Software Engineering for Internet Applications (Paperback)

~ Eve Andersson (Author), Philip Greenspun (Author), Andrew Grumet (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

After completing this self-contained course on server-based Internet applications software, students who start with only the knowledge of how to write and debug a computer program will have learned how to build web-based applications on the scale of Amazon.com. Unlike the desktop applications that most students have already learned to build, server-based applications have multiple simultaneous users. This fact, coupled with the unreliability of networks, gives rise to the problems of concurrency and transactions, which students learn to manage by using the relational database system.

After working their way to the end of the book, students will have the skills to take vague and ambitious specifications and turn them into a system design that can be built and launched in a few months. They will be able to test prototypes with end-users and refine the application design. They will understand how to meet the challenge of extreme business requirements with automatic code generation and the use of open-source toolkits where appropriate. Students will understand HTTP, HTML, SQL, mobile browsers, VoiceXML, data modeling, page flow and interaction design, server-side scripting, and usability analysis.

The book, which originated as the text for an MIT course, is suitable for classroom use and will be a useful reference for software professionals developing multi-user Internet applications. It will also help managers evaluate such commercial software as Microsoft Sharepoint of Microsoft Content Management Server.

About the Author

Eve Andersson is Senior Vice President and Chair of the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at Neumont University, Salt Lake City

Philip Greenspun, a software developer, author, teacher, pilot, and photographer, originated the Software Engineering for Internet Applications course at MIT. He is the author of Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing.

Andrew Grumet received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and builds Web applications as an independent software developer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 409 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (March 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262511916
• ISBN-13: 978-0262511919
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 7.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #303,478 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful textbook for web application makers., March 13, 2006

By	Shimon Rura "software developer" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're new to building web applications and want a balanced perspective on the engineering challenges involved -- from understanding user needs to data modelling to scaling gracefully -- this book is a great place to start. It's mostly language-agnostic, so it'll be a good starting point for a few years but won't update you on the latest technology. Nevertheless, I know very few web developers who wouldn't learn something important from a careful reading of this book.

Where this book really shines is as a bridge from the world of college Computer Science to the world of actually building applications people use. This transition encompasses understanding your users, making flexibile designs, considering security, aesthetics, and a host of other issues one does not actually learn in a normal college CS curriculum. Thanks to its project focus, this book (and the course curriculum it implies) seeds an awareness of these many issues that can later be developed through experience. Other "software engineering" books over-emphasize theories, but this one will actually press you to get stuff built.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Specific examples, great ideas, March 17, 2006

By	Juliette Melton (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is helpful for programmers as well as people who work more generally with technology. I'm using very specific, technical information from the "Adding Mobile Users to Your Community" chapter for a web application I'm building, while using concepts from the chapter on discussion forums for a research project on how discussion tools are used at my university. If you build web applications, or work with people who do, I highly recommend this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical advice for web applications design in the real world, May 21, 2007

By	Jonathan Koomey (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This is a terrific book on what it takes to make web applications really work (both for users and for the businesses that create them). Managers of web design projects should read this book for its eminently practical advice on documentation, workflow, and pitfalls to avoid. Highly recommended.