Software Development for the Web: 'NET Curriculum Workshop

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Software Development for the Web.NET Curriculum
Workshop

• Paul Roe
• QUT, Australia
• p.roe_at_qut.edu.au

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QUT

• Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
• One of largest universities in Australia 30,000
  students (u/g, p/g, 10 international)
• Applied emphasis, strong links with industry e.g.
  Microsoft

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My Background

• Academic at QUT for 10 years
• Spent last 3 years utilising Microsoft .NET in
  teaching and research
• Initially Project 7
• Subsequently other projects and teaching
• I am a computer scientist interested in
• Programming languages
• Distributed computing
• Practical / applied emphasis
• Disclaimer these are my views, not Microsofts,
  not QUTs

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Why use .NET in Teaching?

• State of the art languages, runtime, libraries
• Industry strength technology
• Simple sophisticated
• Excellent support for internationalisation
• Useful
• Increasingly in demand
• Students love it
• Add balance to degree (like most degrees, lot of
  Java Linux in subjects)

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Academic Reality CheckWhat should you really be
concerned about in order to teach a subject with
a new technology like .NET ?

• Resources, resources and resources!
• Documentation
• Textbooks
• Reference material
• Tutorials
• Courseware?
• People (with necessary skills)
• Teaching assistants
• Instructors
• Students
• Systems administrators
• Software availability, cost, resource
  implications (need lab upgrade?, can students run
  s/w on their PCs?)
• Labs set-up and administration, systems admins,

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Software Development for Web Overview

• Subject about theory and practice of developing
  web applications e.g. eStores, web portals, etc.
• A capstone elective subject of 3 year Bachelor of
  IT degree
• Run twice 2002 and 2003
• Serious programming subject
• Uses .NET, in particular ASP.NET
• ASP.NET very sophisticated framework for web
  applications, more so than e.g. ASP, JSP

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What is ASP.NET?

• Consider three tier web application architecture

Web server
Client (web browser)
ASP.NET Presentation
Business Logic
ADO.NET Data Access
HTML over HTTP
Database
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Student Learning Objectives

• Understand issues of s/w development for web
• Different from PC s/w development
• Client server
• State management
• Architecture and design n-tier architecture,
  data access
• Security, scalability, performance, etc.
• Know some standard technology e.g. HTTP, HTML,
  XML, web services
• Gain programming experience with .NET,
  particularly ASP.NET

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Prerequisites

• Java
• Intermediate level object oriented programming
• Basic HTML
• Basic databases / SQL

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Subject Structure

• 2-3 hour lecture 1 hour prac X 13 weeks
• (¼ full time student load one semester)
• Assessment 35 assignment, 65 exam
• Some guest lectures by Microsoft
• ASP.NET overview and demos
• Real world issues - deployment, project
  management, legacy code, etc.

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Documentation

• Good overview Understanding .NET A Tutorial
  and Analysis David Chappell, Addison Wesley 2002
• Visual Studio and SDK excellent documentation
• Walk throughs e.g. Creating a web app (local,
  web)
• Tutorials e.g. C Tutorials (local, web)
• Reference e.g. SqlConnection Class (local, web)
• Quickstarts http//localhost/quickstart/ASPPlus/,
  http//www.asp.net/tutorials/quickstart.aspx
• Web, particularly for generic technology HTTP,
  HTML, XML
• MSDN Academic Alliance notes (http//www.msdnaa.ne
  t/)

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Lectures

• Topics
• Web basics, HTTP, HTML, CGI, ActiveX, ASP/JSP
  (evolutionary perspective)
• .NET basics CLR, C / VB.NET, VS.NET
• ASP.NET
• ADO.NET, N-tier architecture
• Security
• XML, web services
• Real world issues deployment, teamwork,
  debugging, performance etc.
• New developments P2P, business integration
  servers (Biztalk), etc.
• Most lectures mix of
• Concepts, design, architecture
• Standards (e.g. HTTP, XML, web services)
• .NET practice inc. demos
• Also tutorials covering practical aspects of
  .NET

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Lab Setup and Software

• Students developed and tested code on individual
  machines
• Run web server and database on each PC
• Labs set up to run a boot loader (Rembo)
• Multiple images, can force re-image if necessary
• Students have admin permission
• Machine configuration
• Windows XP Professional
• Internet Explorer 6
• Visual Studio.NET Professional
• IIS (optional Windows XP Professional component)
• SQL Server Developer Edition
• Alternative to Visual Studio, Web Matrix
  smaller, simpler, free http//www.asp.net/WebMatr
  ix/

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Lab Setup and Software

• But this all costs lots of ?!
• No - MSDN AA to the rescue http//www.msdnaa.net/
• Can install MS development s/w in labs (cheaply)
• Students can legally install same configuration
  on home PC for free!

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Assignment (Project)

• Tried two different approaches
• Construct system from scratch (first semester
  2002)
• Modify an existing system (first semester 2003)
• Both cases
• Students work in pairs
• Serious programming assignment
• Use SQL Server, Visual Studio.NET, ASP.NET,
  VB.NET/C

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Assignment Construct System from Scratch

• Pizza ordering system for work group
• Heres one I made earlier
• Incorporate some web services and other issues
• Required ASP.NET, ADO.NET, data base, C
• Use at least one custom web control
• Use code behind and minimal inline program code
• Emphasized simple and elegant design

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Assignment Construct system from scratch Issues

• Most students did a good job, weaker students
  struggled, no guiding design
• Lots of variation in designs, user interfaces
  etc. making grading difficult
• Also lots of installation issues difficult
  grading

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Best Assignment
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Best Assignment
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Best Assignment
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Assignment Modify an Existing System

• Give an existing system, make modifications
• Study a well architected system
• Easier marking
• No need to bake one ourselves
• Realistic dont start from scratch
• Students write less code, spend more time
  understanding existing well designed system
• Can constrain system e.g. give them database
• Have server to deploy final system easier
  grading (xcopy deployment!)

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Example System gasTix

• gasTix example event ticketing system like
  Ticketek
• http//www.gastix.net
• Example system
• Best practice
• Well architected
• Uses C and VB.NET, database, security, ASP.NET,
  web services
• Comes with all source code
• Described in G. Sullivan, .NET e-Business
  Architecture, SAMS, 2002 (ISBN 0672322196)

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Extending gasTix

• Gave them a database with some new tables
• Force them to use that database, only access via
  stored procedures!
• Additional features
• Customer registration
• Support different counties
• Web services address validator
• Assignment required them to understand existing
  code, but less coding for them to do

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Demo

• Original http//www.gastix.com/home.aspx
• One students solution http//localhost/gasTIX/
  (added customer registration, multiple countries)

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Alternatives to gasTix

• MS Duwamish books example well documented,
  exemplar design
• NET Architectural Sample Applications
  http//msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url
  /library/en-us/dnbda/html/bdadotnetsamp0.asp
• IBuySpy (simpler) http//www.asp.net/Default.aspx?
  tabindex5tabid42

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Results

• Lots of interest from students 200, 230
  students (02,03)
• Lot of material to cover
• Made good use of academic alliance program
• Students can work on assignment using own PCs
• Couldnt run the subject without this!
• Assignments
• Generally very good, extending an existing system
  works well
• Used postgraduate students for staffing tutorials
  grading assignments
• Prizes for best assignments, inc. opportunity to
  help out at MS TechEd!
• Grading very time consuming for start from
  scratch assignments, modification ones better
• Good support from Microsoft
• Guest lectures went really well
• Better student behaviour and participation than
  for academics!

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Where to from here?

• Investigate and sign-up for MSDN Academic
  Alliance http//www.msdnaa.net/
• Contact local MS rep for support, ask about
  content and curriculum project
• Start small, build knowledge and confidence
• E.g. undergraduate projects good starting point
• Build team (if got large classes) e.g. post grad
  students for TA
• Speak to book reps good .NET text books
• Pay attention to labs sys admin issues
  http//msruniv.corp.bcentral.com/

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Thank you

• Questions?
• (Please feel free to email me if you have any
  questions which arise later p.roe_at_qut.edu.au)

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Other Courses at QUT using .NET

• Component technology
• Intro programming
• Compilers
• Web services
• Web applications development
• Internationalisation