Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2007-2008 (archived)

Module COMP50515: WEB TECHNOLOGY

Department: Computer Science

COMP50515: WEB TECHNOLOGY

Type Open Level 4 Credits 15 Availability Available in 2007/08 Module Cap
Tied to

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • This module provides an in depth understanding (and application via laboratory work) of a range of important web technologies. Although the technologies themselves are constantly and rapidly evolving, the underlying principles remain, so the module will cover both principles, and their illustration using current examples.

Content

  • Technologies. Server side programs, Common Gateway Interface, scripts (e.g. Perl), applets, PHP, servlets. TCP/IP, HTML, DNS, ASP, Active-X. Protocols
  • Web-engineering and middleware
  • Information provision: document generation, site management, content management
  • Security. Execution models, protection of resources, encryption and authentication
  • Information retrieval. Searching and indexing
  • Agent-based systems. Agent environments, cooperative agents, secure transactions, intelligent agents
  • Knowledge management. Intranets as knowledge management systems

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • Specialist knowledge: technolgies; security; information retrieval theory; agent-based systems
  • Practical design skills: experience with subset of technology; site implementation
  • Management: site and content management; system design
  • Design integration: selection and use of appropriate technologies to support conceptual models (e.g. agents)
  • The engineering of software systems: the lifecycle approach for the module laboratory assignment
  • Professional skills: module assignments, and the project for database design case study
Subject-specific Skills:
    Key Skills:

      Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

      • The module comprises 1 week's intensive directed reading and laboratory exercises; 5 days of lectures, tutorial, and reading and two weeks undertaking a major assignment. The overall workload conforms to the standard SLAT requirement of 150 hours equivalent to 15 credits.

      Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

      Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
      Lectures 10 2 per day in week 2 1 hour 10
      Tutorials 4 weekly 1 hour 4
      Practical 5 daily in week 1 6 hours 30
      Laboratory 10 daily in weeks 3,4 6 hours 60
      Preparation and Reading 46
      Total 150

      Summative Assessment

      Component: Laboratory report Component Weighting: 100%
      Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
      Laboratory report 100%

      Formative Assessment:

      Staged written feedback of laboratory and practical work by staff/demonstrators.

      ■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University