Have you ever wanted to create your own mobile app, interactive web application, or video game? This hands-on course will build the foundation for learning these and other skills. All of these are “applications” (rather than e.g. “services” or more generic “systems” or “processes”). The technologies that facilitate application development change rapidly over time, and which are best for a given application can vary. This course will focus on fundamental concepts and skills that are common across different platforms. The course will also introduce a few specific technologies that are currently important and popular, and likely to remain so. The course will also introduce the git version control system, which is widely used in industry and academia.
The required textbook for our class is Connolly and Hoar's Fundamentals of Web Development, 3rd. edition. The authors of this book have worked in CS Education Research and Teaching to advance the state of the art on web application development.
The book includes what we need in this course for an introduction to web development, and has a few chapters beyond our course's scope for those who remain or become interested.