CS 555 – E-Commerce Application Development

Course Description: This course covers the fundamental issues in designing an E-Commerce web-based application. It starts with a review of the web technologies such as HTML, VBScript , JavaScript, DHTML, Java, XML, and server-side technologies using Active Server Pages (ASP), CGI and Java Serve Pages (JSP). The course then covers design issues of creating tiered and scalable applications by the use of COM+ components and the Java approach of Enterprise Java beans. After learning the above technologies, different projects are assigned to create dynamic, database-driven E-Commerce solutions involving, order tracking systems, inventory management, advertising management, creating store reports, personalizing the shopping experience, secure credit card transactions etc.. The last part of the course takes a look at Wireless E-Commerce applications and developing business-to-business application using XML, SOAP and Biztalk servers.

3 semester credit hours.

Reference books:

1. Beginning E-Commerce with Visual Basic, ASP, SQL Server 7.0 and MTS, by Mathew Reynolds, Wrox Press, ISBN: 1861003986.

2. XML and SOAP Programming for BizTalk Severs, by Brian E. Travis, Microsoft Press, 2000, ISBN: 0735611262

3. Enterprise Javabeans by Richard Monson-Haefel, O'Reilly & Associates; 2000, ISBN: 1565928695

Coordinator: Ausif Mahmood, Ph.D., Professor, Computer Science and Engineering

Prerequisites: CS400 - Object-Oriented Programming

Prerequisites by Topic:

1.  Introductory knowledge of HTML.

2.  Knowledge of a Programming Language such as Visual Basic, or C++ or Java.

3.  Database design and SQL.

TOPICS:

1. Review of Web Technologies

TCP/IP and Http protocols. HTML tags, frames, tables and forms.

Client-side scripting using VBScript and JavaScript.

Document Object Model (DOM) and its programming. Java applets and ActiveX components. DHTML on the client-side.

2. Server-side Technologies

Active Server Pages (ASP). ASP object model and its programming.

Request, Response, Session, Application, Server and Object-Context objects. Incorporating ActiveX components in ASP pages.

Connecting to databases over the web and managing transactions.

Java Server Pages (JSP).

3. Developing Tiered Models for Web Applications. ActiveX and COM+ components, scalability issues, managing transactions. Java’s approach to tiered architecture and scalable web solutions. Enterprise Java Beans.

4. E-Commerce Application Development.

Displaying a catalog of products, building a virtual shopping cart, secure credit card transactions, creating a subscription-based E-Commerce site, building a user registration system to personalize the shopping experience, maintenance and promotional issues of the web site, transaction management. Security issues.

5. Business to Business Web Application development. Incorporating XML to standardize data exchange between different providers. Using SOAP and Biztalk server for B2B application development. WML and Wireless E-Commerce applications.

Assignments and Projects: Weekly assignments. A medium complexity E-Commerce application development project involving tiered architecture and XML will be assigned to a group of 2-3 students.

Grading: Midterm Test – 25 % of the grade

Final Exam - 40% of the grade

Assignment – 15% of the grade

Project – 20% of the grade