DCIT 65 - Web Development

Lecture 1 – Introduction to Web Development

Introduction to Web Development

So What Does a Web Developer Actually Do?

 Web Developer build and maintain websites.

 Web Developers are in high demand and so, though they work very hard, they're generally able
to command comfortable salaries and healthy work/life balances.
 It's a profession that rewards people who are natural problem solvers and who enjoy building
things.

Web Developer Job Duties

 Your job as a Web developer is to present your clients' products and services to a wide
audience by creating attractive, functional websites.
 You will likely be asked to identify potential site users and design a website to appeal to
these constituents.
 Your work may include meeting with clients to discuss their desires for a website or
discuss how to keep their website functioning and up to date.
 You might construct the layout of a website, creating a visually interesting home page
and user-friendly design.
 You may also write the content for the website.
 After a website is up and running, you'll make sure that the site is functional on all Web
browsers, periodically testing and updating it as needed.
 A client may also need you to include interactive capabilities on their site using Visual
Basic or Java programming languages.

Where You Work

 Web developers may work for large corporations, small companies or as freelancers.
 Most positions will have you working 40 hours a week, while others - especially
freelance positions - enjoy flexible schedules.
 Occasionally, you may be required to work during the weekend or other non-standard
business hours in order to perform website maintenance or in the case of an
emergency.

Other Skills

 You need to have a familiarity with technology and understand how computers and web
servers operate.
 You will also need to be familiar with many software programs, Web applications and
Web programming languages, such as hypertext markup language (HTML), Ruby on Rails
and C++.
 Since this is a very client-based, project-oriented field, you must be able to
communicate effectively, set goals and meet deadlines.
 You must also be creative and have a grasp of art and design principles.

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DCIT 65 - Web Development
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Web Development

The key take-aways here are:

 Developers often work on behalf of clients who are trying to get their product or service out
onto the web.
 The work is typically very project-focused and involves collaborating with a team of people who
help coordinate the client's needs with the end product.
 Not all devs work for external clients... The "client" could just be your tech company,
organization, government etc. who needs a website or web application built
 It's a lot of fun, you actually get to build things that people use, and you get to play with lots of
new toys. What's not to love?

Important Distinctions

"Front End" vs "Back End" Developers

Front End:

 "Front End" typically refers to the stuff that you actually see on the website in the browser.
 This covers how the content is presented including all the little user interface elements like
menus and dropdowns and transitions and modals.
 A front end developer will often focus heavily on understanding HTML, CSS, and Javascript since
these languages live in the browser.
 They aren't necessarily focused on making things look "pretty" (which is often left to a designer),
but rather making sure that the information is presented effectively and the user's interaction
with the web page is as smooth as possible.
 These days we're executing more and more code in the browser itself.

Back End:

 "Back End" typically refers to the guts of the application which live on the server.
 The back end is more focused on making sure all the right data gets sent out to the browser.
 It's the portion of iceberg below the surface... lots of stuff needs to go correctly to hand off data
to the front end so it can be displayed.
 Google may be a relatively straightforward search engine from our point of view, but they
employ an army of engineers to make sure that all the moving parts you don't see are working
properly.

Full Stack:

 "Full Stack" developers marry the two sides into one. While each "end" involves learning a
significant amount of information, a full stack developer can comfortably speak both database
and browser.
 These days the trend is to seek developers with a great working knowledge of both ends

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DCIT 65 - Web Development
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Web Development

Web Developer vs Web Designer

 makes the website actually look pretty

 pulls together the images and logos and color schemes
 they have historically been less inclined to handle the actual coding of the page, these days even
designers are expected to roll up their sleeves and code a bit.
 Some of the best web developers come from design backgrounds.

Web Development Jobs and Careers

 At an Established Tech Company

 At a Small Tech Startup
 As a Freelancer
 At a Consulting Company

Tools of the Trade

 Computer
 Google
 MS-Dos Command Prompt
 Text Editor
 Stack Overflow
 Git
 Github

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DCIT 65 - Web Development
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Web Development

IT Jobs with the Highest Pay and Fastest Growth – Infographic

URL: http://www.staff.com/blog/it-jobs-with-the-highest-pay-and-fastest-growth-infographic/

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DCIT 65 - Web Development
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Web Development

World Internet User Statistics

Web server or host- a computer that sends (serves) requested Web pages.

URL- Uniform Resource Locator

Website name type of site

http://www.internet101.org/start.html

transfer protocol domain name document name

specification

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DCIT 65 - Web Development
Lecture 1 – Introduction to Web Development

Transfer protocol specifications

 http:// - hypertext transfer protocol

 ftp:// - file transfer protocol
 mailto: -links to an e-mail address
 telnet:// - telnet site

Type of site

 .com- commercial site

 .edu- educational institution
 .gov- government agencies
 .mil – military entity
 .org- organizations other than government agencies
 .net- network services provider or resource

Document name- directory and name of the file.

Directory- may be multiple in many cases, defines where the web server may find the file
needed.
Name of the file- generally have .htm or .html extension.

TWO – LETTER INTERNET COUNTRY CODES (a two – letter abbreviation for a particular country)
ch – China de – Denmark
jp – Japan fr – France
uk – United Kingdom ph – Philippines
in – India

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