CS 1100: Web Development: Client-Side Coding

General Advice

• I will not ask you for dates, people's names, or historical facts.
• I will not ask you for precise definitions.
• I will not expect you to remember CSS property names exactly. For example, I don't expect you to commit to memory that to change the text's color, we use color, not text-color. However, knowing some of the most common properties and their values is useful.
• A good way to prepare is to review carefully each homework assignment and each in-class exercise we worked on.
• Review key parts of the readings and session notes. You don't need to reread every page in complete detail.
• Be prepared:
  • to provide short answers to conceptual questions,
  • to look for obvious errors in short snippets of code, and
  • to write short snippets of HTML and CSS to achieve a desired effect.

Architecture of the Web

• Understand the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web.
• Have a basic understanding of each of these concepts. (I will not ask you to give formal definitions.)
  • URL
  • HTTP
  • web server
  • web browser
  • HTML
• Have a basic understanding of the client-server model of communication:
  • the process that starts when we type a URL into a browser (or click a link) and ends when a web page displayed on the screen
  • how the five items in the previous bullet are involved in the process

HTML

• Know what markup is and why we do it.
• What's the difference between an HTML tag and an HTML element?
• Know HTML basics:
  • syntax: tags, attributes, opening and closing tags, and proper tag nesting
  • document structure: html/head/body and what each part might contain
• You don't have to memorize lots of detail. If you are given a snippet of HTML code, be prepared to:
  • identify what's what in the code
  • identify an obvious error in the code
• Know what semantic elements are and why we use them. These include the grouping elements nav, main, and footer.
• Know why we use the generic grouping elements div and span.
• Know how to markup simple text consisting of headings and paragraphs.
• Know how to make a link using the a tag. I may ask you to link to a file that is located in a subfolder.
• Know how to make a simple ordered and unordered list.
• Know how to display an image using the img tag.
• Know how to make a simple table using the table, tr, td, and th tags.

CSS

• Why do we need CSS?
• What do we mean when we say HTML is for defining structure and that CSS is for defining for presentation?
• Where can we place CSS code? Where do we prefer to place it? Why?
• Know the basic syntax of a CSS rule:
  • selector
  • curly braces
  • declarations: property/value pairs separated by colons and terminated by semicolons
• You don't have to memorize lots of detail. If you are given a snippet of CSS code, be prepared to:
  • identify what's what in the code
  • identify an obvious error in the code
• Know about CSS selectors: the kinds of selector we have used in class, and why we need different kinds of selectors.
• Know the CSS box model: content, padding, border, and margin.
• Know the difference between block-level elements and inline elements.
• Know why CSS makes the use of div and span elements so common in HTML documents.
• Know how we specify colors using names, RGB values, and hexadecimal values.
• Know basics of CSS layout:
  • normal flow
  • tweaks to normal flow, such as float an element
  • flexbox as an alternate way to layout a page
  • the basic ideas behind positioning
    (I will not ask you for details about different types of positioning or overflow.)
• Know how to write a simple ruleset to style text: headings, paragraphs, links, images, lists and their items, and tables and their cells.

As mentioned in General Advice, I don't expect you to memorize a bunch of specific property names and values. However, you should be able to write rules that demonstrate three weeks of experience with CSS.