Help:COAP-3180/exam

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Introduction

This is a page to help preparation for the COAP-3180 exam, december 2007.

Conceptual exam topics

Simple web 2.0 databases

• Understand the potential of tools like Zoho Creator and other virtual office software, e.g. other Zoho applications or Google Apps like Google Docs

Reading:

• O'Reilly Tim (2005), What is Web 2.0, http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html, better take the print version.

Webtops and widgets

• Understand the principle of web top like pageflakes
• Understand the principle of web widgets

Reading:

• Web widget and mashup (chapters 1 and 2)

Webdatabases, major database types and simple Internet architectures

• Understand the difference between major database types
• HTML Forms, server-side scripts and databases
• Three-tier architecture model

Reading:

• http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/te/files/webdatabases-intro.pdf

Relational databases

• Principles of relational databases, i.e. how objects can be represented with tables, and how tables can be linked together with keys

The LAMP architecture

• Understand what Apache/MySQL/Php means
• Understand advantages/disadvantages of working with a web hosting service, a local WAMP installation or a WAMP on a memory stick.

Reading:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_hosting_service

PHP/MySQL and Code generators

• Be able to produce scripting code with a generator
• Understand what the generator does and why generators can be useful
• Have a basic understanding how PHP interacts with MySQL

Reading: http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/te/files/php-mysql.pdf

Configuration of LAMP-based portalware

• Discuss the design of a CMS, i.e. its purpose, front page design, menu layout, skin and extra tools installed

Reading:

The W3C XML framework

• Purpose of XML
• Basic technical features of XML:
  • well-formedness,
  • validity, i.e. the Schema concept (DTD, XML Schema, etc.) and its purpose
  • namespaces
• Some understanding of the purpose of important XML applications, e.g. XHTML, XSLT, XPath, SVG.
• Understand the difference between "true XHTML" and XHTML used as "just" HTML

XML Databases

• Understand the purpose of XML databases
• Advantages and disadvantages compared to other database technologies
• Have a rough understanding on how XPath, XQuery, Xupdate, XQuery Update, XSLT and CSS may work together

Reading:

• Ronald Bourret (2005). XML and Databases, http://www.rpbourret.com/xml/XMLAndDatabases.htm

Webservices

• Have a general understanding of what we mean be "webservice"
• Be able to distinguish between a REST, A XML-RPC and SOAP interface

LDAP databases

Readings:

Technical exam topics

You are expected to master technical details (beginner's level) of these topics.

SQL basics

• Understand simple table definition
• SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE
• http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/te/files/mysql-intro.pdf (Note: You can find links to additional SQL tutorials on the course homepage or the SQL and MySQL pages if the slides are not clear enough...

Readings:

PHP/MySQL basics

• Be able to use the PHPMySQLadmin interface (create users, databases and fix permissions)
• Install a portal on a LAMP server

XQuery basics

• Be able to write a simple XQuery application
• Produce both XML and HTML output
• Be able to upload XML data files and *.xq files to an eXist server
• Query and eXist database with simple REST expressions

Readings:

http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/te/files/mysql-intro.pdf