Description:  This course is an introduction to semantically intelligent content management for the World Wide Web.  Participants in this course will construct online software, similar in scope to weblogs or facebook, using several internet technologies.  Strong emphasis will be placed on the development of flexible applications that efficiently store and process data and metadata.  In addition to basic computer and database programming, various XML technologies will be introduced and employed.
 
Professor: Robert W. McGrail.

Lecture: Monday from 1:30 PM to 2:50 PM in RKC 103 (The Laszlo Bito Auditorium).

Lab A: Tuesday from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM in RKC 100.

Lab B: Wednesday from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM in RKC 100.

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.

Lecture Meetings: These will be conducted with the use of several type of media in the Lazlo Bito Auditorium (RKC 103).  The intent of each lecture is to provide background for the week's laboratory exercise.

Lab Time: The lab sessions 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 internet technologies.  Students are free during this time to consult with the instructor as well as their peers.

Software and Systems:   Websites in this course will be developed with a combination of HTML, CSS, XML, XSLT, XML Schema, and PHP, and hosted on turing.  Students will be expected to program in these languages.  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 use OmniGraffle for diagram creation and image manipulation.

Homework:  There will be approximately 10 homework assignments.  Student olutions will generally be posted online.  Your work on each assignment begins during your lab meeting.  Some might complete the assignment during this time.  Those that do not complete the assignment during the lab period are expected to devote sufficient time to complete it by the deadline.

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.

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 in the first half of the semester is an in-class exam.  My method for testing progress at the end of the semester is the aforementioned project.

Grading: The final grade will be computed according to the following breakdown.

• Homework: 50%
  
• Project: 30%
• Exam: 20%