Server Technologies and Programming Module code ... - UCL

Server Technologies and Programming Module code: INSTG033 2011 / 2012 Session http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/teaching/modules/instg033/ A module for the MA Electronic Communication and Publishing, the MSc Information Science, the MA/MSc Digital Humanities and the MSci Information Management for Business, taught in Term 2.

Dates, Times and Places This course is taught on Fridays from 2pm to 5pm in Term 2, starting Friday 13 January 2012 and finishing Friday 16 March 2012 (but excluding the Friday of Reading Week - 17 February 2012). Most weeks there will be a short lecture followed by a practical session in a computer lab.

Lecturer’s Contact Details Dr Rob Miller Department: Information Studies Office: Room G19, Foster Court Extension: 33173 Telephone: 020 7679 3173 Email: [email protected] Homepage: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/rob-miller/

Aims and Learning Outcomes This course provides an introduction to the issues, techniques, technologies and underlying principles associated with creating and maintaining Web servers and database-driven websites. Topics include: (1) servers and clients; protocols, network topology; (2) server configuration; access files, security, redirection, caching, proxies; (3) server-side programming; recap of programming fundamentals, files and file handling, data files, saving state and session handling, connecting to databases and SQL. For this 2007/2008 academic session, the practical emphasis will be on the widely used and open-sourced applications Apache, PHP and MySQL, running under the Linux operating system. Upon successful completion of this course, you will have an understanding of the basic principles of server maintenance, and typical server-side programming techniques. You will be able to apply this knowledge to help establish and manage the server side of a website. You will have an understanding of server-based tasks such as maintaining security and correct Web access to different user groups, and the use of a commonly available server side programming language (PHP) and an SQL database engine (MySQL) to generate Web pages.

Prerequisites INSTG018 (Introduction to programming and scripting) is a formal prerequisite for this module. Note that course participants are assumed to have a good aptitude for computer programming as well as good general computer skills for this course. If in doubt, you are advised to discuss this with the course lecturer before opting for this module. A good understanding of HTML is also assumed.

Workload and Allocation of Time for Private Study This course is designed and taught on the assumption that participants will be able to allocate approximately 5 - 6 hours of private study to it per week during the weeks in which is it taught (in addition to the 3 hours per week of scheduled lectures and lab sessions), plus 10 - 20 extra hours for completion of the assessed project after the taught sessions have finished. As with all courses involving computer programming, it is very important that participants organise their associated private study time on a regular weekly basis right from the start of the course. This is because of the hierarchical nature of the conceptual framework that the course aims to establish, and the need to practise programming.

Assessment Assessment for this module is by a single project-style coursework assignment, with a submission deadline of Friday 27 April 2012 (UCL Term 3, UCL Week 35).

Recommended Books Main Course Text: Build Your Own Database Driven Website Using PHP & MySQL, by Kevin Yank, pub. SitePoint 2005, ISBN: 0-9752402-1-8 Further Reading: Web Database Applications with PHP and MySQL, 2nd edition, by Hugh E. Williams and David Lane, pub. O'Reilly and Associates 2004, ISBN: 0-596-00543-1 PHP and MySQL Web Development, 4th edition, by Luke Welling and Laura Thomson, pub. Pearson Education 2006, ISBN: 9780672329166 MySQL 4th edition, by Paul Dubois, pub. Addison-Wesley, 2008, ISBN: 0-672-32938-7 Programming PHP, by Rasmus Lerdorf and Kevin Tatroe, pub. O'Reilly and Associates 2006 MySQL Reference Manual, by Michael Widenius, David Axmark and MySQL AB, pub. O'Reilly and Associates 2002, Introducing UNIX and Linux, by Mike Joy, Stephen Jarvis and Michael Luck, pub. Palgrave Macmillan 2002 Essential System Administration, 3rd Edition, by Æleen Frisch, pub. O'Reilly and Associates 2002 Apache: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition, by Ben Laurie and Peter Laurie, pub. O'Reilly and Associates 2002

Provisional Schedule of Lectures Friday 13 January 2012 (UCL Week 1): Session 1: Introduction, Overview Friday 20 January 2012 (UCL Week 2): Session 2: Programming with PHP Session 3: More PHP Friday 27 January 2012 (UCL Week 3): Session 4: PHP Workshop Friday 3 February 2012 (UCL Week 4): Session 5: SQL, MySQL and PHP Session 6: Introduction to the Assessed Project Friday 10 February 2012 (UCL Week 5): Session 7: Project Workshop Friday 24 February 2012 (UCL Week 7): Session 8: Project Workshop Friday 2 March 2012 (UCL Week 8): Session 9: Saving State with Sessions Session 10: Project Workshop Friday 9 March 2012 (UCL Week 9): Session 11: Project Workshop Friday 16 March 2012 (UCL Week 10): Session 12: Project Workshop

Rob Miller 26/9/2011