📚 Resources

New to the course? Get your machine set up and grab the starter files.

Course-specific quick references written for this syllabus. Open in your browser, print, or save offline.

• HTML5 Cheatsheet MD Document skeleton, semantic elements, forms, media, accessibility.
• CSS Cheatsheet MD Selectors, cascade & specificity, box model, Flexbox, Grid, responsive design.
• Modern JavaScript Cheatsheet MD ES2015+, arrays, objects, DOM, events, async/await, modules.
• HTTP & REST Cheatsheet MD Methods, status codes, REST resource design, CORS, Fetch.
• React Cheatsheet MD Components, props, useState, useEffect, routing, custom hooks.
• SQL Cheatsheet MD DDL, CRUD, joins, aggregation, transactions, parameterised queries.
• Docker & Compose Cheatsheet MD Daily commands, Dockerfile recipes, multi-service Compose.
• Git & GitHub Cheatsheet MD Daily workflow, branches, undoing, conflicts, Classroom flow.

• page_template.html HTML Semantic HTML5 skeleton with header, nav, sections, contact form, footer.
• style_template.css CSS Modern reset, design tokens, mobile-first layout. Pair with the HTML template.
• app_template.js JS DOMContentLoaded boilerplate, smooth-scroll nav, form handler.
• .gitignore template TXT Covers Node, Java/Maven, Python/Django, Docker, common editors.
• README_template.md MD Project README skeleton — fill in for every lab and homework.

See also the course Code Examples folder for full runnable demos.

Topics not covered in class but worth exploring once you're comfortable with the basics.

• TypeScript External Static types for JavaScript — adopted by most large React projects.
• Next.js External React with SSR, file-based routing, built-in API routes.
• Tailwind CSS External Utility-class-based CSS framework. Popular in 2024+ stacks.
• GraphQL External Alternative to REST. The frontend asks for exactly the data it needs.
• Kubernetes External Orchestrate containers across many machines. Industry standard.
• Redis External In-memory store: caching, sessions, pub/sub.
• OpenTelemetry External Vendor-neutral observability for distributed systems.
• htmx External Server-driven UI updates without writing JavaScript. A different philosophy.

1. Type, don't copy. Re-typing example code into your own editor builds muscle memory in a way reading doesn't.
2. Read the error. Most fixes start with carefully reading the actual error message — not Googling the first three words of it.
3. Open DevTools every time. Inspect, view network requests, watch the console. That's where the truth lives.
4. Build small, ship often. A working ugly thing teaches you more than a beautiful unfinished plan.
5. Use MDN first, blogs second. Blog posts can be 5 years out of date. MDN is current.
6. Commit often. Push at least once per work session. Past-you is your best teammate.
7. Ask in lab. A 30-second question saves a 3-hour rabbit hole.