CSE312: Web Applications

Course Description

Covers the fundamentals of full-stack web development and deployment with a strong emphasis on server-side code and functionality. Students will develop a full-stack web application without the use of a pre-existing web server or web framework. Topics include HTTP, APIs, AJAX, databases, encryption, authentication, sockets, privacy, and security.

Expectations

To do well in this course you are expected to:

• Spend a minimum of 12 hours/week on CSE312
• Have a desire to learn about web applications
• Be able to develop software with little/no guidance from the course staff
• Be able to find, read, and understand technical documentation

Grading

There are 1000 points available throughout the course. Your grade will be determined by the number of points you earn as follows:

Points	Grade
930-1000	A
900-929	A-
870-899	B+
830-869	B
800-829	B-
770-799	C+
730-769	C
700-729	C-
650-699	D+
600-649	D
<600	F

Points are available from the following assessments:

Assessment	Points
Homework Assignments	80
Homework Quizzes	320
Homework Interview	100
Team Project	100
Recitation Activities	100
Lecture Activities	100
Final Exam	200

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Homework Assignments

There are 4 homework assignments worth 20 points each for a total of 80 points. The following apply to all homework assignments:

• All homework assignments will be completed in Go. If you are not familiar with this language, you are strongly encouraged to review the Tour of Go
• All homework assignments will use PostgreSQL as the database
• No frameworks are allowed. You must implement all functionality yourself starting with a TCP socket from the net package
• No libraries/packages/classes/functions/etc are allowed if the library implements functionality that we covered in detail during lecture or recitation (e.g. We only cover JSON at a high level, not in detail, so libraries are allowed for JSON). If you're not sure if something is allowed, please ask before the assignment is due
• There will be no autograding for homework assignments. You will have a fair amount of flexibility in how you implement the homework assignments. The emphasis will be on you learning and applying the concepts covered in the homework assignment, and less on your specific implementation (e.g. If you deviate from the assignment, but justify that you still covered the concepts, that's cool)

The purpose of the homework assignments is to expose you to all the low-level details that make a web application function properly.

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Homework Quizzes

There are 4 homework quizzes worth 80 points each for a total of 320 points. Each quiz will take place the day after the corresponding homework assignment is due and will take the entire 50-minute lecture time.

Each quiz will assess the material from the corresponding homework assignment. Most of the learning in this course will take place while designing and implementing the homework assignments. These quizzes will verify that this learning has occurred.

No additional materials are allowed for these quizzes. It's you, the quiz paper, your writing utensils, and optionally a bottle of water. All other materials are prohibited.

Only university-approved reasons with documentation (e.g. illness with doctor's note) will be considered for makeup opportunities.

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Homework Interview

Each student will be interviewed 1 time during the semester. This interview is graded as a pass/fail assessment worth 100 points. The interview may occur during any scheduled class time throughout the semester (Lecture or recitation), and may include questions about any homework assignment. Interviews may start as soon as the homework 1 deadline passes. Any student not present when they are called for an interview will be called 1 additional time on a different date. Any student absent again on the second date will earn a 0.

During the interview, you will be asked questions about your specific implementation of the homework assignments. If you are able to explain your code and your design decisions, you will pass the interview. The intention is for any student who did their own work on the homework assignments to easily pass the interview. It is not meant to be a rigorous assessment.

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Team Project

The end of the semester will consist of a team project culminating in a presentation during lecture. This project is worth 100 points total (submission and presentation) and will be completed in groups of 2-4 students. The following apply only to the team project:

• You are required to use a web framework for the project. You have full freedom in choosing your framework, language, and database for this project
• You may use any libraries/packages/classes/functions/etc you'd like

The purpose of the project is to simulate how you'll actually build a web application in a real-world setting.

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Recitation Activities

Each of the 12 recitations will contain an activity worth 10 points. Total points are capped at 100.

The structure of these activities will vary from recitation to recitation. In general, they will assess if you are keeping up with the material from lecture and recitation up to that point.

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Lecture Activities

Most lectures will contain a lecture activity. The point value for activities may vary from lecture to lecture, but the total number of points available throughout the semester will be at least 120. Total points are capped at 100.

The structure of these activities will vary from lecture to lecture. Their simplest form will be a multiple choice question at the end of lecture related to the material covered that day.

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Final Exam

There will be a comprehensive final exam worth 200 points at the end of the semester.

No additional materials are allowed for the final exam. It's you, the exam paper, your writing utensils, and optionally a bottle of water. All other materials are prohibited.

Readings

There is no textbook for this course. Links to relevant readings and tutorials will be provided in the course schedule.

University/Department Policies and Services

• Counseling: http://www.buffalo.edu/studentlife/who-we-are/departments/counseling.html
• Accessibility: http://www.buffalo.edu/studentlife/who-we-are/departments/accessibility.html
• Academic Integrity (UB): https://catalogs.buffalo.edu/content.php?catoid=11&navoid=571#preamble
• Academic Integrity (CSE): https://engineering.buffalo.edu/computer-science-engineering/information-for-students/policies/academic-integrity.html