CS 453: Electronic Commerce Technologies Fall 2007

1. CS 453: Electronic Commerce TechnologiesFall 2007

2. Staff • Instructor • Tom Horton • Office: Olsson Hall 228B • Email: horton [at] cs.virginia.edu • Phone: 982-2217 • Office hours: • After class: T Th 3:15-4pm • MWF 11-noon (except Friday ends at 11:30) • Other times: ask! • Teaching Assistant: • Taniya Siddiqua, ts7au [at] Virginia.EDU • Office hours: TBD

3. Some Basic Course Info • UG Record Description • History of Internet and electronic commerce on the web; case studies of success and failure; cryptographic techniques for privacy, security, and authentication; digital money; transaction processing; wired and wireless access technologies; Java; streaming multimedia; XML; Bluetooth. Defining, protecting, growing, and raising capital for an e-business. • Counts as: • CS or CpE elective (or tech elective) • For the SEAS Engin. Business minor

4. What This Means…. • CS453 is taught by CS staff for computing students • Addresses business and commerce issues • But not a business course • Some “business-light”, gain ability to work with those in that world • Addresses technologies needed to make e-commerce happen • Mostly broad coverage, illustrative technologies • Not a deep focus on many areas • Not a course in DBMS, web services, web design, security • Technologies that support business needs and issues • E.g. session management, secure transactions • Goal: to see how it all fits together

5. Business Issues • Focus on Internet commerce • more narrow than e-business • Topics and issues • What does the Internet offer a business? • Business models, strategies, goals • Successes and failures • Issues facing new companies, startups • What business needs drive technical solutions? • Legal and ethical issues: IP, patents, privacy, etc. • Sources: • Textbook, Chap. 1-5 • Speakers, articles, etc.

6. Technical Topics • Some history and fundamentals about the Internet and the Web • Presentation topics (HTML, CSS, Javascript) • Web interactions (CGI, PHP, etc.) • XML, Web services • Cryptography; Security; Reliability • Payment systems; Shopping carts; Order Management • Chapters in Part 2 of the text:XML and Web Services; Cryptography; Security; Payment Systems; etc. • System Architectures • Various parts of the book, but esp. Chap. 21

7. Course Philosophy • You’re near the end of your studies here • This course has an applied, real-world focus in a rapidly-changing area. • Therefore: • Focus on real-world issues and technologies • Give you choices to let you be more motivated • Treat you like mature and independent students/professionals • Student input and participation in the day-to-day course • Allow and motivate you to be more self-directed learners • Have fun

8. Applying the Course Philosophy (1) • Learning as exploration • As opposed to marching through a set of required topics and skills • Self-motivated learning • Focus on important, interesting, authentic, real-world technologies and problems • You’ll get choice and flexibility in • HW focus (e.g. business vs. technology) • Tools and techniques you learn • I’ll treat you as independent and mature computing students and professionals (next slide)

9. Applying the Course Philosophy (2) • I’ll treat you like independent and mature computing students and professionals • No hand-holding needed • You’re able to learn-languages, tools, etc. on your own from good sources • With help from your team (staff and other students) when needed • You can install and administer your own SW tools and environments • E.g. WAMP, etc • You are able to define goals, manage your time, report findings/problems, communicate

10. Applying the Course Philosophy (3) • Together let’s address CS453 as a team • Students know things I don’t know—embrace that • Learning together is more fun than working alone • My goal is to turn this into a course good for me and for students • Your help needed (and required) • And let’s not forget we want to: • Learn useful things • Deal with authentic real-world problems and technologies • Have fun

11. Class Sessions • Some lecture • More than there should be • Some presentations • Industry, commerce experts • E-commerce research: • Auctions, search engines, etc. • More discussion than other classes • Some active learning activities • Problem discussions, debates • Quick research and report at next class • Quick team-up/think/opine • Quick quiz or survey

12. Class Input: Business • How many of you are business minors? • What engin. business courses have you taken? • How many of you have worked in e-business?

13. What Business or E-business Topics should be addressed? • First, from “student business experts” • Then, from anyone

15. Technologies Some are required (at a basic level): • HTML, CSS • JavaScript • PHP • Some security technologies • SQL and mySQL • Client/server applications • Maybe a framework like symfony Some are “optional”: • Web services • .NET, ASP, C# etc. • JSEE • Flash, multimedia • Perl, Python, Ruby • More security • XML • Web 2.0, Ajax • Ruby on Rails

16. Class Input • What else might be on this list that’s not? • How many know a lot or some about any of these? • What do you want to learn?

18. Back to that Course Description • UG Record Description • History of Internet and electronic commerce on the web; case studies of success and failure; cryptographic techniques for privacy, security, and authentication; digital money; transaction processing; wired andwireless access technologies; Java; streaming multimedia; XML; Bluetooth. Defining, protecting, growing, and raising capital for an e-business. • OK, maybe not the things in red • And can we really do justice to things in that last sentence? • Comments?

19. Demonstration of Learning • Yeah, there are homeworks and exams :-( • More on this in a few slides • What about “optional topics”? Do you have to do them? • Not all. Some. You choose. • Know some of these already? Learn something new in CS453! • From what and from where do you learn about these? • Not from lectures (other than overview) or the book • From Virtual Labs (see next slides), the web, books • How much do you have to learn? How do you show this? • Answer: An E-portfolio governed by a Learning Contract • Worth 15% of your grade (like a large HW) • You control this completely • Learning Contract defines your goals, learning levels, etc.

20. Virtual Labs • Virtual labs offer anywhere/anytime instruction and practice with our technical topics • We are eager for you to derive a substantial benefit from all this invested effort • Labs are highly recommended but not required • Except that they are a great resource for your E-Portfolio • iis.cs.virginia.edu/webweavers/ec

21. Virtual Labs

22. Learning Contract • What it defines: • A list of topic areas and content you want to learn • Some indication of the level of mastery you want to achieve • Your statement of what will demonstrate success • Including levels of success (i.e. a grade) • (Usually what resources you’ll use, but not for CS453) • Reviewed by instructor in 4 weeks or so • Can be modified

23. E-Portfolio • Use the web to create a site/report that demonstrates your success in learning topics • Imagine a potential employer would look at this • Add to this gradually over the course of the semester • We’ll review it informally about 4-5 weeks before due date to say how it looks • At the deadline (near end of term), this will be judged qualitatively • Highly Satisfactory; Some Issues; Acceptable; Somewhat Disappointing; Not Acceptable • Reminder: weighted 15%, like a large HW

24. Homeworks: 50% of grade • Some flexibility in later homeworks • Some assignments can be in groups of two or three (may require extra things) • Topics and weights (provisional) • Case study of an e-commerce enterprise: 8% • JavaScript programming: 8% • Some technology: 8% • Choice of larger technical problem/project: 16% • Choice of technical problem or e-commerce problem: 10% • Some comments on HW4 and HW5 in next slides…

25. HW4: larger technical project • In the past… • Themes: • a fully functioning e-store • a fully functional web-based e-service • a fully functional m-commerce system • Develop applications for medicine, education, gaming, social networking, government (e-voting), convenience, something experimental or revolutionary • Use toolsets appropriate to the project • Possibly partner with a professor’s research, etc.

26. HW5: examples from the past • a super-in-depth e-commerce case study • a high-quality, realistic, achievable business plan for a legitimate e-commerce venture • high-quality presentation or tutorial on an sophisticated technical topic • something we decide to add to this list as we go along • Variations / projects are possible • Propose something to me if you wish! • [Not this term!] mock trial for patent infringement

27. Grading • Class participation: 10% • Midterm exam: 10% • Final exam: 15% • E-portfolio: 15% • Homeworks: collectively 50%, as follows: • E-commerce company case study: 8% • JavaScript: 8% • HW3: 8% • HW4 (larger technical project): 16% • HW5 (choose e-business or technical): 10% • Subject to minor alterations (say +/- 5%) with advance notice to the class

28. Exams • Topics from lectures, from “required” technologies • May have in-class and out-of-class portion • Out-of-class may be coding etc. • Dates TBD (will be determined soon) • Midterm: 10% • Grade back before Oct. 9 • Final Exam: 15% • Might be before Exam period

29. Fixed Grading Scale • A+ 100 98 • A 97 93 • A- 92 90 • B+ 89 87 • B 86 83 • B- 82 80 • C+ 79 77 • C 76 73 • C- 72 70 • D+ 69 67 • D 66 63 • D- 62 60 • F 59 0 • Rounding: Final grades will berounded to the nearest wholenumber • E.g. 91.50 --> 92 91.499999 --> 91 • Curving: Curves may beapplied to exam scores etc.

30. Honor System • All homeworks and exams will contain explicit language regarding what is or what is not permissible • I will assume that everyone abides by the tenets of the honor system • In all your work, cite all your sources (whether in code or prose)

31. Textbooks and References • Textbook • Designing Systems for Internet Commerce. 2nd edition. By G. Winfield Treese and Lawrence C. Stewart • Google or your favorite search engine • Recommendations for additional references on individual topics as we go • Free books on the Safari system • Our website will have discussion forums and resource lists and wiki’s • Help each other.

32. Names • It is my personal goal to learn everyone’s name • You need to help by identifying yourself to me until I can reliably call you by name • Name badges • Don’t be surprised if we use these for a few weeks • At least initially, please identify yourself by name when asking/answering questions so everyone can learn all our names

33. Questions?

34. Activity • Two debates: • Is Google Evil? • Should Yahoo release person info to the Chinese government? • Do you know about these issues? • Eight groups of 5 or so. • Half on Google, half on Yahoo • Report a conclusion for your group with reasons • Minority opinions allowed afterwards • Go!