Master of Science in Management & Systems
Database Technologies for Web Applications

MASY1-GC3540

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course examines the database and related applications technologies that have come to be critical in the enablement of web-based applications. The course builds on your knowledge of the web by providing you with an in-depth study of database related concepts using the MySql database. The course will also examine how to connect the web to the backend database server using the popular scripting language PHP or Python.

COURSE LEARNING GOALS:

1. Course Objectives:

The course covers fundamentals of web technologies, database concepts, SQL, and the scripting language PHP and Python. Topics covered include creating client friendly html forms, designing and building databases, and using PHP or Python in conjunction with SQL to connect front-end web pages with back-end databases to collect, store, retrieve and present dynamically generated data.

As part of this course, the student will be exposed to HTML and the more structured HTML and CSS. The student will create web pages and web forms that collect and present data from the server. The student will be exposed to database concepts, and to the relational database model. The SQL language will be presented and used to design, build a database using the MySql database server. Students will also be exposed to the PHP and Python scripting language, and will use that language to build their own data-driven web sites.

MySql and PHP have become the world most popular open source products, and are currently being used by millions of web sites on the internet. Advance your career and learn how simple it is to use these two products to create your own data-driven web site

       The focus of the course will be on the following topics:

• HTML and especially tables and forms
• CSS Cascading Style Sheet
• Relational database concepts
• Database design and normalization
• The SQL programming language
• The Data Definition Language (DDL)
• The Data Manipulation Language (DML)
• The PHP scripting language
• The Python scripting language
• File and database manipulation
• Session management and cookies

2. Student Learning Outcomes:

• Knowledge of HTML and specifically how to create HTML tables and HTML forms
• Ability to integrate CSS to improve visual web presentation
• Understand database concepts and design
• Ability to create database tables to support web interaction
• Ability to access database tables to insert, update, query and delete data
• Ability to create and end-to-end database driven web application
• Understand usage of PHP and how to integrate PHP in web applications
• Understand usage of Python and how to integrate Python in web applications
• Understand how to integrate PHP and Python with MySql databases
• Ability to create cookies and to manage stateful web sessions

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES:

BOOKS:

Required Reading & Materials -

• PHP and MySQL Web Development (4th Edition)
  • Authors - Luke Welling & Laura Thomson
  • Publisher - Pearson

• Teach Yourself SQL in One Hour a Day (5th Edition)
  • Author - Ryan Stephens, Ronald Plew & Arie Jones
  • Publisher - SAMS

• HTML5 & CSS3 - Visual Quickstart Guide (8th Edition)
  • Author - Elizabeth Castro, Bruce Hyslop
  • Publisher - Peachpit Press

GRADE ASSIGNMENT AND EVALUATION:

• Class Attendance & Participation - 15%
• Homework - 20%
• Final Project - 15%
• Midterm Exam - 25%
• Final Exam - 25%

• Class Attendance and Participation: To receive full credit for the course, you must attend all classes since much of the learning occurs during class presentation and discussions. Please contact the instructor if you anticipate missing any part of the class. Grades will be based on:
  • Involvement in class activities
  • Participation which demonstrates integration of reading, class work, relevance and application.
  • Willingness to learn by accepting feedback, trying new skills and approaches, etc.
  • Quality/quantity of providing effective and balanced feedback.
  
  
• Homework: Homeworks must be submitted on time within 1 week after date assigned. Late submission will severely impact your homework grade, or may not be accepted altogether at instructor discretion.
  • All homework pages must be stapled together, no exception (paper clips not accepted)
  • Print out your homework code and output and bring with you to class
  • I will not accept homework via email unless you are not able to attend the class.
  • Proper indentation where appropriate is a must. If not properly indented I may return it without grading it.
  
  [Homework Answers SQL]
  [Homework Answers PHP]
  [Homework Answers Python]
  
  
• Class Project Presentation: There will be a group/team class presentation. The presentation will be a culmination of verbal, visual and presentation skills. It will also be the culmination of topics, concepts and competencies learned in this class.
  
  
• Midterm Exam: There will be a midterm exam. The exam will be an open book, open notes style exam. The exam will test the student's acquisition of topics, concepts and competencies learned by midterm.
  
  
• Final Exam: There will be a final exam. The exam will be an open book, open notes style exam. The exam will test the student's acquisition of topics, concepts and competencies learned in this class. The final exam will not be cumulative. It will only cover topics discussed since the midterm.

Please do not negotiate for a better grade. If you are expecting to receive a grade of an "A" at the end of the semester, then I expect you to attend all sessions, to participate in class, to turn in your homework on time, and to keep up with the class reading material. If you see yourself falling behind do not hesitate to ask for help. This will ensure that you stay current with the class, and will ensure that you get a good grade on your work.

COURSE OUTLINE:

DATE	SESSION	TOPIC[s] COVERED
[Week 1]	1a	HTML web page structure The anatomy of HTML element The HEAD section the BODY section HTML tags versus attributes Basic HTML tags Additional HTML tags Formatting text Adding list elements Creating links to other pages Internal anchors vs. external links Adding images to your web page
	Reading:	Chapter 1-6 (HTML5 & CSS3)
	1b	Using HTML tables The HTML Table structure Using tables to display rows and columns Using tables to layout your page The <table>, <tr> and <td> tags Spanning multiple rows and columns Creating column groups The <thead>, <tbody> and <tfoot> tags Nesting tables Wrapping text around tables
	Reading:	Chapter 18 (HTML5 & CSS3)
	2a	CSS - Cascading Style Sheets Structure of a CSS rule Advantages of using CSS Inline, embedded and external CSS Creating style sheets Applying styles to your HTML Inline vs. block-level tags The <div> and <span> tags CSS selectors Class and Id selectors Contextual selectors Cascading and Inheritance rules
	Reading:	Chapter 7-9 (HTML5 & CSS3)
	2b	CSS Properties and Values Test related properties Font related properties The element box model Box related properties Background related properties Display and visibility properties Positioning related properties Relative vs. absolute vs. fixed positioning Positioning elements in 3D using z-index Specifying length units Other media specific styles Printing and controlling page-breaks
	Reading:	Chapter 10-14 (HTML5 & CSS3)
[Week 2]	3a	HTML forms Creating input fields Creating radio and checkboxes Creating selection and dropdown lists Submitting a form. Where does it go? About server scripts and programming Saving and mailing your form content The "Get" and the "Post" methods Using hidden fields Uploading files to a server
	Reading:	Chapter 16 (HTML5 & CSS3)
	3b	SQL - Structured Query language DDL - Data Definition language DML - Data Manipulation Language SQL standard vs. vendor extensions Our first database The SELECT statement The FROM clause The WHERE clause Comparison operators Using SELECT DISTINCT
	Reading:	Chapter 2, 3 (Teach Yourself SQL in One Hour a Day)
	4	Selecting data from multiple tables The join construct Old vs. new join syntax Normal or Inner join Cross join - Cartesian product Outer join vs. Inner join What is a Self Join Performance considerations
	Reading:	Chapter 5 (Teach Yourself SQL in One Hour a Day)
[Week 3]	5a	SQL built-in Functions Aggregate functions - COUNT, SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX Arithmetic functions - ABS, RAND, ROUND, TRUNCATE Character functions - CONCAT, LENGTH, SUBSTR, TRANSLATE Date functions - Current date, date manipulation, date formatting
	Reading:	Chapter 7, 12 (Teach Yourself SQL in One Hour a Day)
	5b	The SQL SELECT Clauses The FROM clause The WHERE clause Grouping with GROUP BY clause The HAVING clause Sorting with the ORDER BY clause
	Reading:	Chapter 4 (Teach Yourself SQL in One Hour a Day)
	6php 6py	Introduction to PHP and/or Python PHP/Python variables Numeric and string operators Comparison and logical operators Working with Arrays Control Structure and Program Flow The if conditional statement The while and for looping statements
	Reading:	Chapter 1, 2 (PHP and MySQL Web Development)
[Week 4]	7php 7py	Midterm Exam PHP and/or Python Functions Working with Strings & String functions Working with Numbers & Numeric functions Working with Dates & Date functions Working with Arrays & Array functions Creating your own functions Variable Scope
	Reading:	Chapter 3, 4, 5 (PHP and MySQL Web Development)
	8	Database Design The Logical and Physical Model Understanding data normalization First normal form Second normal form Third normal form Pros & cons of data normalization Denormalizing data Entity relationships One-to-one relationship One-to-many relationship Many-to-many relationship
	Reading:	Chapter 8 (PHP and MySQL Web Development)
[Week 5]	9a	Creating database objects What is a primary key? What is a foreign key? What is an index? Creating tables SQL data types Adding a primary key Adding constraints Creating Indexes Altering table definition Dropping tables Dropping databases
	Reading:	Chapter 9 (PHP and MySQL Web Development)
	9b	Manipulating data in tables< Adding data with the INSERT statement INSERT with a SELECT statement Changing data with the UPDATE statement UPDATE with a SELECT statement Removing data with the DELETE statement DELETE with a SELECT statement The TRUNCATE statement The REPLACE statement (MySql)
	Reading:	Chapter 11 (Teach Yourself SQL in One Hour a Day)
	10php 10py	Accessing HTML form data from within PHP or Python Inserting, Updating & Deleting from databases Querying databases with cursors Delivering database data back to the browser
	Reading:	Chapter 11 (PHP and MySQL Web Development)
	10b	HTTP Protocol and Concepts The Client Request The Server Response The GET and POST Methods Accessing/Manipulating HTTP Headers
	Reading:	None
[Week 6]	11php 11py	Creating Persistence on the Web using PHP or Python Repopulating From Fields Using Hidden Fields Using the End of the URL Using Cookies in PHP and/or Python Creating and Using Sessions in PHP
	Reading:	Chapter 23 (PHP and MySQL Web Development)
	12	Final Exam Final Project Presentation