Course Details

Course Information Package

Course Unit Title	NETWORK APPLICATION PROGRAMMING
Course Unit Code	ACSC424
Course Unit Details	BSc Computer Science (Computer Electives) -
Number of ECTS credits allocated	6
Learning Outcomes of the course unit	By the end of the course, the students should be able to: Outline network protocols in general, OSI and TCP/IP reference models including naming, addressing etc. Develop programs that use sockets in TCP and UDP programming models (client server). Describe the main web server protocol HTTP and develop programs to communicate with a web server. Understand Send Mail (SMTP), POP3 and FTP protocols and develop programs to communicate with email servers. Develop programs that employ several network security techniques.
Mode of Delivery	Face-to-face
Prerequisites	NONE	Co-requisites	NONE
Recommended optional program components	NONE
Course Contents	·  Introduction to networks: Overview of Network Programming. The OSI and TCP/IP reference models. Data Link and Application Layers Protocols. Sockets. Ports. Streams. ·  TCP/IP: Understand TCP/IP naming, addressing etc.  Use sockets TCP and UDP programming models (client server) ·  Web protocols, mail, naming, network monitoring: Understand the main web server protocol HTTP and communicate with a web server. Send Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). POP3 protocol. FTP protocol. DNS and commands for monitoring a network ·  Secure a network and setup a network: Firewalls. Proxy servers. Routers ·  Next generation of Internet and IPv6: An introduction to IPv6 and the next generation of internet ·  Laboratory Work: o  Windows and .NET environment o  Programming in .NET using C# o  Understanding network programming o  Using SDKs etc. o  Working with sockets o  Create TCP/IP client server program o  Create UDP client server program o  HTTP protocol and communicating with web servers o  SMTP and POP3 protocols, communicating with email servers o  FTP communicating with file servers o  Network security, building a network, firewalls, proxy servers routers o  Ping, DNS, network monitoring, packets analysis
Recommended and/or required reading:
Textbooks	Fiach Reid, Network Programming in .NET with C# and Visual Basic .NET, Elsevier Digital Press, 2004, ISBN – 13: 978-1-55558-315-6
References	MSDN network (Windows developer center) http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms817952.aspx www.sockets.com Winsock 2 Overview and Pointers, http://www.sockets.com/winsock2.htm
Planned learning activities and teaching methods	The course is mainly delivered through lectures an practical lab sessions that illustrate the core concepts. Practical sessions are held in computer laboratories where Windows Environment and Microsoft Visual c# are being used and programming exercises are given to gain practical skills and to implement the theoretical concepts taught.
Assessment methods and criteria	Tests 20% Laboratory Work/homework 20% Final Exam 60%
Language of instruction	English
Work placement(s)	NO