CSC102- 01: HOW THE INTERNET WORKS, Smith College, Department of Computer Science, Spring 2017

CSC102- 01: HOW THE INTERNET WORKS 

Classes: Tuesday- Thursday 10.30 – 11.50

Location: Ford Hall 342

Instructor: Dr. Şadi Evren ŞEKER (Office: Ford Hall 252)

Office Hours

  • Tuesday, 13.00 – 15.00
  • Other times by appointment/as available
  • Lunch meetings available by request for small groups

E-Mail: htiw@sadievrenseker.com

Web Site: http://sadievrenseker.com/wp/?page_id=631

Introduction: The Internet has transformed society, opening up communication channels never dreamed of by previous generations. This course introduces students to the structure, design, and operation of the Internet, beginning with the electronic and physical construction of networks and basic network protocols. It addresses personal safety online, how email and Web browsers work, and the design of simple Web pages. Along the way it explores the historical and societal implications of this new medium.

Texts:

Optional / also recommended (on reserve in Young library):

  • How The Internet Works, by Preston Gralla: Contains detailed labeled diagrams of many internet-related topics.
  • Basics of Web Design by Terry Felke-Morris: Contains detailed information on web page design and specific aspects of HTML, aimed at beginners. The more advanced portions of this book will also be useful if you take CSC 105.
  • Web 101, by Wendy Lehnert and Richard Kopec, which was used for this course in previous semesters.

In addition to the texts above, Wikipedia usually contains accurate information focused on specific topics relating to the Internet.

Tentative Course Outline

Class Topic Readings
I2N LWD P&IS HtIW BoWD W101
1 [PPT] Jan 26: Physics of Networks: Signals, Fiber optics Ch. 1-3 ~ ~ Ch.1-2 ~ 1.1-1.4
2

[PPT1]

[PPT2]

 Jan 31: History of Internet; LAN; IP Ch. 4-5 ~ ~ Ch 3-4 ~ 1.5-1.6
3

[PPT]

 Feb 2: Communications Protocols:  TCP; DNS Ch. 6 ~ ~ Ch. 5-6 ~ ~
4

[PPT]

 Feb 7: WWW Intro; HTTP; URL Ch. 7 Ch. 1-2 ~ Ch. 17-18 Ch. 1 & 4 1.7-1.8
5

[PPT]

 Feb 9: HTML: introduction ~ 4-6 ~ Ch. 19-20 Ch. 2-3 9.1-9.3
6 [PPT] Feb 14: HTML: tables, relative URL, etc. ~ 7-8 ~ Ch. 21 Ch. 9 10.1-10.2
7 [PPT] Feb 16: Color & Images; Forms ~ Ch. 9, 21 ~ Ch. 22 Ch. 6 & 10 9.6, 10.5
8 [PPT] Feb 21: Style rules; Multimedia ~ 10-13 ~ ~ Ch. 5 & 7 & 11 10.3-10.4
9 [PPT] Feb 23: Email, SMTP, spam ~ ~ Ch. 13 Ch. 11-12 ~ 3.1-3.6
10 [PPT] Feb 28: Personal Safety: cookies, phishing, etc. ~ ~ Ch. 4 & 6 Ch. 44-49 ~ 2.1-2.16
11

[PPT]

 Mar 2: Web searching; Page rank ~ ~ Ch. 5 & 8 Ch. 27-28 ~ 5.3-5.4
12

[PPT]

 Mar 7: Cryptography;  Security; ~ ~ ~
13

 

 Mar 9: Review or Final presentations Final projects/exams due

I2N = Introduction to Networking: How the Internet Works
LWD = Learning Web Design: A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics
P&IS = How Personal & Internet Security Work
WtIW = How the Internet Works
BoWD = Basics of Web Design
W101 = Web 101

Grading

Assignment Weight
Homework sets 50%
Project 50%

Collaboration Policy: You may freely use internet resources and your course notes in completing assignments and quizzes for this course. You may not consult any person other than the professor when completing quizzes or exams. (Clarifying questions should be directed to the professor.) On assignments you may collaborate with others in the course, so long as you personally prepare the materials submitted under your name, and they accurately reflect your understanding of the topic. Any collaborations should be indicated by a note submitted with the assignment.

Announcements

Please fill the knowledge card attached here, and send it back via email.