SOFT6008 Class 36 Extra : Some tips for the Assignment

Attendance at COM2 labs has been very poor over the past few weeks. (DWEB2 attendance has been good). Working from home is perfectly fine and I'm sure many of you have fewer distractions at home than at CIT. 

However I think it would be a good idea if you could make it to at least one lab next week, just so I can make sure that you are on the right track. Also I might be able to outline for you the shortest route from where you are to where you want to get to. Even if you have very little done, I can advise you on the best way to go. 

Here is the full list. There is generally plenty of room. But if the lab fills up I might have to ask you to leave.

Mon 10 C120

Mon 11 C128

Mon 15 IT2.1

Wed 09 IT2.1

Wed 10 IT2.1

Wed 11 C128

Wed 13 C214 (Lecture)

Wed 16 C128

Wed 17 C128

Thu 12 C134x

I am proposing that we use the 1300 class on Wednesday as a Q&A session. I have a few more JavaScript party tricks to show you, but none that will help you get the assignment done better.

Some advice:

If you are still working on things in Photoshop it's time to stop, cut your losses, and go with the pizza. 

Like I said in class during the week, I recommend that you use a single function to change the elements on the page so that it looks like it's suppose to look, and ultimately calculate and display the price. Using individual functions to modify individual elements can make things more difficult when it comes to calculating the price later on. 

Figure out how to use CSS to style required inputs, and for new HTML5 input types both the valid and invalid. It's all done in the CSS. This is a very easy set of marks to get. (see video)

If you are using code that you didn't write yourself, ask yourself if you really need it. (You really DO need credit card validation, for example). If you are using code that you didn't write from scratch all by yourself, then use comments to clearly identify the code that isn't yours. 

Make sure that when the form details are submitted that all of the data is sent to the PHP sever. The sever will send you back everything it has received. A pizza order, for example, must contain all the toppings required to make it. You don't need to send the price. 

I have put a video online that goes over some of the important points about user input validation and the HTML5 CSS validation. [I'm just waiting for it to process. By the time you read this you should be able see it on the blog and Google+.]