Introduction to Web Design and Programming

Author: Paul S. Wang, Sanda Katila
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: This book introduces Web development knowledge from the perspectives of programming technology and visual communication design to readers. The main technologies involved include XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, DOM, DHTML, HTTP, Perl, and CGI, showcasing their role in promoting Web development practices. The main features of this book include: introducing the principles and methods of Web design, providing comprehensive knowledge for designing functional, logically sound, user-friendly, efficient, and engaging websites, such as information architecture, visual communication design, color and graphics, visual hierarchy, symmetry and balance, unity and variation, as well as design tools like coding, image processing, template generation, website integration, testing, and debugging; explaining the integrated approach to Web design; providing programming examples and exercises. This book is supplemented by the website www.sofpower.com/wdp, offering rich teaching resources such as online charts, runnable examples, experiment packages, and team project guidance. It is suitable for undergraduate Web development courses in engineering disciplines of higher education institutions and also provides valuable reference for related Web design and programming professionals.
The Web is a new communication medium that is growing rapidly. The Web will soon affect, directly or indirectly, most people's daily lives. It is already beginning to revolutionize how business, commerce, government, and education are conducted. Perhaps most importantly, the Web is bridging the gaps between people and cultures, and increasing mutual understanding and goodwill. This can only support global peace and prosperity for the human race. The need for well-trained Web developers, already great, is on the rise. To meet demand, colleges, universities, and companies are creating curricula and training courses in this new and rapidly advancing arena. Research, development, and education in Web- and Internet-related areas will continue to increase and expand. The market offers many books about using the Web, but few textbooks. This college textbook focuses on the art and science of Web site development. It is one of the very first textbooks to combine computer programming with artistic design in an integrated approach. The Web may be many things, but the two most basic elements of site development remain programming technologies and visual communication design. We present the theory and practice of both so that students will gain a fundamental understanding and the applicable skills at the same time. We have worked together since the mid-1990s to develop a Web Design and Programming (WDP) curriculum at the undergraduate level at Kent State University. Kent's Department of Computer Science and the School of Visual Communication Design have fostered the collaboration. We've developed a sequence of three courses and are establishing a minor in WDP. The nature of the Web as a medium requires both programming and artistic design. We firmly believe it is best to study Web development by being introduced to both in an integrated manner. With an overall view and understanding, an individual can then decide to specialize in one or more aspects of the whole process, and it will take more than one course to become an expert in any sub-area.
Open Technologies
The spirit of the Web and the Internet is their openness. It is a critical factor for the popularity and success of the Web. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a nonprofit organization leading the way for developing open Web standards. This textbook introduces a complete set of open technologies for Web development:
- XHTML - The upcoming HTML standard for Web page markup.
- CSS - The standard language for controlling the presentation style of Web pages.
- JavaScript - A standard language for client-side scripting.
- DOM - The W3C document object model for cross-platform access and manipulation of Web documents.
- DHTML - Combines JavaScript, CSS, and DOM for dynamic and interactive effects on the client side.
- HTTP - The Hypertext Transfer Protocol used by the Web.
- Perl - An open scripting language for server-side programming to support HTML forms and page generation.
- CGI - The Common Gateway Interface for Web servers to interact with external programs.
We provide sufficient and well-structured coverage of these technologies. More importantly, we show how they combine to enable serious Web development in practice. We give an abundance of realistic examples to illustrate techniques that are applicable in many situations.
Design Principles and Methodology
Simply applying technologies will not produce good websites. On the contrary,