Unit Guide: ITEC830

Semester 2, 2010

Convenor: Dr. Rolf Schwitter

Prerequisites: TBA

Students should read this unit outline carefully at the start of semester. It contains important information about the unit. If anything in it is unclear, please consult one of the teaching staff in the unit.

About This Unit

ITEC830 provides thorough introduction to the technological fundamentals of web-based e-commerce, emphasising the application of XML (eXtensible Markup Language) as a tool for structuring transactions and organising complex dynamic information. Topics include document computing (web servers, XML, XSLT), web services (application servers, SOAP), XML data formats and standards, metadata, and XML databases.

Teaching Staff

Role	Name	Email	Room	Office hours
Convenor, Lecturer	Dr. Rolf Schwitter	Rolf.Schwitter@mq.edu.au		TBA
Lecturer	Dr. Diego Molla	diego@ics.mq.edu.au		TBA

All emails related to ITEC830 should be sent to Rolf.Schwitter@mq.edu.au and must include your full name and your student id number.

Classes

Each week you should attend 2 hours of lectures and two hours of practicals. For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.

You should have selected a practical at enrolment. You should attend the practical you are enrolled in. If you do not have a class, or if you wish to change one, you should see the enrolment operators in the E7B courtyard during the first two weeks of the semester. Thereafter you should go to the Student Centre.

Recommended Texts

There is no requierd textbook for this unit. You will be given pointers to web resources relevant to the topic being discussed each week. If you are interested in a good introductory text book then have a look at:

• Anders Moeller and Michael Schwarzbach. An Introduction to XML and Web Technologies, Addison Wesley, 2006.
• Steven Holzner. XML -- A Beginner's Guide: Go Beyond the Basics with Ajax, XHMTL, XPath 2.0, XSLT 2.0, and XQuery, McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Unit Web Page

The web page for this unit can be found at http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/units/itec830. Note that the majority of the unit materials is publicly available while some material requires you to log in to Moodle. to access it.

The unit will make use of discussion boards hosted within Moodle. Please post questions there, they will be monitored by the staff of the unit.

Learning Outcomes

A student completing the unit will be able to:

• understand how XML works and where it can be used.
• create XML documents, validate XML documents, and transform them into other formats.
• understand the range of technologies underpinned by XML such as: XPath, XSLT and XQuery.
• retrieve content of documents structured with XML.
• use XML in modern web applications.

In addition to these discipline-based learning objectives, this unit aims at developing the following skills:

• critical analysis skills;
• problem-solving skills;
• creative thinking skills.

Teaching and Learning Strategy

ITEC830 is taught via lectures and practical sessions in the laboratory. Lectures are used to introduce new material, give examples of the use of XML technologies and related technologies and put them in a wider context. While lectures are largely one to many presentations, you are encouraged to ask the lecturer questions to clarify anything you might not be sure of. Practical sessions give you an opportunity to practice your design and programming skills under the supervision of a practical demonstrator. Each week you will be given a number of problems to work on and a number of these problems will be assessed; it is important that you keep up with these tasks as doing so will help you understand the material in the unit and prepare you for the work in assignments.

Each week you should:

• Attend lectures, take notes, ask questions.
• Attend the practical sessions, solve as many of the practical problems as you can and seek feedback from the practical demonstrator on your work.
• Read appropriate sections of the text, add to your notes and prepare questions for your lecturer or tutor.
• Work on any assignments that have been released.

Lecture notes will be made available each week but these notes are intended as an outline of the lecture only and are not a substitute for your own notes or assigned reading material.

Topic List

Relationship Between Assessment and Learning Outcomes

1. Able to understand how XML works and where it can be used: assessed in final exam.
2. Able to create XML documents, validate XML documents, and transform them into other formats: assessed in practical tasks and assignment 1.
3. Able to understand the range of technologies underpinned by XML such as: XPath, XSLT and XQuery: assessed in practical tasks, assignment 1 and final exam.
4. Able to retrieve content of documents structured with XML: assessed in practical tasks and assignment 2.
5. Able to use XML in modern web applications: assessed in practical tasks and final exam.

Task	Planned Due Date	Total Marks
Six Practical Tasks	Biweekly	10%
Assignment 1	Week 8	20%
Assignment 2	Week 12	20%
Final Examination	TBA	50%

Your final grade will depend on your performance in each part separately. In order, to pass the unit you must:

• gain more than 50% of the total marks of the unit and more than 45% in the final examination;
• submit a reasonable attempt to both assignments;
• submit a reasonable attempt to at least three practical tasks.

All assignments and submissions to practical tasks should be handed in via Moodle by the time stated in the relevant specification.

Assignment 1 and 2 are each worth 20 marks. Late submissions will be accepted with a penalty of 4 marks per day.

Each correct solution to one of the six practical tasks is worth 2 marks. You can get up to 10 marks in total for these practical submissions. We will calculate the total of these marks by taking the sum of all submissions but cut it off at 10 marks. That means you can already get full marks for five correct solutions. We do not accept late submissions to practical tasks.

If you cannot submit on time because of illness or other circumstances, please contact the lecturer before the due date, otherwise we cannot accept your submission.

Examinations

You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of examinations.

You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is the final day of the official examination period.

The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration. Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available on the web (PDF).

If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Special Consideration process the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period. For details of the Special Consideration policy specific to the Department of Computing, see the Department's policy page.

Plagiarism

Please refer to the Department of Computing Plagiarism Policy for the definition of plagiarism, advice on avoiding it and the penalties in place if you are found to have submitted plagiarised work.

University Policy on Grading

Academic Senate has a set of guidelines on the distribution of grades across the range from fail to high distinction.

Currently, the Faculty of Science is implementing a new Standards Based Assessment. This will result in enhanced transparency in the marking of assignments. As well, the previously practice of 'scaling' final results will cease such that your final mark will be the aggregate of your individual assessments.

Student Support Services

Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au.

Staff-Student Liaison Committee

The Department has established a Staff-Student Liaison Committee at each level to provide all students studying a Computing unit the opportunity to discuss related issues or problems with both students and staff.

For each meeting, an agenda is issued and minutes are taken. These are posted on the web at:

• http://www.comp.mq.edu.au/units/800-liaison

Details of the regular meeting dates will be posted on the unit home page. Anyone with an interest in Computing units may attend. This includes staff involved in the teaching and administration of the units, and all students currently taking a Computing unit at that level. There are formal Liaison Committee representatives for each unit who attend to present the views of the student body; all students are welcome and are encouraged to attend.

The meetings are usually held in the Department of Computing Meeting Room, E6A357.

To forward agenda items or get in touch with your representative, send an email to Rolf.Schwitter@mq.edu.au

If you have exhausted all other avenues, then you should consult the Director of PGPD (Dr Peter Busch) or the Head of Department (Prof. Bernard Mans). You are entitled to have your concerns raised, discussed and resolved.