CSci 1101: Dynamic Web Programming -- Resources.

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On this page:

• In-class examples
• Course blog and other interactive web sites
• Software downloads and documentation
• Helpful resources

This page contains handouts for the course, references to manuals, links to web sites that we use, and other helpful materials. The materials will be added as needed. Please feel free to make suggestions.

In-class examples

• January 19: A simple XHTML web page
• February 2: The same page formatted with a simple CSS style sheet; the CSS file for the page
• February 2: A similar page formatted with a background image, the CSS file
• February 4: The same page with added classes and id; the corresponding CSS file
• February 8: First PHP examples, PHP variables; Input for a PHP program
• February 16: If/else statements, switch statement, and more on variables
• February 23: A random number generator, Loops (repeated actions)
• February 25: Arrays
• March 2: PHP functions: using predefined ones, writing your own.
• March 4: Review for Midterm I
• March 11: Database connection in PHP. You can view the database at phpMyAdmin (I will explain in class how to use it).
• March 23: we will revisit PHP functions: using predefined ones, writing your own.
• March 30: Form handling in PHP.
• April 6: Form validation in PHP (general setup).
• April 8: Changing data in a database and locking tables.
• April 8-13: Checking patterns with regular expressions.
• April 15: Recursion.
• April 20. Data filtering and sanitizing
• April 26. Review for Midterm II
• May 4. Cookies and Sessions
• May 6. Password checking

Course blog and other interactive web sites

• The course blog

Software downloads and documentation

• We will use a text editor jEdit. It has built-in support for HTML, CSS, and PHP code (color-coding, automatic keyword completion, etc.), and that's the text editor that we will use in the lab. jEdit is Java-based, so you need to install the latest (1.4 or above) version of Java first, it's available here. Then download and install jEdit (get the stable version, not the development version).
• Secure FTP (file transfer software):
  • Windows: WinSCP - a secure FTP program available at university labs. To install it on your home machine download and run the installation package for the latest stable (not beta!) version. Read the documentation to learn how to use WinSCP. The Quick Start Guide has enough to get you started.
  • Macintosh: if you have Mac OS X (10.1 or later), you can use a command line program called sftp. However, it does not have a graphical interface and may be too difficult to use for those unfamiliar with command line programs. The program Fugu is a free graphical ftp program for file transfer.
• Firefox browser
• Opera browser
• Putty - a free SSH program for Windows. Save putty.exe on your desktop, it's ready to use.
• GIMP - a free program for simple editing of pictures.

Helpful resources

W3 Schools

W3 schools is an excellent collection of tutorials on all major web languages and technologies with loads of examples and try-it-yourself exercises. Specifically, here are tutorials and references on:

• HTML
• XHTML
• CSS
• SQL
• PHP
• HTML forms

XHTML and CSS

• HTML and XHTML validator. Checks if your file follows XHTML standard.
• CSS validator. Check if your CSS file is valid.
• Fonts:
  • W3 description of generic font families. Lists several popular fonts in each family.
  • Another description of generic font families with specific fonts, Advice on choosing fonts.
  • A guide to fonts at Browser News
  • Samples of commonly used fonts at Browser News - just what you need if you want to design a web site that will work in the majority of browsers
• Colors:
  • Common colors by name and by hexadecimal values (from W3 Schools)
  • W3 Schools guide on specifying colors
• Zen Garden - a web site that shows examples of CSS use. Might be an inspiration for a web desgin.
• CSS Tips and Tricks - a collection of CSS examples for certain common design elements.
• browsershots.org - a web site that allows you to see how your page will look in different browsers. Thanks to Brian Ohs and Noah Clark for finding this resource. Note that it takes a while for the results to appear.
• Some style properties are only applicable to block-level elements. www.yourhtmlsource.com/ provides a list of tags for block-level elements
• Form examples from W3 Schools. Clicking on "Submit" button shows you the submitted input.
  • Text field example
  • Checkboxes example
  • Radio button example

PHP resources

• Debugging a php program.
• All string functions (a part of PHP manual at www.php.net)
• Array functions
• rand() function generates (pseudo-)random numbers.
• Date and time functions
• Including a file (a quick overview from W3 schools).
• Description of a function include_once (with a links to require_once and other related functions): a more technical description from php.net

SQL resources

• phpMyAdmin (password required, see examples)
• SQL date/time functions (to use in SQL queries, NOT directly in php code)
• An article on when and how to lock tables.

Security and data transfer

• The Unofficial Cookie FAQ at cookiecentral.com - everything you ever wanted to know about cookies, and more.
• MySpace Passwords Aren't So Dumb - an overview of common password practices by Bruce Schneier

Regular expressions and data filtering

• A Regex (regular expressions) online tester: enter a regular expression and strings you want to test and see the results.
• PHP filter functions, specifically:
  • FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL and FILTER_VALIDATE_URL options for filter_var
  • FILTER_SANITIZE_SPECIAL_CHARS option for filter_var. Converts & into &amp; and < and > into &lt; and &gt;