Corso di laurea in Informatica

A fluent coding ability is required before attending the class, and the student must be familiar with the most common programming paradigm (imperative, object-oriented, event driven). Moreover, the student must have an operative knowledge on data base management (and with the SQL language), and on installing/configuring software packages in her/his operating system.
Preparatory Courses (providing the expected entry skills):

• Computer Programming I
• Computer Programming II
• Operating System
• Data bases

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The Web Techonology course belongs to the "Computer Systems and Networks" thematic area. It aims at providing solid knowledge and skills concerning methods and tools for the design and development of web applications.

It therefore provides theoretical and practical competencies on the layered architecture of web applications (front-end, back-end, persistence layer); for each element of such architecture it examines in depth languages and tools needed in order to develop a single-page web application.

Leraning web programming is part of the formative goals of the Cds in Computer Science (L31); in particular, it belongs to the in-depth area.

More specifically, participants will learn the TypeScript/JavaScript language and the Node/npm environment for managing project based on such languages. They will explore in detail the use of HTML, CSS and the React framweork for the development of component-based front-ends based on the MVVM pattern.

The basics of the development of server-side application based on the HTTP protocol will be introduced; the design and implementation of the back-end for a single page application will be then explained and exemplified in detail with the Java-based Spring framework. 

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

• Knowledge of the basics of web applications architecture, and understanding of how it is composed by means of the HTTP protocol.
• Knowledge of the Javascript, EcmaScript and Typescript languages, and understanding of their relationships.
• Knowledge and understandingg of the runtime enviroment of Javascript/Typescript (asynchronous single-threaded event-driven loop).
• Knowledge and understanfing of project and package management mechanisms.
• Understanding of the basic concepts of front-end frameworks (pattern MVVM, component-oriented architecture, state of a component,  property-binding, event-binding).
• Knowledge and understanding of the basic functioning of a HTTP Server in its static and dynamic aspects.
• Knowledge and understanding of the Spring framework and of the use of the Java language within it.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

• Writing, compiling and executing Typescript programs.
• Managing a Web Appplication project by means of project maangement tools (npm)
• Designing the back-end and front-end services of a Web application.
• Implementing a server-side back-end service by means of the Spring framework and the Java language.
• Implementing a client-side front-end service by meand of the React framework, JSX, HTML and CSS.

MAKING JUDGEMENTS

• Evaluating design and architecture options when structuring the server-side / client-side distinction in a web application
• Evaluating a suitable component-oriented architecture when designing a front-end service based on the MVVM pattern
• Choosing an adeguate back-end service to support the intended functions of the designed application
• Choosing proper models, libraries, packages and frameworks for the development of a given web application depending on functional and non-functional requirements.
• Choosping adequate data structures in order to implement functionalities as established in the project architecture and design.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Ability to communicate, in written and oral form, in the Italian language:

• acquired knowledge
• the technical features, as well as the architecture and design, of a web application
• choices made and lessons learned in the design and implementation of a web application

LEARNING

• Learning through practice how to use the methods and tool for web application development that are introduced in the classes 
• Learning how to contextualize previously unknown tools in order to evaluate their adequacy for the development of a web application
• Self-evaluating the competencies achieved with each of the taught methods and tools

WEB-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING

• The architecture of a web application
• Languages and frameworks for web development: an overview
• Javascript & Typescript

FRONT-END / CLIENT-SIDE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

• HTML and CSS
• Typescript/Javascript in the browser: the DOM API
• The fetch API & the Promise API
• The MVVM pattern, component-oriented UIs and Single Page Applications
• The React framework

BACK-END / SERVER-SIDE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

• Basic anatomy of a HTTP server
• Server-side programming with Java and Spring
• Java Persistence API
• Session and credentials management
• Building the complete application

Theory classes will take place in the classroom wih the projection of slides. Students who cannot attend classes will be able to download slides and other teaching materials, including the video-recordings of the classes, from the Moodle platform. Practice classes will partly consist of practical examples in which the teacher will show how to carry out the activities explained in the classes. Some exercises will be directly carried out by the students, using their  own laptops. It will be possible to do the exercises in teams of 2 or more people, according to the teacher's instructions.

 

The final assessment of acquired knowledge and skills involves the following assessment tools:

• theory / written test: the written test is composed of 3 open-ended questions and 9 close-ended questions. The test can be passed with a score from 18 (lowest) to 30 (highest), possibly with honors (if all open-ended answers get top marks).
• practice / project & discussion: the project requires to design and implement a single page web application, with a Typescript+React-based front-end and a Java+Spring back-end. The project is aimed at verifying the capability of applying acquired knowldge, and the capability to evaluate design and implementation choices. The project can be undertook in teams of 1 or 2 people, and it is presented in an oral discussion. Such discussion involves a short presentation from the team members, followed by a Q/A with the professor, aimed at evaluating the actual understanding of the tools and solutions adopted in the project, as well as the capability to relate the implemented solutions with the course topics. The project discussion can also be passed with a score from 18 (lowest) to 30 (highest), possibly with honors.

The final grade for the exam is the mean of the two scores.