Documents, Text Editors, and Web Pages Class 3 LBSC 690 Information Technology

Agenda Questions Unix Survival Guide Document Creation Document markup Web Pages Project Overview

Unix Survival Guide WAM account Directory structure (mkdir, cd, .., /) Eliminating unneeded files (rm) Managing mail (pine, (attachments)) Moving files (mv, cp, ftp) Editing files (pico, more) Web anywhere (lynx) How much space is used (du, ls -l)

Document Creation Editors Word Processors Desktop Publishing Structured Documents HTML/SGML/XML

Editors (Text Editing vs. Word Processing) Purpose Create and modify ASCII text Examples pico and emacs on WAM Advantages Compatible with virtually everything (VT-100) Disadvantages Limited format control, sometimes no mouse

Word Processors Purpose Examples Advantages Disadvantages Create documents intended for human readers Examples Microsoft Word and Word Perfect in OWL Advantages Good format control WYSIWYG (“What You See is What You Get”) Disadvantages No (universal) standard interchange format

Desktop Publishing Purpose Examples Advantages Disadvantages Produce documents for wide distribution Examples Adobe Pagemaker in the WAM labs Advantages Allows very detailed layout control Disadvantages Requires fairly extensive user expertise

Structured Documents Purpose Examples Advantages Disadvantages Specify logical structure of the documents Examples email, HTML, LaTeX, SGML/XML Advantages Allows easy reformatting for different displays Can be readily indexed Disadvantages Hard to read unless “rendered” before viewing Contrast Logical structure versus presentation layout

Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) Purpose Structured document language for web pages Advantages Adapts easily to different display capabilities Widely available rendering software (browsers) Disadvantages Direct control over layout is limited The HTML “standard” is still evolving

HTML Document Structure Markup tags (open and close) bracket content <tag> … </tag> Title shows up in the Web browser’s frame Headers show up in the page itself For each link, specify the URL and link text <a href=“URL”>link text</a> Inline graphics can replace the link text <img src=oard.jpg>

HTML on WAM Files live in ~/../pub/ on WAM from another unix directory directory: cp 690.html ~/../pub/ from a PC: ftp then binary then cd ~/../pub/ then put 690.html http://www.wam.umd.edu/~userid/690.html

HTML (by copying another html file) Find a web page you like Select “Document Source” in “View” menu Compare HTML code with rendered version Observe how to achieve each effect Select “Save As” in “File” menu FTP the file to ~/../pub/ on WAM Edit the file using pico http://www.wam.umd.edu/~userid/filename

Designing Web Pages Key design issues: Sources of information Content: What do you want to publish? Style: How do you want to present it? Syntax: How can you achieve that presentation? Sources of information Online tutorials (Yahoo points to lots of these) Technical materials (e.g., the HTML 3.0 spec) ADA standards - www.w3c.org

Style Guidelines Design for generic browsers And test on every version you wish to support Provide appropriate access points User needs and navigation strategies differ Design useful navigational aids A web search may lead to the middle of a site Include some indication of currency Date of last update, “new” icons, etc.

HTML Editors Goal is to create web pages, not learn HTML! Several are available In Explorer, “Edit-Page” for Front Page Express In Netscape, “File-Edit Page” for Composer You may still need to edit the HTML file Some editors use browser-specific features Some HTML features may be missing entirely File names may be butchered by FTP

SGML/XML Generalized Markup Languages These allow people to design SGML - Standard Generalized Markup Language (for paper documents) XML - eXtensible Markup Language (for Web documents) (see W3C) These allow people to design DTDs - Document-type definitions A Document also needs: DSSSL - Document StyleSheet Specification Language

Project Overview Goal: Solve a practical problem One which is fairly complex You choose the technology Make a set of web pages (a web “site”) Make a database Do something else that is equally complex Multimedia presentation, Java program, … Three-person groups

Web Projects Have significant content! (see “What is a Book” web site under CLIS Dean’s Award) Multiple access points Taxonomy, search engine, map, etc. Be creative (in a useful way)! For example: Choose a novel application Engage the user with an interactive approach Adopt an innovative organization Implement a creative layout

Database Projects Your focus should be on scalability What if the IRS decided to use your database? The user interface is important Designed to be used without taking 690 first! Include enough content to allow testing But focus on organization, not on content The same creativity issues as web projects

Project Timeline Project description will be presented in class The week after the midterm exam Specification and Test Plan Each team member can write one (separate grades) Everyone can work together on all three (one grade) Project demonstrations last week of class Scheduled individually All three team members get the same grade

Deliverables Specification Test Plan Complete description of what the user will see! Also specifies any other firm requirements Test Plan Detailed procedures to verify it works Based on specification, done before project!