Subject Overview

A bachelor-level study of standards-based, accessible, secure and maintainable web applications. The subject integrates front-end and back-end development, databases, APIs, software engineering, deployment, analytics, governance, AI-enabled development and emerging web technologies.

Learning Goal

Students will be able to design, implement, test, secure, deploy and evaluate full-stack web applications; select appropriate architectures and technologies; collaborate through professional workflows; interpret web analytics; and address accessibility, ethics, privacy, governance and evolving industry requirements.

Syllabus

1. Web Foundations, Standards and Architecture

Learning Objective: Explain the Internet and Web, DNS, URLs, browsers, servers, hosting, HTTP/HTTPS, request–response processing, client–server and multi-tier architectures, web standards, rendering, cookies and web application lifecycles.

Category: foundation

2. Semantic HTML and Accessible Content

Learning Objective: Create well-structured pages using semantic HTML, forms, tables, media and metadata; apply validation, progressive enhancement, internationalization and WCAG-based accessibility with assistive-technology awareness.

Category: foundation

3. CSS, Visual Design and Responsive Interfaces

Learning Objective: Apply the cascade, specificity, inheritance, box model, selectors, typography, color, Flexbox, Grid, animations, design systems and mobile-first responsive design to produce consistent, usable interfaces.

Category: core

4. JavaScript and Browser Programming

Learning Objective: Use JavaScript syntax, data structures, functions, modules, objects, error handling and functional concepts; manipulate the DOM, handle events, validate input and understand scope, closures and the event loop.

Category: core

5. Asynchronous Web Applications and APIs

Learning Objective: Use promises, async/await, Fetch, JSON and real-time communication; explain REST constraints, API contracts, status codes, pagination, caching, versioning, GraphQL concepts and resilient error handling.

Category: core

6. Front-End Frameworks and State Management

Learning Objective: Develop component-based single-page applications using a contemporary framework; apply routing, reactive rendering, state management, reusable components, lifecycle concepts, server-side rendering and framework-selection criteria.

Category: application

7. Server-Side Development and Application Architecture

Learning Objective: Build server applications using routing, middleware, templating, validation, sessions and file handling; compare MVC, layered, event-driven, serverless and microservice architectures and apply suitable design patterns.

Category: core

8. Data Modeling, Databases and Persistence

Learning Objective: Model application data; use relational databases, SQL, normalization, transactions, indexes and object-relational mapping; compare NoSQL alternatives and implement secure, reliable CRUD operations and migrations.

Category: core

9. Authentication, Authorization and Web Security

Learning Objective: Implement identity, sessions, tokens, OAuth and role-based access; mitigate XSS, CSRF, injection, broken access control and insecure configuration using OWASP guidance, encryption, secure headers and threat modeling.

Category: core

10. Professional Development Workflow and Maintainability

Learning Objective: Use Git, branching, code review, package managers, build tools, linters, formatters, documentation and dependency management; apply modularity, clean-code principles, environment configuration and collaborative agile workflows.

Category: application

11. Testing, Debugging and Quality Engineering

Learning Objective: Plan and automate unit, integration, API, end-to-end, accessibility and cross-browser tests; use debugging tools, static analysis and quality metrics while applying test-driven and continuous-integration practices.

Category: application

12. Performance, Reliability and Observability

Learning Objective: Measure and improve Core Web Vitals, rendering, network delivery, caching, images, bundles and database queries; apply logging, monitoring, tracing, error reporting, scalability and reliability principles.

Category: advanced

13. Deployment, Cloud and DevOps

Learning Objective: Deploy applications using web servers, containers, cloud platforms, serverless services and CDNs; configure domains, TLS, secrets, environments, CI/CD, backups, rollback, infrastructure considerations and cost-aware operations.

Category: application

14. Web Product Management, Analytics and Governance

Learning Objective: Translate stakeholder needs into requirements, prototypes and release plans; apply UX research, SEO, conversion and web analytics to decision making while governing accessibility, privacy, consent, intellectual property, data retention and regulatory compliance.

Category: strategic

15. AI-Enabled Development and Emerging Web Futures

Learning Objective: Use AI coding and content tools critically with verification, security, bias, provenance and copyright controls; evaluate PWAs, WebAssembly, edge computing, headless platforms, Web Components, immersive interfaces, decentralized technologies and sustainable web development.

Category: contemporary