In this course, we investigate the origins of hypermedia and the World Wide Web and discuss current and future developments on the Web. We have a detailed look at the architecture of the Internet and various protocols such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). We further discuss different client and server-side issues in web architectures and have a look at the Web 2.0 and Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) as well as Web Services. The latest HTML5 developments are introduced and various XML technologies and applications are presented. JavaScript is introduced and CSS3 and its application in responsive web design are discussed. Last but not least, we learn about the Semantic Web, web search, security and privacy as well as a number of selected topics (e.g. mobile information systems). The theory is applied in various exercise sessions as well as in a web application that is developed as part of the course.

In this course students learn about the representation (abstraction) and presentation of data in terms of different visualisation techniques supporting the exploratory analysis for scientific discovery as well as the design of tools for the presentation of large datasets. The theory further covers specific elements of human perception and colour theory and we discuss different design principles and interaction techniques for human-in-the-loop data exploration underlined by various case studies. The theory is applied and further deepened in a group assignment where interactive visualisations are designed and implemented for different rich datasets.

The goal of this seminar is to introduce students to the critical reviewing of research papers. Since each student will not only be assigned a single research paper but also a more general research topic, the students will learn how to independently investigate a specific topic based on studying referenced material as well as other resources. By writing a report about the assigned research topic, the students learn how to critically analyse a research paper and evaluate its contribution in the context of a specific research area.