PAPA 499-001

Assignment # 2 - Write html code

Objectives of this assignment:

1.  To learn the logic behind html programming.
2.  To master enough html code so that you can read html coding and debug errors made by your web editor.
3.  To learn enough html so that you can read and customize programs written by html wizards.
4.  To learn enough html so that you can read the code of others and borrow segments that you admire and make them work.

Tasks to complete:

Create a start page that you will use as the default page in your browser.  Include the following items in this start page:

1.  A heading for this page that contains an image, a title and horizontal line both above and below the heading.  (Hint: create a two column table.  In the first cell, place an image and in the second cell, place the title of the page.)

2.  Another two column table that contains in the first column a list of your favorite search engines and in the second column the sites you frequently visit.

3.  Code borrowed from another start page.  (Find a start page that you like, view the source code of a segment of the start page that you would like to have on your start page.  Copy and paste the html code into your start page.  Tinker with the code until you can make it work on your start page.)

4.  Here is an example of a bare bones examples of a simple start page created by a student last semester.

• simple start page

Grading for this assignment # 2:

Deadline: Monday at 10 AM (see syllabus for the due date).  If the assignment is late, you will receive a grade of "C" for the assignment.  
Points: 0 - 20 points
For every two coding errors, subtract 1 point.
No coding errors = 20 points.

Additional Resources:

1.  Read Chapter 13, pp. 407-418 in Running Microsoft Front Page 2000.

2.  Find a basic html manual online that you find easy to read and understand.  Some examples include:

• Basic html - http://www.stimulus.com/education/html-basic.html
• Html specifications from W3C -  http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/
• Beginner's Guide to html - http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimer.html
• Index to html elements - http://www.blooberry.com/indexdot/html/index.html

3.  Use some of these sites for performing special functions:

• Create special effects - http://www.tashian.com/htmlguide/index.html
• Analyze html code for mistakes - http://www2.imagiware.com/RxHTML/
• Find comprehensive set of resources for html authors - http://hwg.org/resources/index.html
• Find the latest news on web tools - http://www.webtools.com/

4.  Examples of some of the most popular start pages include the following:

• About.com - a portal with over 650 guides who take responsibility for a particular subcategory within the sites 18 major categories.
• Lycos - gateway to several networks (Angelfire, HotBot, and Tripod).  It also scans thousands of non-Web-based resources.
• Yahoo - the Web's most popular portal.  As a subject tree, there are few sites but they often serve as a representative of the best that is on the Web.  Working down the hierarchical structure of categories can help you discover key words that might be useful in other search engines.

Reflection and Discussion:

You are encouraged to work on this assignment with other members of the class.  Use WebCT's communication tools  to ask each other for help while programming in html.  Usually the best written code is written by students collaboratively working together. 

last updated August 24, 2001 by dhostet@siue.edu