great, so see if you can find something else containing a clear, brief summary.
Reading: take a look at Python's xml.dom.minidom module.: We'll work with the minidom in lab on Wednesday.
Two programs: encoding and XML.: Hand in via Courses Hand-in by 5:00PM Friday, April 27.
encoding.py, xmltraverse.py, and animals.xml.: You might find these samples handy (including a very small XML file for use when testing xmltraverse.py).
class notes from 4/23
I'll try to keep posting these...

Midterm break. Design patterns. Getting started with the Java API.

Reading: Chapters 1 and 2 of Head First Design Patterns.: There are lots of design patterns. We'll spend some time talking about a few important ones: observer, singleton, abstract factory, model-view-controller.
Sprite-based animation in Java: Hand in via Courses by 5:00PM Monday, May 7.
Get a copy of Eclipse IDE for Java Developers.
Install it and try using it to create and debug a Java program. We'll discuss it in class.

More design patterns. Unit testing. A visitor.

Code review and revision: DELAYED UNTIL NEXT WEEK: More later...
Reading: Chapters 4, 5, and 12 of Head First Design Patterns.: Read by class time Wednesday, May 9. In Chapter 12, focus on Model-View-Controller.
Unit tests with unittest/PyUnit: Hand in via Courses by 9:50AM Monday, May 14.

MVC. Getting started on UI design. Code reviews

Reading: "Don't Make Me Think" by Steve Krug. Read the "Read me first" section, and Chapters 1-6, 9, and 10. (It's an awfully short book and an easy read, though, so you might just read the whole thing if you find it interesting.): 1-6 by Wednesday, May 16. The rest by Monday, May 21.
A code review and a revision: Hand-in and due dates listed in the assignment itself. (UPDATE: revision now due Monday, May 28, not Friday, May 25. But sooner is probably better in any case.)
Final project: Due dates described in the assignment. Final code due 5:00PM Monday, June 4.

Projects. Introduction to CSS/Javascript/AJAX

Some simple samples of CSS, Javascript, and AJAX.: Demonstrated in class May 23.

Wrapping up

An example for setting and using cookies in server-side Python scripts. Here's the source code and here's the executable version to test.: Use as you see fit.
Fred Brooks's essay The Tar Pit (available only from on campus--please don't post elsewhere).: This short essay is great all the way through, but I particularly love the section entitled "The Joys of the Craft." Worth a quick read.