CISC474, 06S, Participation Grade 3 (P03.html)

Due Date/Grading

Prerequisites

Required Reading

1. Sebesta Chapter 2 (for making XHTML compliant web pages, and using the <table><tr> and <td> elements.)
2. In HFSJ, none; you will be invited to look at pages 70, 75 and 82 of HFSJ during the assignment—and doing so will make it more clear what you are being asked to do and why—but it is not required.

Assignments you should complete first

• H01 and A04 (so you know about making valid XHTML web pages).

Overview

In this assignment, you will select a "product" that you will use as the basis of several small example web apps. This "product" needs to be different from that chosen by all other students in CISC474 this semester.

Your product could be "cars", "video games", "MP3 players", "chocolate bars", "skis", "vacation destinations"... it doesn't matter. What matters is the following:

• You need to be able to put your product into categories (e.g. for cars: "sports", "SUV", "compact", "sedan", etc)
• You need to be able to come up with at least 2 or 3 instances of cars for each of the categories you select.

Note that this "product" is just a means to an end; you'll be using it for various small "sample" type web apps that we'll be building as exercises while we are learning the various technologies. So don't spend too much time sweating over what to choose.

Example

The book uses "beer" as its example product. Example categories are:

• light, amber, brown, dark

The beers in each category are:

• amber: "Jack Amber", "Red Moose"
• light: "Jail Pale Ale"
• dark: "Gout Stout"

See page 70 for an example. Note that in the first iteration of the web-app based on these "products", both Jack's Pale Ale and Gout Stout are shown as "light beers", which is probably "wrong", but it is the way they coded it in Chapter 3.

You can try out a working version of this web app at the following URL:

http://porsche.cis.udel.edu:8106/Beer-v1/form.html

If that version does NOT work, send Prof. Conrad an email!

The idea is that in a future assignment (H02), you'll be coding a web app similar in function to the one shown in the book as a "beer advisor", but using a different product. In this assignment (P03), your job is simply to choose that product, and document your choice on a web page.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Choose a product

Choose a product with at least four categories, and where you can add at least two instances in each category, and at least three instances for one of your categories. (Its ok if you want to add more.) But before you spend too much time coming up with the instances, see Step 2:

Step 2: Check to see if that product has already been chosen by someone in the class.

Do this by logging on to WebCT (now called "MyCourses") page for CISC474. Click on the "discussion" link, then on the discussion board marked P03 "product" selection. Check the postings from students to see if your topic has been chosen already.

If not, make a posting and put your topic in the subject line. If you don't, and a student who does put their topic in the subject line decides to take your topic, he/she will be awarded that topic even if he/she posts later than you. Otherwise, it is first-come/first-served.

Step 3: Make a web page with your product on it.

Make a web page according to these instructions:

• The URL should be http://strauss.udel.edu/~userid/cisc474/P03.html
  where userid is your strauss userid. Equivalently, copland.udel.edu can be used in place of strauss (they go to the same place.
• The file should be similar to the one shown in the P03 directory, i.e. work/part/P03/P03_sample.html
• The file should contain at least four categories, with at least two instances in each category, and at least one category with three instances.
• The file should be valid XHTML 1.1, and should have a "validator" icon; when you click on the icon, the page should show itself to be valid.

Submission:

No submission is required; the instructor/TA will check your web site for the required elements sometime after the due date has passed.