B211 Lecture Topic 2

Lecture Topic 2: The World Wide Web

Description

This topic deals with the underlying technologies supporting communication through what is called the World Wide Web (WWW). The definition of what is considered WWW is given, the protocols implemented by all software on the WWW, as well as looking into the a few important components of WWW: the browsers, the web servers, search engines, and proxy servers.

This topic also provides the foundations for the web application programming exercises your will be doing in the labs and your assignment 2. It introduces client-side scripting using JavaScripts, and server-side programming using CGI and Perl.

Scheduled Lectures

What in the world is the World Wide Web?

Internals of the Web Client

Internals of the Web Server

Search Engines & Proxy Servers

Client-side scripting with JavaScript

Server-side scripting with Perl and CGI

Required Reading

Lecture notes

Unit Reader: section 2.2 in Application Layer, Chapter 2 in Computer Networking - A Top Down Approach Featuring the Internet, James Kurose and Keith Ross, Addison-Wesley, 2001.

Textbook Web Programming by Chris Bates, Chapter 1: Introduction

Unit Reader: How Does Search Engine Work?, section 5.5 in In-line/On-line: Fundamentals of the Internet and the World Wide Web, Raymond Greenlaw and Ellen Hepp, MsGraw-Hill, 1999.

Textbook Web Programming by Chris Bates, Chapter 5: An Introduction to JavaScript

Textbook Web Programming by Chris Bates, Chapter 6: Dynamic HTML using JavaScript

Textbook Web Programming by Chris Bates, Chapter 7: Programming in Perl 5

Supplementary Reading

Unit Reader: Transactions on the Web, Lesson 2 in Introduction to Interactive Programming on the Internet Using HTML and JavaScript, Craig Knuckles, Wiley, 2001.

Unit Reader: Advanced Web, Chapter 13 in Internet Standards and Protocols, Dilip Naik, Micro$oft Press, 1998.

Unit Reader: CGI Programming, Chapter 19 in Learning Perl (2nd ed), Randal Schwartz and Tom Christiansen, O'Reilly, 1997.

Unit Reader: Search Engines, Chapter 10 in Don't Just Surf: Effective Research Strategies for the Net (2nd ed), Maureen Henninger, UNSW Press, 1999.

Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer display comparison at esmartweb.com

searchengines.com