This site was created with modern web standards in mind, and with consideration given to scalability and extensibility. All static content pages are rendered in XHTML-Transitional which is used solely to define content. Presentational elements, used to control the look and feel of the site, are controlled by externally linked Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Added functionality such as the automation of breadcrumbs and information download requests made to the server, are facilitated through JavaScript and AJAX (in conjunction with Servlets).
Dynamically generated content is created via JSP. A Content Management System was developed using J2EE, Servlets, and MVC (Model/View/Controller 2) in order to easily update content and facilitate management of the site. MySQL is used as the back-end database. Special thanks go to Professor Jeffrey Eppinger for his BeanFactory class.
An automated RSS feed populates “The Latest Ebiz News” section on the front page of the site. The feed connects to a centralized source of eBusiness/E-Commerce related news known as The Ecommerce Times.
By adhering to web standards, a strict separation between content (XHTML), presentation (CSS), and behavior (JavaScript/AJAX) was achieved. This is the ideal way to create websites that render acceptably across all major commercial browsers.
The developers of this site, Mark Muskardin and Ali Al-Ibrahim, are MSIT eBusiness Technology graduates (Class of 2007) who completed this site as part of an independent study titled “Web 2.0 Redesign of the MSIT eBusiness Technology Site”. Special thanks go to Patty Mackiewicz, Kurt Wescoe, and Amber Vivis for their assistance.