LIS 450 Section DS -- Spring 2001
Syllabus & Course Outline
Implementation of Distributed Information Systems
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3 pm - 5 pm
429 & 433 Grainger Engineering Library Information Center
Instructors: Timothy W. Cole & William H. Mischo
Course Description:
This course will examine the issues surrounding the implementation of distributed information
systems. The course will examine the definition and implementation of 'digital libraries'
in the context of the distributed information environment in which libraries presently operate.
The course will also have a strong laboratory component, focusing on retrieval and display of content
across the World Wide Web and the
integration of relational databases within Web applications. Students will gain conceptual
and practical knowledge of advanced content mark-up, organization, and presentation, and
web-based information retrieval. Both server-side and client-side technologies will be
examined. Technologies covered will include XML, CSS, XSLT, Metadata, Linking Technologies, DHTML,
JavaScript, Active Server Platform, VBScript, and SQL. The class will be taught in four
parts: Underlying Technologies and Issues connected with Digital Libraries (weeks 1 - 3); Technologies
for Extending Webserver Functionality (weeks 4 - 6); Methods of Incorporating Relational Databases (weeks 7 - 9);
Client-side Extensions & Advanced Topics (weeks 10 - 14). Student projects will be presented during week 13.
Examples and assignments will focus on library textual databases and solutions.
Assignments, lectures, and labs will be practical. The intent is to inform by example and
illustration.
Tentative Class Schedule (subject to modification):
Week 1 (Underlying Technologies):
- Tuesday 1/16:
- Course Introduction & Overview
- Review of HTML Fundamentals
- HTML Tables, Forms
-
- Thursday 1/18:
- Student Introductions, Favorite Websites
- Advanced Markup -- XML, XHTML
- Stylesheets (CSS & XSL)
-
- Required Readings:
- Spainhour: pp. 9-15, 73-88, 101-168, also browse chapter 3 (HTML Reference).
- Reserve Reading 1: The Journal of Computer Documentation (ACM
SIGDOC), Vol. 21, No. 3 (August 1997): pp. 1 - 44.
- Web Page, Markup (General): Refining our Notion of
What Text Really Is: The Problem of Overlapping Hierarchies
- Web Page, HTML: HTML Literacy: Common HTML
Tags, etc. (Mischo & Cole)
- Web Page, HTML: Simple Examples of
Mis-Nesting of Tags
- Web Page, HTML: Index of HTML Elements (HTML 4.01)
- Web Page, HTML: User
Interface Engineering Web Site
- Web Page, CSS: CSS Level 1
& CSS Level 2 Specifications
- Web Page, XML: W3C XML Home Page
- Web Page, XML: Namespaces in XML
- Web Page, XSL: W3C XSL Home Page
- Web Page, XSL: Microsoft's XSL
compliance page (view using MS Internet Explorer)
- Web Page, CSS, XSL: Examples from Class
Week 2 (Underlying Technologies):
- Tuesday 1/23 [Meet in Room 433]:
- Definition of the Digital Library
- DL fundamentals
- Networking Fundamentals
- Distributed Information Environment
-
- Thursday 1/25 [Meet in Grainger Commons, 2nd Floor]:
- Integration Issues
- Simultaneous Searching
- Server Fundamentals (security, virtual paths)
- Details of HTTP, Cookies, & HTTPS
-
- Required Readings:
- Reserve Reading 2. Readings on Digital Libraries
- Web Page, Networking: Networking
Fundamentals
- Web Page, Protocols: HTTP -- Client
Requests - Server Response Examples
- Web Page, Protocols: HTTP & HTTPS -- Ed Kubaitis's introduction to HTTPS
- Web Page, Protocols: HTTP Cookies -- Sidebar2:
Maintaining State -- HTTP Cookies
Week 3 (Underlying Technologies):
- Tuesday 1/30 [Guest Lecture -- Tom Habing]:
- Tom's Presentation
- Metadata -- RDF, Dublin Core, etc.
- RDF/DC Metadata Illustration from DLIB TestSuite Project (view with MS IE) --
Sample,
DLIB Schema.
- D-LIB Test Suite Cross Repository Search
- OAi Metadata Harvesting
- Linking Technologies (DOI, CrossRef)
-
- Thursday 2/1:
- Information Retrieval Studies
- Setting up an FTP Virtual Directory
- Paper Assignment & Project
Assignments Handed Out
- Lab 1: HTML, XML, & Stylesheets
Lab 1 Solutions (view using Internet Explorer)
-
- Required Readings:
- Spainhour: pp. 379 - 410, 479 - 496.
- Reserve Reading 3: Berit Irgens, "Problems Using a Web-OPAC: A Pilot Study,"
- Web Page: Notes on Information Retrieval Studies
- Web Page, Metadata: W3 Corsortium
Metadata Overview
- Web Page, Metadata: Resource
Description Framework -- RDF
- Web Page, Metadata: Dublin Core Content
Description Model
- Web Page, Metadata: MICI, Metadata Information
Clearinghouse (Interactive)
- Web Page, Metadata: The Meta Data
Coalition
Week 4 (Extending Webserver Functionality):
- Tuesday 2/6:
- Complete review of Lab 1
- Server-Side Technologies (CGIs, ISAPI, Scripting)
- Dynamic Page Generation Technologies (ASP, CFM, JSP, PHP)
-
- Thursday 2/8:
- Introducing VBScript & ASP:
- response.write
- request.serverVariables(), request.queryString()
- If ... Then ... Else ... End If
- For ... Next, For each ... Next, Exit For
- Instr()
- Lab 2: First ASP Page
Lab 2 Solutions (view using Netscape)
-
- Required Readings:
- Spainhour: pp. 257 - 264.
- Weissinger (2nd ed.): pp. 3 - 25, 67-130.
- Weissinger (1st ed.): pp. 3 - 26, 48-113.
- Reserve Reading 4: Various Readings From PC Week, ,
PC Magazine, and EWeek.
- Web Page, CGI, APIs, etc.: Scripting
Overview & Application Programming Interfaces (ISAPI / NSAPI)
Week 5 (Extending Webserver Functionality):
- Tuesday 2/13:
- Global.ASA File
- More Built-in ASP Objects (Server, Session, & Application)
-
- Thursday 2/15:
- Lab 3: More ASP & VBScript
Lab 3 Solutions
-
- Required Readings:
- Weissinger (2nd ed.): pp. 131 - 167.
- Weissinger (1st ed.): pp. 113 - 140.
Week 6 (Extending Webserver Functionality):
- Tuesday 2/20:
- More VBScript in ASP Pages (DO...WHILE, REPLACE, INSTRREV, Nested Loops for Tables)
-
- Thursday 2/22:
- Hourly Test 1 (Weeks 1 - 4)
-
- Required Readings:
- Weissinger (2nd ed.): pp. 168 - 184.
- Weissinger (1st ed.): pp. 141 - 158.
Week 7 (Incorporating Relational Databases):
- Tuesday 2/27:
- Introduction to Relational Databases
- Introduction to MS SQL (Select)
-
- Thursday 3/1:
- Introduction to ActiveX Data Object in ASP
- Lab 4: Querying an SQL Database via a webpage
Lab 4 Solutions
-
- Required Readings:
- Weissinger (2nd ed.): pp. 187 - 272.
- Weissinger (1st ed.): pp. 159 - 235.
- Web Page, SQL: Introduction to SQL &
Relational Databases
- Web Page, SQL: Select, Insert, Delete, &
Update Statements
Week 8 (Incorporating Relational Databases):
- Tuesday 3/6:
- More about ADO Objects (Connection, RecordSet, Command)
- Thursday 3/8:
- Connecting to a SQL Database using MS Access
- More SQL Syntax
-
- Required Readings:
- Reserve Reading 5: Excerpts from Kline, et al., Transact-SQL
Programming (chapter 1, pp. 3-27).
- Reserve Reading 6: Excerpts from Groff, et al., SQL: The Complete
Reference (part 1, pp. 3-64).
Week 9 (Incorporating Relational Databases):
- Tuesday 3/20:
- Lab 5:Updating a SQL Database via a webpage
Lab 5 Solutions
-
- Thursday 3/22:
- Completion of Lab 5
-
- Required Readings:
- Reserve Reading 7: Excerpts from Kline, et al., Transact-SQL
Programming (from chapter 3, pp. 76 - 113).
- Web Page, SQL: MS SQL Extensions: FREETEXT
& CONTAINS
- Web Page, ADO: Data Shaping
Week 10 (Client Applications in Visual BASIC, Client-side Extensions & Advanced Topics):
- Tuesday 3/27:
- VB and WebBrowser Control Applications
- Simple Spider and Harvester
-
- Thursday 3/29:
- Brief Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming Concepts
- Components
-
- Required Readings:
- Class Notes for 3/29
Week 11 (Client-side Extensions & Advanced Topics):
- Tuesday 4/3:
- JavaScript & Client-Side Scripting Applications, DHTML
- Lab 6: Client-Side Scripting Lab 6 Solutions
-
- Thursday 4/5:
- Examples of Web-Based Database Applications
- Required Readings:
- Spainhour: pp. 187 - 205, also browse remainder of Chapter 11 (JavaScript Language
Reference)
- Web Page, XML, CSS, DHTML & JavaScript: Examples
from Class
Week 12 (Client-side Extensions & Advanced Topics):
- Tuesday 4/10:
- Lab 7: File Uploads & Using the XML DOM
Lab 7 Solution
(user login and password to use for this solution will be provided in class)
-
- Thursday 4/12:
- More Examples of Web-Based Database Applications
Week 13 (Student Project Presentations):
- Tuesday 4/17:
- Project Presentations
-
- Thursday 4/19:
- Project Presentations
- ASP Source For Project Signup Application
Week 14 (Client-side Extensions & Advanced Topics):
- Tuesday 4/24:
- Class Notes
-
- Thursday 4/26:
- Review & Advanced Topics
- PAPER DUE
Week 15:
- Tuesday 5/1:
- Second Hourly (Weeks 5 - 10)
-
Grades Based On:
- 20% Hourly 1
- Multiple Choices and Short Answers
- Covers: Weeks 1 - 4
- 20% Hourly 2
- Multiple Choices and Short Answers
- Covers: Weeks 5 - 11
- 20% Paper (4 - 7 pages):
- Topic:Distributed Information Systems and Libraries
- Evaluated on completeness, logical presentation, grasp of issues.
- 25% Group Project
- Students will form groups of 2
- Projects must be approved by instructor prior to week 8
- Group will create or extend a website. Will integrate into the website (using ASP
pages and VB Scripting) access to a SQL database that the group creates, uploads from some
other DBMS, or obtains as an existing resource. At the minimum it will be possible
to search and retrieve data from the database via a web browser. The content of the
Website and the database should be library-related.
- Evaluated on quality of website (Markup, intellectual organization of site, quality of
presentation), functionality of database, quality of ASP pages, retrieval effectiveness,
originality, sophistication, usefulness, etc. Evaluation adjusted according to difficulty
of project undertaken.
- 15% In-Class Participation & Labs (approximately 7 labs)
Required Readings & Text Books:
There are 2 primary texts for this class, both from the O'Reilly Nutshell Handbook
series. We are not requiring that you purchase these books (copies will be on
reserve at the LIS Library and at the Grainger Library), but we strongly recommend that you purchase
these titles, particularly if you have interest in these topics outside of class. Both titles are readily
available at local bookstores and from sites such as amazon.com.
- Stephen Spainhour & Robert Eckstein (1999). Webmaster
in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference, 2nd Edition (Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly).
BE SURE TO GET THE SECOND EDITION, PUBLISHED IN JUNE 1999.
- A. Keyton Weissinger (2000). ASP in a Nutshell: A Desktop
Quick Reference , 2nd Edition (Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly).
For this class you can also use the first edition of this title (1999).
You will be responsible for assimilating the assigned readings from these 2 texts (as
noted in the week-by-week class schedule given above), even if we don't discuss each
reading explicitly in class. If you have questions about the content of the assigned
readings, be sure to bring them up in class.
While these 2 books cover many of the technologies we'll discuss, we will be dealing
with some technologies not covered or not covered in sufficient depth in these texts. For
such topics you'll need to rely on in-class lectures, webpages (as noted above under
weekly reserve readings), and assigned journal article and book chapter readings on
reserve at Grainger and the LIS Library. In addition to technical readings
describing techniques and implementations of key technologies, there will be a few
readings to provide further background and context regarding the technologies we'll be
learning and implementing. Photocopies of the following journal articles and book
chapters will be available at both the Grainger and the LIS reserve desk.
- Reserve Reading 1. The Journal of Computer Documentation (ACM SIGDOC),
Vol. 21, No. 3 (August 1997): pp. 1 - 44. Includes the following items:
- Steven J. DeRose, David G. Durand, Elli Mylonas, & Allen H. Renear, "What is
Text, Really?" (As reprinted from Journal of Computing in Higher Education, Winter
1990, Vol. 1 (2), 3 - 26.)
- Stuart A. Selber, "First Commentary on 'What is Text, Really?' -- The OHCO Model of
Text: Merits and Concerns."
- Charles Hill, "Second Commentary on 'What is Text, Really?' -- Markup Meets the
Mainstream: The Future of Content-Based Processing."
- R. Stanley Dicks, "Third Commentary on 'What is Text, Really?' -- Proposed
Counterexamples to the OHCO Model."
- Steven J. DeRose, David G. Durand, Elli Mylonas, & Allen H. Renear, "Further
Context for 'What is Text, Really?'"
- Reserve Reading 2. Readings on Digital Libraries, including:
- Ross Atkinson, "A Rationale for the Redsign of Scholarly Information Exchange,"
Library Resources & Technical Services 44(2): 59-69, 2000.
- Christine L. Borgman, "Is It Digital or Is It a Library? Digital Libraries
and Information Infrastructure," chapter 2 of From Gutenberg to the
Global Information Infrastructure: Access to Information in the Networked World,
Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2000.
- Reserve Reading 3: Berit Irgens, "Problems Using a Web-OPAC: A Pilot Study,"
in ASIS 2000: Knowledge Innovations. Proceedings of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American
Society for Information Science, November 12-16, 2000. Chicago: The Society, 2000.
- Reserve Reading 4: Various Readings From PC Week,
PC Magazine, and EWeek
- From PC Magazine, Feb. 9, 1999: pp. 229 -
230, and June 8, 1999: pp. 163 - 175. Includes the following items:
- Will Fastie, "Understanding Client/Server Computing."
- Larry Seltzer, "Create a Great Site: Serve It."
- From PC Week, July 12, 1999: pp. 22 &
24. Includes the following items
- Timothy Dyck, "8 Web App Servers That Deliver."
- Sidebar: "What the Numbers Mean: The Stories Behind the Story."
- Peter Coffee, "Platform Balance Is Elusive."
- From PC Magazine, May 23, 2000: pp. 154 - 170.
Includes the following items
- Richard V. Dragan and Frank J. Derfler, Jr., "Build the Right Site For Your Business."
- From EWeek,
- Reserve Reading 5: Excerpts from Kline, et al., Transact-SQL
Programming (chapter 1, pp. 3 - 27).
- Reserve Reading 6: Excerpts from Groff, et al., SQL: The Complete
Reference (part 1, pp. 3 - 64).
- Reserve Reading 7: Excerpts from Kline, et al., Transact-SQL
Programming (from chapter 3, pp. 76 - 113).
Finally, I've arranged for the following books to be put on reserve at the Grainger
Engineering Library. As noted above required reserve readings from these texts will
be photocopied and made available at both the Grainger and LIS libraries, but I do not
expect to have the complete books available at LIS Library. These books also may be
useful to you when working on your projects or on other assignments.
- Al Williams, Kim Barber, & Paul Newkirk (1998). Active Server
Pages Black Book (Albany, NY: Coriolis).
- Chuck Musciano & Bill Kennedy (1998). HTML:
The Definitive Guide, 3rd ed. (Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly).
- David Flanagan (1998). JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 3rd
ed. (Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly).
- Kevin Kline, Lee Gould, & Andrew Zanevsky (1999). Transact-SQL
Programming (Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly).
- James R. Groff & Paul N. Weinberg (1999). SQL: The
Complete Reference (Berkeley: Osborne/McGraw-Hill).
- Frank Boumphrey (1998). Professional Style Sheets with HTML &
XML (Birmingham: Wrox).
- Dan Rahmel (1999). Visual Basic 6: Programmer's Reference, 2nd
ed. (Berkeley: Osborne/McGraw-Hill).
The Active Server Pages Black Book provides a complimentary perspective on
many of the topics we'll be covering. We relied on it 2 years ago, but it's more
dated now than the 2 primary textbooks and it costs considerably
more than either of the O'Reilly books individually. I strongly recommend HTML: The
Definitive Guide and JavaScript: The Definitive Guide for those of you less
familiar or experienced with HTML, JavaScript, and DHTML. Both are good references
when troubleshooting HTML or JavaScript problems. If a later edition is now available, get it in
preference to the editions listed above. They're both particularly good at
identifying differences between Netscape and Internet Explorer implementations. The Transact-SQL
Programming and SQL: The Complete Reference texts cover many of the
relation database and database query topics we'll be discussing in class and are also
useful references when checking SQL statement semantics and syntax. The Professional
Style Sheets with HTML & XML text covers XML and stylesheets in greater than
we'll have time to go into, though because it was written while standards were still in
draft, it contains a small amount of inaccurate information. The Visual Basic 6:
Programmer's Reference text is useful for those who need to exploit functions or
capabilities of the language not covered in class. In addition to these reserve
titles and our primary texts, the imprints I suggest you consider in this topic area are
O'Reilly, QUE, SAMS, Osborne, and Wrox.
Instructors & Office Hours:
- Timothy W. Cole
- 213 Altgeld Hall (inside Math Library)
- phone: 244-7837
- email: t-cole3@uiuc.edu
- Mathematics Librarian & Associate Professor of Library Administration
- Office Hours (call or email to confirm) -- Monday & Tuesday 9 - 11 AM; also by appointment
-
- William H. Mischo
- 153 Grainger Engineering Library
- phone: 333 - 7497
- email: w-mischo@uiuc.edu
- Engineering Librarian & Professor of Library Administration
- Office Hours (call or email to confirm) -- Monday & Wednesday 2 - 4 PM; also by appointment
-
Questions to: Tim Cole
01/16/01