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CMSC 116 Introduction to Computing: Semantic Web
Description: This course is an introduction to
semantically intelligent content management for the World Wide Web. Participants in this
course will construct social networking software, similar in scope to weblogs or facebook, using an
advanced content management system. Strong emphasis will be placed on the development of
flexible applications that efficiently store and process data and metadata. In addition to
basic computer programming, various XML technologies will be introduced and employed.
Professor: Robert W. McGrail.
Lecture: Friday from 1:00 PM to 2:50 PM in Hegeman 102.
Studio: Monday from 1:00 PM to 2:50 PM in Albee 100
and Hegeman 102.
Text: The course has no textbook since the commercial academic publishing industry
has not properly caught up to this exciting new area of computer science. Instead we will
rely on readings from several sources, including popular science articles, research papers,
technical reports, white papers, and web information portals.
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Course Policies
Lecture Meetings: These will be conducted in traditional
lecture style, with time reserved at the beginning of each meeting for student-generated
discussion.
Studio Time: The studio session will include step-by-step
instruction, especially during the early stages of the course. Time will also be reserved for
goal-directed, supervised exercises designed to help students master Semantic Web technology.
Students are free during this time to consult with the instructor as well as their peers.
Software and Systems: Websites developed in
this course will target the OpenCms content management system. All of the features of OpenCms
that are available to students can be accessed through an online, password interface. The
site hosting OpenCms will be accesible to any webbrowser on the Bard campus, and to anyone with
port forwarding permissions.
The authoring process will be aided greatly by the <oXygen/> XML editor. Bard
possesses a site license so this software can be installed on any student machine free of
charge. Also, we will employ the open-source Eclipse integrated development environment for
Java and Java Server Pages.
Homework: There will be approximately 8-10 homework
assignments. Each assignment will be a mix of paper submission and online systems.
Project: Each student will contribute to the construction of a system that
utilizes a variety of Semantic Web technologies. This will occur in groups of 2-3 students. I
expect that many groups will find it perfectly reasonable to implement prototypes for online
community portals. Toward the latter part of the course, each student will make a formal
20-minute presentation outlining their contribution to their group's project.
Exams: Each student's journey will rely heavily upon
the development of several technical skills. Hence there is a certain amount of technical
knowledge that each student must acquire. My method for determining whether students are
sufficiently absorbing such detail include in-class exams. There will be two of these, one at
midterm and the other towards the conclusion of the course. Each exam wil carry equal weight
towards the final grade
Grading: The final grade will be computed according to the
following breakdown.
- Homework: 30%
- Project and Presentation: 40%
- Exams: 30%
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Syllabus
- Course Overview
- Introduction to <oXygen/>
- HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
- eXtensible Markup Language (XML)
- XML Stylesheets Language Transform (XSLT)
- Entity-Relationship Diagrams (ERD)
- Exam I, Monday, March 26th
- XML Schema
- The Semantic Web, Revisited
- Introduction to Links
- Links Functions
- The Client/Server Model
- The Common Gateway Interface
- Databases and Links
- Exam II, Monday, May 7th
- Project presentations
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News
Course Project Code
5/14/07 - Here is some helpful hints and code to move the projects along.
Links CGI Programs
4/30/07 - Some example Links CGI programs are attached.
Homework Assignment 7
4/22/07 - Construct some Links functions. Due Monday, April 30th.
Homework Assignment 6
4/9/07 - Create one XML Schema document for each entity set from homework assignment 5.
Exam I
3/12/07 - The midterm exam will occur Monday, March 26th at 1PM in Hegeman 102.
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