Tier One.. My Ass!

There are a few things that chap my ass.
People that cut me off on the freeway.
 

One-balled cyclists.
 
People that still claim Dewey won.

Come on get over it already!

And this stupid blogger.com that insists on rewriting my code with the worst coding ever!

Which brings me to this gem that really sets my roids on fire. The University of Houston has another Web Development class that teaches "DHTML, CSS, CGI, JavaScript, server side programming paradigm, XML and transformation, Web services, Service Oriented Architecture". It is COSC 3319: Web Development and it a computer science course taught through the College of Natural Science and Mathematics.

Now for now lets put aside that DHTML (Dynamic Hyper Text Markup Language) was a term coined in the early 1990's and has not been used in the real world of web design/development for at least 10 years or that CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is a server process hog, slow and if not secured correctly a giant welcome sign for hackers. There are better and ways to do what used to be only done with CGI and they have been around for many years now as well.

No I want to look at what the college of natural science and mathematics say is required and necessary to be able to take this course. Well first, buckeroos, you need to have taken COSC 3380: Design of File and Database Systems, which is "Techniques for file organizations on secondary storage, performance, design, and management of large integrated databases, data models, query languages". But wait.. it gets better because to be able to take COSC 3380 you have to have taken . . . MATH 3336: Discrete Mathematics  and  COSC 2320: Data Structure and then it gets even better!

Those courses require that you have COSC 2320: Data Structure, which requires MATH 1432: Calculus I, which requires MATH 1431: Calculus, which requires MATH 1330: Precalculus! All that just for MATH 3336! On the other side to take COSC 2320 you must have,
COSC 1320: Introduction to Computer Science I, which requires COSC 1410: Introduction to Computer Science I, and that requires MATH 1431: Calculus. Finally you now have all your prerequisites so that you can take a class that will teach you "DHTML, CSS, CGI, JavaScript, server side programming paradigm, XML and transformation, Web services, Service Oriented Architecture".

Here is the rub, I have been doing professional web design and development for 20 years now and I can tell you for a fact none of those classes are needed. Let me reitterate . . . NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THOSE CLASSES ARE NEEDED TO LEARN ANY THING TAUGHT IN THAT COURSE! In fact the the database part of COSC 3338 should be taught AFTER someone has taken COSC 3319!

I know that the computer sciences started with the math department but it is time to get real and bring the both the College of Natural Science and Mathematics and the College of Technology to completely overhaul and redefine Digital Media and set up realistic and applicable degrees that will give graduates of said degrees the tools and abilities to walk into a digital media job and start work on day one with out having to be trained, THAT is what makes one marketable in today's, and the furture, economy.

Tier One? More like Tier Flintsone at the University of Houstone if you ask me!