Week 7 Lab

http://pitt.edu/~tgs11/index.html

Week 8 Reading Notes

CSS Tutorial - w3schools.com


CSS = Cascading Style Sheets
CSS: defines how to display HTML elements (HTML not meant for formatting)

Two parts of CSS "rule" - a selector and one or more declarations

• h1 {color:blue; font-size:12px;}
  


• h1 = selector



• color:blue = declaration



• color = property



• blue = value



• font-size:12px = declaration



• font-size = property



• 12px = value

ID selector: specifies style for single unique element, defined by #

Class selector: specifies style for group of elements, defined by .

Ways to insert CSS:

1. External style sheet = ideal when style applied to many pages



2. Internal style sheet = ideal when single document has unique style



3. Inline style = least useful, mixes content with presentation
   

Multiple styles = cascade into one (ordered by inline style, internal style sheet, external style sheet, browser default)

• Background color = body {background-color:#b0c4de;}



• Background image = body {background-image:url('paper.gif');}

Color property specified by:
a HEX value - like "#ff0000"
an RGB value - like "rgb(255,0,0)"
a color name - like "red"

Font properties: serif vs. san-serif, font families (generic family or font family), font style (normal, italic, oblique), font size (absolute or relative)

Four links states:

1. a:link - a normal, unvisited link



2. a:visited - a link the user has visited



3. a:hover - a link when the user mouses over it



4. a:active - a link the moment it is clicked

Can also style links by text decoration and background color

List options: ordered vs. unordered, shapes or image as line item marker

Table options: table borders, collapse borders, width and height, text alignment, table padding, table color

CSS Box Model = box that wraps around HTML elements, and it consists of: margins, borders, padding, and the actual content

Advanced CSS options: grouping/nesting, dimension, display, positioning, floating, align, pseudo-class, pseudo-element, navigation bar, image gallery, image opacity, image sprites, media types, attribute selectors

Next: Learn JavaScript (dynamic instead of static)

This tutorial was very helpful and will be good to refer back to, the same way that the HTML tutorial from this site is a helpful introduction. A lot of the different options seem complex, but if I were to actually create a product with them, I would probably be less overwhelmed because I would be picking and choosing what elements I want to see in my final product.

CSS Tutorial: Starting with HTML + CSS (W3)

Step One: Write HTML

• In Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac)



• Paste or write HTML



• Save
  


• Open in browser
  

Step Two: Add some colors

• Start with style sheet imbedded in HTML (later create CSS and HTML in separate files)
  


• Add colors by name or hexadecimal code

Step Three: Add fonts

• Set font for body and heading



• Try different font names if some don't work

Step Four: Add navigation bar

• Menu is ul list at top



• Use "padding-left" to move body text



• Adjust position of menu and body text

Step Five: Styling links

• Add background to items



• Add color to links



• Specify colors for links visited and not visited

Step Six: Add horizontal line

• Add horizontal rule to separate text from signature at bottom



• Use "border-top" to add dotted line

Step Seven: Put style sheet in separate file

• Separate files so several pages can all point to one style file



• Create new empty plain text file



• Replace style with something like link rel="stylesheet" href="mystyle.css"

This is a great step-by-step to creating a site with HTML and CSS. I think I will referring to this for future labs and assignments for this class, as well as any time I want to build a website in the future. I like that the page even includes instructions on how to save the files and what applications to use to write the code in.

Chapter 2: CSS

HTML: mark up document structure of elements

CSS: gives creator control over style of elements

Ways to create CSS: Normal text editor, Dedicated tool

rule = statement about one stylistic aspect of one or more elements (incl. selector and declaration)

declaration = part of the rule that sets forth what the effect will be (incl. property and value)

CSS formally described in CSS1 and CSS2 from W3C

Ways to "glue" style sheet to document:

1. Apply the basic, document-wide style sheet for the document by using the style element



2. Apply a style sheet to an individual element using the style attribute (inserted inside HTML)



3. Link an external style sheet to the document using the link element



4. Import a style sheet using the CSS @import notation

Must use CSS-enhanced browser - however each browser may display differently

• Tree structures = elements have parents and children



• Inheritance = property values are transferred to descendents (can override)



• (Some elements don't inherit, like background property)

Common tasks with CSS: fonts, margins, links

Cascading = style sheets come in a series, designer's style sheet has precendence and then user's and then browser's default

This article repeated some of what the previous articles/tutorials explained about CSS, but this resource did offer more detailed explanations. This will be good to refer back to if I have trouble understanding the general theories behind the different elements of CSS and also how CSS operates as a whole. This resource will also be helpful if while creating my website, the product does not look the way that I meant it to. I can reread some of these explanations about CSS and determine what I did wrong.

Week 6 Lab

Screenshot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/74178035@N03/6898406179/

Barcode: 2012-1231279

Week 7 Reading Notes

HTML Tutorial - w3schools.com

HTML = Hypertext Markup Language, uses markup tags, governed by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Tags: surrounded by angle brackets, come in pairs (start/opening tag and end/closing tag), ex.

HTML documents = web pages

• Headings: h1 to h6 tags
• Paragraphs: p
• Images: img
• Line break: br [empty, not in a pair]
• Links: a href = "" [attribute]
• Bold: b
• Italics: i
• Table rows: tr
• Table data: td
• Unordered list (bullets): ul
• Ordered list: ol

Tags can be nested, not case sensitive

Do not use tag

Style HTML with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Colors defined with hexadecimal notation (HEX) or 147 color names

I'd used some html in the past to create simple webpages when I was younger, but it's been a while, so this was a good refresher. It's also interesting to hear about the evolution of HTML and how it is developed and governed.

Webmonkey HTML Cheatsheet Guide

Basic tags: html, head, body

Header tags: title

Text tags: pre, h1, h6, tt, cite, em, strong

Formatting: p, p align, br, blockquote, dl, dt, dd, ol, li, ul, div align

Forms: form, option, select multiple name, select name, textarea name, input type: "checkbox/radio/submit/image"

Graphical elements: img src, hr, hr size, hr width, hr noshade

Links: a href, a href: mailto, a name

This looks like a very helpful cheatsheet that boils down the basic tags you need to know to write HTML. I'm assuming there will be a future assignment that involves creating an HTML document, so I will be sure to remember this as a useful resource.

Beyond HTML: Developing and Re-imagining Library Web Guides in a Content Management System

Content management system designed to manage 30 web-based research guides - new system developed with MySQL and ASP

Georgia State University (GSU) Library

Before: FrontPage maintained by single librarian, with 15 liaison librarians developing web guides, later more liaisons added

Result: Inconsistency, some with web design experience and some not

• Content management (CM) = process of collecting, managing, and publishing content

CMS: content is disconnected from design and layout, content can be resource links or text or images or files, content can be reused

• Control
• Customization and context
• Complexity

Steps toward CMS environment: commercial option, open source option, in-house option

GSU Library CMS technology = MySQL database of resource tables, metadata tables, and personnel metadata tables, usable CMS research guide template for students and librarians

• Move to CMS = success
• Systems can be expanded to other departments (committee websites, intranet)
• Some still need further training
• Templates now, but in future users will use raw content

While I didn't understand some of the more technical aspects of this paper, I think I understand the basic concept that GSU libraries developed their own CMS for various reasons. Their new system made things more consistent and of more benefit to users. If I understand correctly, this article is meant to show how to standardize the use of HTML among large groups of people, with the template set up for use by liaisons.

Week 6 Reading Notes

"How Internet Infrastructure Works"

Infrastructure = interconnected networks

The Internet Society oversees policies and protocols

• Home computer connected to internet service provider (ISP)
• Work computer connected to local area network (LAN)

Internet = network of networks

• Point of Presence Pop = company has as place for local users to access network (phone number, line)
• Network Access Points (NAPs) = network connected through them

ISPs agree to interconnect so all users can communicate with all others

• Routers determine where to send info, make sure it gets to destination
• Routers insure info doesn't go where unnecessary (more efficient)

NSFNET (National Science Foundation) = first high-speed backbone (fiber optic trunk line), 1987

Internet Protocol (IP) =

• computer language (dotted decimal for humans, binary for computer)
• IP Address = four numbers (octets)
• 2^32 possibilities
• separated into classes
• two sections (Net and Host/Node)

IP Domain Name System = text names map to IP addresses
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) = contains domain name, used by humans and translated by computer, each must be unique
DNS Server = looks for IP address, caches to be more efficient

Server = provides services to other machines (Web, email, FTP, etc.), static IP address, unlike home computer

Client = used to connect to services

Ports = where services are available

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) = protocol for Web

I liked that this article had very accessible language and was easy to understand for a non-techie person. I also liked that it included examples to illustrate the machines and systems it was explaining.

"Dismantling Integrated Library Systems"

Integrated Library System (ILS) = once a useful tool for everyday library management, now out-of-date and unable to be extended

"Interoperability": sought after, but may be mostly a myth

• Need to be able to distinguish between different integrated system products
• Need to appeal to Internet-savvy users
• Need federated searching capabilities, portals, metasearch tools, reference linking software, RFIDs, and digital asset management systems

Ex. of integrated systems: Voyager system and Oracle relational database management system (RDBMS), Millennium system and INNOPAC, Taos, Unicorn

• Vendors sell new products and new technologies, but libraries want a system that can adapt
• Better systems = higher costs and libraries don't spend much on ILS updates (even open source takes money for development and training)
• Libraries turn to web-based or home-grown solutions? not integrated

Future = integration, either maintain large systems and trust vendors OR dismantle and reintegrate

I can definitely see the desire and need to integrate all aspects of library management into one system. I can also see, however, that vendors might not be willing to work towards this goal if they can make more money in other ways. It seems that libraries will just have to make integration a priority, embrace new technologies, and perhaps spend more money to make it happen.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page on Google - TED

There were a few major points that I took away from this video. First, I thought that the model of the earth that showed Google searches being performed at a certain time, as well as the visual of one second of those search queries, really gave me a better idea of the scope of the internet around the world. Google is obviously one of the highest-trafficked sites online, and seeing how it is used and how everything is connected through using Google was kind of mind-boggling. Second, I'd heard before about Google's policy that 20% of the time their employees work on their own projects, and it seems like it's been really successful for them. I really like that policy and think more places should implement it. Finally, I was intrigued by the idea that Google is attempting to create a "smarter search" run by artificial intelligence. I don't know a lot about AI, but I do know that's it's very complicated, so this project could take a long time. I can't help but wonder, though, what an AI search will eventually be like.

A Few Thoughts on the Google Books Library Project

"Google's initiative will not make books obsolete; it will make the information in them more widely available."

• Internet has created new expectation - we want to click and find info
• Search engines are not perfect but we used them constantly
• Need to be a professional to research at a library
• If not online, doesn't exist
• If only physical, then obsolete
• Ideas are essential, not paper books

If books not online = don't exist, we need old books online so human knowledge doesn't include only from after digital revolution

This article is a very positive look at the goal of the Google Books Project. I agree with the author that, eventually, information that is only available in hardcopy is basically nonexistent for the majority of information seekers. Although this article does briefly mention the challenges that face this project, I do think it comes across as somewhat idealistic. I do think that this project needs to be done, but I don't know if, practically speaking, it is feasible in the near future.

Week 5 Lab

Task 1

Screenshot: http://www.flickr.com/photos/74178035@N03/6864300559/

Task 2

URL: http://www.pitt.edu/~tgs11/

Week 5 Reading Notes

Wikipedia article - Local Area Network

Local area network (LAN) = computer network that connects in limited area (home, school, lab), with higher rates of data transfer, small geographic area, no need for leased tele lines

• Common current technology: ethernet over twisted pair cabling or wi-fi
  
• Developed in 1970s
• Uses coaxial cables, especially twisted pair (shielded and unshielded), structured cabling, fiber-optic cabling
• Switched ethernet is most common Data Link Layer (at least one switch connected to internet)
  
• Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is common
• Larger LANs use spanning tree protocol
• Alternatives are metropolitan area network (MAN) or wide area network (WAN)

I had heard of people having "LAN parties" and figured that was a configuration of devices connected to each other, but now I see the appeal of it. If the data transfer rate is high and the participants can keep their activities contained to their group, then that does sound like a good idea.

Wikipedia article - Computer Network

Computer network = collection of hardware/computers connected by communication channels that share resources and information, defined by ability to send/receive data

Public switched telephone network (PSTN) is computer-controlled

Computer network properties:

• facilitate communications
• permit sharing of files/data/info
• share network and computing resources
• may be insecure
• may interfere with other tech
• may be difficult to set up

Wired technologies: twisted pair, coaxial cables, ITU-T G.hn, optical fiber cable

Wireless technologies: terrestrial microwave, communications satellites, cellular and PCS systems, wireless LANs, infrared communication, global area network (GAN)

• Ethernet: connectionless protocols used in LANs
  
• Internet Protocol Suite: TCP/IP - defines the addressing, identification, and routing specification
  
• SONET/SDH: "standardized multiplexing protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fiber using lasers"
  
• Asynchronous Transfer Mode: switching technique that encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells
  
• Network programming: computer programs that communicate across a network

• Personal area network (PAN): network close to one person
  
• Local area network (LAN): network in a limited geographic area
  
• Home network: residential LAN
  
• Storage area network (SAN): provides access to consolidated, block level data storage
  
• Campus network: made of interconnection of LANs in a limited geographic area
  
• Backbone network: provides path for exchange of info between LANs or subnetworks
  
• Metropolitan area network (MAN): spans a city or large campus
  
• Wide area network (WAN): covers a large geographic area
  
• Enterprise private network: interconnects various company sites
  
• Virtual private network (VPN): "some of links between nodes are carried by open connections or virtual circuits in some larger network"
  
• Internetwork: connection of multiple networks with routers
  

Common layouts: bus network, star network, ring network, mesh network, fully connected network

Basic hardware components:

• Network interface cards
• Repeaters and hubs
• Bridges
• Switches
• Routers
• Firewalls

Network performance = service quality of tele product from customer perspective

Network security = policies to prevent and monitor unauthorized behaviors relating to network

Network resilience = "ability to provide and maintain acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation"

I think I understand the basic idea of computer networks, but there's still a lot I don't understand. I know there are different types of networks for different purposes, but I dont think I understand how the networks work exactly or how to set one up exactly.

Management of RFID in Libraries

RFID = Radio Frequency Identifier, computer chip and antenna printed on paper, barcode read with electromagnetic field

Many uses

Benefits:

• amount of info carried
• range in which it can be read
• frequency of radio waves
• small size
• low cost
• can read whole shelf of books without picking up individually
• checkout can read stack of books at once
• increase efficiency of circulation, inventory
• facilitates security, can read if books checked out
• performs many different functions
• greater potential to gather statistics
• possibility to sort items
• more efficiency with self-checkout
  

Downsides:

• privacy issues
• not highly secure, can be blocked by certain materials, can be removed
• cannot help with reshelving part of process
• less human interaction with self-checkout
• may not work with less sturdy or thinner or odd-shaped items
• technology being developed not geared towards library use

Need to consider ROI, user satisfaction

At the library I volunteered at in Minnesota, RFID tags were implemented, and I saw the library grow accustomed to using them. They were good for sorting items as they were returned to the library and for checking in multiple books at a time. I think they might also have helped with security measures, although the alarms seemed to be set off frequently. I didn't notice any problem checking out thin children's books at all.

Week 4 Lab

TASK 1

Journal impact factor for "ANNU REV INFORM SCI" for the year 2007:

1.963

Screenshot:

SQL command:

SELECT jcr_year, j_abbr, j_if FROM isi_jcr_report_isls i

WHERE j_abbr="ANNU REV INFORM SCI"

HAVING jcr_year=2007;

TASK 2

Journals with impact factor greater than 1 in year 2008:

1. ANNU REV INFORM SCI
2. GOV INFORM Q
3. INFORM MANAGE-AMSTER
4. INFORM PROCESS MANAG
5. INFORM SOC
6. INFORM SYST J
7. INFORM SYST RES
8. INT J GEOGR INF SCI
9. INT J INFORM MANAGE
10. J AM MED INFORM ASSN
11. J AM SOC INF SCI TEC
12. J ASSOC INF SYST
13. J COMPUT-MEDIAT COMM
14. J DOC
15. J GLOB INF MANAG
16. J HEALTH COMMUN
17. J INF SCI
18. J INF TECHNOL
19. J INFORMETR
20. J MANAGE INFORM SYST
21. J MED LIBR ASSOC
22. LIBR INFORM SCI RES
23. MIS QUART
24. ONLINE INFORM REV
25. PORTAL-LIBR ACAD
26. SCIENTOMETRICS
27. TELECOMMUN POLICY

Screenshot:

SQL command:

SELECT jcr_year, j_abbr, j_if FROM isi_jcr_report_isls i

WHERE jcr_year=2008

HAVING j_if>1;