My goals for this class were to gain comprehensive knowledge of web technologies. I have been disappointed by past courses involving web technologies that tend to focus on Content Management Systems (CMS) and What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) programs such as Frontpage or Dreamweaver. Although web technologies is not a focus of my major, I do find myself using it for my side projects. AFS location: /afs/ad.clarkson.edu/projects/itl/public_html/mpX52/sp2010/mckennmj
I first taught myself HTML and CSS in middle school when I was fed up with the pitiful excuse of a computer class that my school offered (Type To Learn FTW!). I have made many websites over the years using combinations of HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, MYSQL. Some of these were by hand or in combination with a CMS for larger projects. The current website for a side project some friends and I are working on can be found at DragonWars Home Page
I had previously taught myself Javascript and have since taken courses that also covered it, but I had never been exposed to jQuery and Ajax before. It was interesting to see the power of these technologies without sacrificing efficiency like with Flash. However, there are some pitfalls of JS: Javascript is slowing down the web (Although Flash is by far the greater culprit, as some have called it the bane of the internet). I still prefer to do things such as jQuery tabs in CSS. jQuery Examples
In the past I have used PHP and MySQL for websites, sometimes in conjunction with a CMS. I am particularly interested in their interaction with Java applets, as this is a main focus of DragonWars to have user data from the game integrated into the main site to improve social interaction. I have previously taken CS460: Database Systems, Comm 442: Advanced WWW Interface Design and am currently taking Comm440: PHP and MySQL so this was more on the side of review for me. However, I did learn a great deal about securing these technologies such as SSL and captchas, which are very relevant to securing the user data for DragonWars. Clarkson Clarkson contains much of my current PHP and MySQL work, outside of Dragonwars (which is currently migrating servers).
I knew practically nothing about XML, XLST, and DTDs, outside of some XML work in Comm442, before this lecture. This was very interesting but I am unsure of its application to my projects. XML Examples
Everyone is always yelling about the future of the web. I would like to remind everyone of the disappointment that Web2.0 has been. THE FUTURE While I'm sure HTML5 and CSS3 will bring important updates and features to the web, it is important to remember that not everything is the greatest invention since the toaster.
My side projects include: DragonWars [Server currently migrating for applet and forums] DragonWars Feed SabreFortress [Currently parked awaiting server migration] CardSabre [awaiting server]