Course Title: Document Markup Languages

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Document Markup Languages

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
COSC2104	City Campus	Undergraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 1 2011
COSC2106	City Campus	Postgraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 1 2011
COSC2431	RMIT Intl University Vietnam	Undergraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Viet2 2007, Viet3 2007, Viet2 2008, Viet3 2008, Viet1 2009, Viet2 2009, Viet3 2009, Viet1 2010, Viet2 2010
COSC2435	Taylors College KL	Undergraduate	140H Comp Sci & Info Technology	Face-to-Face	Offsh 1 11

Course Coordinator: Dr. Phil Vines

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3310

Course Coordinator Email: phil.vines@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 14.9.19

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Web Programming: basic Web concepts, protocols and standards, browser compatibility issues, and programming skills.

Course Description

Markup languages describe structure in documents and make intended meaning explicit. The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language designed for use on the World Wide Web. XML skills are now essential in many computer science and information technology roles.

This course is an introduction to the principles, use, and application of document markup languages, especially for use on the World Wide Web, focussing on XML. Topics include document markup languages (especially XML); document description languages (such as Document Type Definitions (DTDs) and XML Schemas); XML namespaces; document transformation and manipulation (using eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) and XML APIs, such as the Simple API for XML (SAX) and the Document Object Model (DOM)); document query languages (specifically XQuery); and XML databases.

Completion of this course provides you with the foundation to undertake studies in Internet and Intranet Document Engineering, and will assist in studies in Web Media Technologies.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

On successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Create documents that conform to an XML description language vocabulary;
• Explain general markup concepts.
• Write new XML description language vocabularies;
• Transform XML documents using XSLT;
• Write programs (Java or PHP) to manipulate XML documents.

Capabilities
Development of student graduate capabilities is an on-going process that takes place in all courses and over the period of the whole program. This course particularly addresses the following capabilities: knowledge (document markup languages and related technologies, especially those relating to XML), critical analysis (in designing XML description language vocabularies), and international orientation (using international standards adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium, representing written languages).

  

Overview of Learning Activities

The learning activities included in this course are:

• key concepts will be explained in lectures, classes or online, where syllabus material will be presented and the subject matter will be illustrated with demonstrations and examples;
• tutorials and/or labs and/or group discussions (including online forums) focussed on projects and problem solving will provide practice in the application of theory and procedures, allow exploration of concepts with teaching staff and other students, and give feedback on your progress and understanding;
• assignments, as described in Overview of Assessment (below), requiring an integrated understanding of the subject matter; and
• private study, working through the course as presented in classes and learning materials, and gaining practice at solving conceptual and technical problems.

Attendance:
While a minimum attendance standard is not compulsory, non-attendance may seriously jeopardise the chances of success in this course. Clearly, non-attendance at an assessment will result in failure of that assessment. Where visa conditions apply, attendance is compulsory.

Overview of Learning Resources

You will make extensive use of computer laboratories and relevant software provided by the School. You will be able to access course information and learning materials through the Learning Hub (also known as online@RMIT) and may be provided with copies of additional materials in class or via email. Lists of relevant reference texts, resources in the library and freely accessible Internet sites will be provided.

Use the RMIT Bookshop’s textbook list search page to find any recommended textbook(s).

Overview of Assessment

The assessment for this course comprises practical assignment work involving the development of markup language vocabularies and manipulation of document instances, WebLearn tests that assess material covered in lectures, and a final exam.

For standard assessment details, including deadlines, weightings, and hurdle requirements relating to Computer Science and IT courses see: http://www.rmit.edu.au/compsci/cgi