Web Application Development

Department of Management Information Systems, Temple University

Web Application Development

MIS 2402.001 ■ Fall 2025 ■ Laurel Miller

Course Description

The ability to program in any language is a great asset to any person working in IT, regardless of his/her chosen area of expertise. Likewise, the Internet is a pervasive element in all IT solutions. An understanding of the underlying protocols of the Internet and how web applications work is advantageous to any IT professional.

This hands-on programming course uses open-source software to provide students with an understanding of programming fundamentals. This class is designed to develop individual proficiency and reward individual achievement as students develop the skills necessary to create solutions that interact with web APIs.

To develop a web application, the student must develop competency in multiple technologies and ultimately use them in combination to create a whole solution. This class is structured so that individual technologies are introduced and then combined to create increasingly more sophisticated results.

Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT) do not promote the deliberate, step-by-step thinking that this course aims to nurture. Consequently, this course is structured to create an AI-free learning environment. While this environment may not reflect the modern workplace, it is a necessarily contrivance to make learning possible.

Course Objectives:

  • Learn and apply the basic principles common to all programming languages (e.g., variables, algebraic expressions, logical expressions, if/else statements, loops, functions, arrays, and objects) using JavaScript.
  • Develop the logical thinking skills necessary to break down tasks into component steps and express those steps in code.
  • Be able to use debugging tools to identify problems with the code.
  • Learn the basic structure and syntax of HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript. Be able to use and combine these languages to present a complete solution.
  • Get an understanding of client/server interactions.
  • Be able to use Web APIs and related protocols to send and retrieve data.
  • Observe and learn the basic syntax of the HTTP protocol necessary to send and retrieve data from an API.
  • Explain the concept of Single Page Architecture. Use simple jQuery commands to implement a simple Single Page Architecture.
  • Be able to handle and validate user input via HTML forms.
  • Learn how to use tools (i.e., libraries/frameworks) that can speed and simplify application development (e.g., Bootstrap and jQuery).
  • Demonstrate the ability to get data from multiple third-party APIs and use it in the Web Application.

Prerequisites:

MIS2101/2901.  MIS2502 in the same or prior semester.  Prior programming and/or web development experience is advantageous, but not required.