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Introduction
What You Will Need
A networked PC with access to the Internet. The faster the connection, the less time you spend on the "World Wide Wait."
A Web browser with as many plug-ins as you can support (to experience as much marketing media as possible) and an e-mail account. In your browser preferences, please enable cookies.
How This Book Is Organized
In this book, and the others in this series, you are presented with a series of interactive labs. Each lab begins with Learning Objectives that define what exercises (or tasks) are covered in that lab. This is followed by an overview of the concepts that will be further explored through the exercises, which are the heart of each lab.
Each exercise consists of either a series of steps that you will follow to perform a specific task or a presentation of a particular scenario. Questions that are designed to help you discover the important things on your own are then asked of you. The answers to these questions are given at the end of the exercises, along with more in-depth discussion of the concepts explored.
At the end of each lab is a series of multiple-choice Self-Review Questions, which are designed to bolster your learning experience by providing opportunities to check your absorbtion of important material. The answers to these questions appear in the Appendix. There are also additional Self-Review Questions at this book's companion Web site, found at http://www.phptr.com/phptrinteractive/.
Finally, at the end of each chapter you will find a Test Your Thinking section, which consists of a series of projects designed to solidify all of the skills you have learned in the chapter. If you have successfully completed all of the labs in the chapter, you should be able to tackle these projects with few problems. There are not always "answers" to these projects, but where appropriate, you will find guidance and/or solutions at the companion Web site.
The final element of this book actually doesn't appear in the book at all. It is the companion Web site, and it is located at http://www.phptr.com/phptrinteractive/.
This companion Web site is closely integrated with the content of this book, and we encourage you to visit often. It is designed to provide a unique interactive online experience that will enhance your education. As mentioned, you will find guidance and solutions that will help you complete the projects found in the Test Your Thinking section of each chapter.
You will also find additional Self-Review Questions for each chapter, which are meant to give you more opportunities to become familiar with terminology and concepts presented in the publications. In the Author's Corner, you will find additional information that we think will interest you, including updates to the information presented in these publications, and discussion about the constantly changing technology Webmasters must stay involved in.
Finally, you will find a Message Board, which you can think of as a virtual study lounge. Here, you can interact with other Advanced Website Architecture Series readers, and share and discuss your projects.
Notes to the Student
This publication and the others in The Advanced Website Architecture Series are endorsed by the World Organization of Webmasters. The series is a training curriculum designed to provide aspiring Webmasters with the skills they need to perform in the marketplace. The skill sets included in The Advanced Website Architecture Series were initially collected and defined by this international trade association to create a set of core competencies for students, professionals, trainers, and employers to utilize.
Notes to the Instructor
Chances are that you are a pioneer in the education field whether you want to be one or not. Due to the explosive nature of the Internet's growth, very few Webmaster training programs are currently in existence. But while you read this, many colleges, community colleges, technical institutes, and corporate and commercial training environments are introducing this material into curriculums worldwide.
Chances are, however, that you are teaching new material in a new program. But don't fret, this publication and series are designed as a comprehensive introductory curriculum in this field. Students successfully completing this program of study will be fully prepared to assume the responsibilities of a Webmaster in the field or to engage in further training and certification in the Internet communications field.
Each chapter in this book is broken down into labs. All questions and projects have the answers and discussions associated with them. The labs and question/ answer formats used in this book provide excellent opportunities for group discussions and dialogue between students and instructors. Many answers and their discussions are abbreviated in this publication for space reasons. Any comments, ideas, or suggestions to this text and series will be would be greatly appreciated.
About the Authors
J. Dianne Brinson, an attorney, is the author of Multimedia Law and Business Handbook, Internet Legal Forms for Business, and Internet Law and Business Handbook, available from Ladera Press, www.laderapress.com, (800-523-3721). She teaches Internet Law at the University of California-Berkeley Extension and San Jose State University's Internet Education Institute. A graduate of Yale Law School, she is a former law school professor and has also practiced law in Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Benay Dara-Abrams (www.dara-abrams.com/benay) is CEO of BrainJolt (www.brainjolt.com) and designer of the Web-based Online Adaptive Learning Environment. Benay has been involved in the Internet since ARPANet days in 1970 and in Web development since 1993. She managed the development of the first WYSIWYG HTML editor and the first commercial Web-based intranet. She served as Curriculum Development Director for the Stanford University Western Institute of Computer Science. Benay has developed and taught intensive courses in Electronic Commerce and Web Business Management and in Networking Fundamentals for Webmasters at Stanford University and the University of Hong Kong. She was co-founder and Director of Engineering for Silicon Valley Public Access Link, a community network ISP. Benay has been involved in Electronic Commerce since 1980 when she managed public, packet-switched, network-based services for travel and home banking. She plans to complete her PhD in Computer Science and Educational Psychology in 2001.
Drew Dara-Abrams serves as CTO (Chief Technology Officer) for BrainJolt (www.brainjolt.com), an online learning technology start-up venture. He has designed and taught classes on Internet, Web design, programming, and advanced topics in computers to both adults and children. He has also served as Webmaster and Network and Systems Administrator for a number of high-tech start-ups, schools, and summer camps. He can be found on the Internet at drew@drewnet.net and drew.dara-abrams.com.
Jennifer Masek entered the field of Web development and design by way of SGML publishing for paper and electronic media. Jennifer has been working in Web design and management since the early days of the Web at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, home of the first Web site in the United States. As lead of SLAC's Publishing and New Media Group, she was responsible for the development and management of a wide variety of sites, as well as developing training programs for the Web and Web-based collaboration projects. Jennifer has worked with a wide variety of nonprofit organizations and Bay Area firms as a user interface and restructuring consultant, helping organizations meet the dem
