Teaching client server computing to undergraduates and postgraduates

The Division of Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, has added a course on the practical uses of network technology to their degree in computer science. This was done to meet the needs of students interested in information systems rather than the more traditional computer science topics like software engineering and computer systems. The course covers the use of the Internet and client server computing. Some academics feel that these are not proper subjects for study. But it is evident that "client server" covers a broad range of topics which is just as intellectually challenging in its breadth as a course on a more traditional subject would be in depth. Many of the topics that need to be addressed in a course on client server computing would in fact be covered in traditional courses on operating systems, databases, computer networks, and systems development. In industry meanwhile, perhaps because of the breadth of understanding required, staff with the skills needed to successfully design and construct client server systems continue to be in short supply. The course the authors have written therefore includes a substantial amount of practical work-in fact the course is designed around the practicals. These are supported by lectures which discuss the theoretical principles needed to ensure that the experience gained from practicals done in the laboratory can be transferred to whatever system and development platform a future employer may have chosen.