The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2002: §411b Home Papers/Indices prev (§411a) Next (§411c)

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Recommended Citation: Tastle, W J, E F Hackley, and S W J Tastle. Markup Language Diagramming: a Method to Enhance Web Page Design. In The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2002, v 19 (San Antonio): §411b. ISSN: 1542-7382.

Markup Language Diagramming: a Method to Enhance Web Page Design

Refereed

William J. Tastle    [a1] [a2]
School of Business
Ithaca College    [u1] [u2]
Ithaca, New York, USA    [c1] [c2]

Erica F. Hackley    [a1] [a2]
School of Business
Ithaca College    [u1] [u2]
Ithaca, New York, USA    [c1] [c2]

Stephen W.J. Tastle    [a1] [a2]
School of Business
Ithaca College    [u1] [u2]
Ithaca, New York, USA    [c1] [c2]

Web site design and creation, let alone the writing of the actual script that generated the web site, is difficult for the student who has minimal computer skills and has not benefited from a course in structured programming. Using the structure diagram method of Nassi and Shneiderman we develop a method by which web pages can be designed in such a way that the resulting hand-drawn image is used as a road map for the writing of the script. The method presented is called markup language diagrams and is represented by thirteen simplified symbols used to represent common web page structures. Additionally, students have a difficult time finding and correcting their own HTML script when they do not have the benefit of application software such as DreamWeaver or Homesite where a formal indentation method is presented. Though simple to use, students should be exposed to a scripting standard as early as possible in their web site scripting experience to insure the development of proper scripting habits. A simplified scripting standard is proposed.

Keywords: structure chart, Nassi-Shneiderman, HTML script, markup language diagram, MLD

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