The Task What to submit Grading More XHTML and Perl notesCS 350 – Computer/Human InteractionFall 2006 – HTML/CGI Prototype: A Web-Based Message BoardOut: September 1Due: September 15Your software company has decided to create a new product, a web-based message board. Each message on the board will have at least the sender's name, a subject line, and a message body. For example, the messages on a text-based message board for CS 350 might look like: ----------------------------------------------------------- Date: August 31, 2006 From: A. Good Student Subject: Programming assignments Are there any programming assignments in this course? ----------------------------------------------------------- Date: August 31, 2006 From: Dr. Deborah Hwang Subject: Re: Programming assignment Yes. The semester project overview and the HTML/CGI prototype assignment will be handed out tomorrow. ----------------------------------------------------------- Date: August 31, 2006 From: Random Student Subject: What is the combo to the CS Lab door? Is it the same as it was last year? -----------------------------------------------------------The Task ● Your task is to create a prototype interface for this Web-based message board system. The prototype should consist of one or more web pages, which use fill-in forms to allow a user to type in their message and retrieve the messages previously posted to the board. How the system stores messages is described below. You should create both an interface for posting messages and an interface for viewing messages. You do not need to provide a screen for logging in. ● You should provide feedback when adding messages, and appropriate error messages if vital information is omitted when adding a new message. You will have to decide on how messages are displayed. You may wish to provide a catalog of all messages, or you may want to just 08/31/06 1display all messages in one long list. However you display the messages, you should be able to distinguish one message from another. ● The new messages do not have to appear instantaneously to other users of the message board when sent. That is, you may require that a user push a “New Messages” button to get any new messages since the previous display. Messages should be displayed in the order they were posted. ● The information on a particular message should be stored into a file, one message per file. You will need to create a publicly writable directory to allow this to occur. Make this directory separate from the pizza order form output directory. ● Investigate the date command as a way of generating unique file names. Don't rely on a sender's name as a good file name. (Why?) ● The solution should involve web pages written in XHTML and CGI scripts written in Perl. Use of Web page construction tools such as Microsoft Front Page are not allowed. Styling is not required, but the interface should be usable. All XHTML pages must pass the validation check for XHTML 1.0 Transitional at the W3 Validation Service (http://validator.w3.org). This includes any generated response pages.What to submit Your submission must be installed on csserver and linked into your CS 350 page (~username/cs350.html) to be graded. (You may develop your submission elsewhere, if you wish.) Please make sure your CS 350 page clearly indicates which link the instructor is to follow. Hand in the following items: ● A signed statement that the work you are submitting is your own (see Project Overview)● Two written problem scenarios: one describing a user reading messages with your interface and one describing a user sending messages with your interface. ● Hardcopy printouts of your well-commented XHTML forms and Perl CGI scripts. The URL on csserver to your CS 350 index page should be in the comments of the main XHTML page. In the CS lab this can be done using a2ps <file names>.08/31/06 2Grading Prototypes will be graded in the following manner: ● 25 points - prototype demonstrates an interface that meets the above specification ● 5 points - aesthetics and usability ● 10 points - scenarios More XHTML and Perl notes To check if a generated page is valid XHTML, use View - Page Source to see the generated XHTML, then copy and paste it into the Validate by Direct Input area of the W3 Validation Service.Any Linux command can be run in a Perl program by enclosing the command in backquotes. The result can then be assigned to a variable. For example, to run the date command and save the result, you can write: $date = `date`Of course, this result won't be in a form that you can use as a file name. Try using “man date” to find out ways of formatting the result. Likewise, if you wanted to get all the names of the files in a directory, you could say: `ls`. Assigning the result to a scalar (variable starting with $) will result in a string of all the file names. Assigning the result to an array (variable starting with @) will result in each file name becoming an element of the array. 08/31/06