Here’s some background information on some of the many technology options that IWS staff can use in implementing your projects.
Content Management System (CMS), CommonSpot
The University’s content-management system, CommonSpot, makes it possible for non-technical people to easily manage website content and images. IWS is a campus leader in working with CommonSpot, and has developed a library of enhancements to it for automatically generating navigation and site maps, visually sorting data, and managing things like seminar listings and faculty bios through a simple, robust online form interface. IWS can also provide training and customized manuals for CommonSpot sites.
CommonSpot
CommonSpot at Cornell
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
The original structuring and formatting language for web pages. Today, HTML is used to specify the structure of web pages, css is used to specify their design, and content may reside in the HTML, in external files such as XML, or in a database.
HTML defined in wikipedia
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CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
is a language that lets designers separate the visual definition of a web page or site from its content. This allows very elegant and flexible styling that renders reliably in all modern browsers, and that can be modified—or even changed completely—quickly and consistently, without affecting the content.
CSS defined in wikipedia
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Flash
is a technology for adding animation and interactivity to web pages, including integrating video into web applications or developing rich internet applications such as portals. Several products can run the files.
Flash defined in wikipedia
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Video integration
IWS can use a variety of techniques to include downloaded or streamed video on your website, optionally inside a utility that displays images that are time-coordinated with the video.
QTVR (Quick Time Virtual Reality)
is a dynamic photographic technique for constructing panoramic views (useful in online virtual tours) and walkaround views (such as for detailed display of objects)
QTVR defined in wikipedia
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Blog
(from “web log”) A journal on the web, which may be public or private, individual or collaborative.
Blogs defined in wikipedia
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Podcast
(from “iPod” and “Broadcasting”) A method of publishing audio files to the Internet for playback on mobile devices and personal computers.
Podcast defined in wikipedia
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Screencast
A recording of computer screen output, usually containing audio narration. It is published as a video file.
Screencast defined in wikipedia
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RSS
A technology that allows web users to receive (ongoing, constantly updated) information collected from many sources through a simple reader. This is supplied through an “RSS feed” that users can subscribe to.
RSS defined in wikipedia
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Forum/Discussion Board
A facility on the web for holding discussions in the form of a series of posts that can be read or added to by many participants (or the web application software used to provide the facility).
Forum defined in wikipedia
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Google Search Appliance (GSA)
Third-party software that indexes documents and allows for Google-search-like retrieval.
GSA defined in wikipedia
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Wiki
A collection of web pages that can be edited by a group.
Wiki defined in wikipedia
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ColdFusion
A database development platform—an application server and a language—that allows programmers to create data-driven web pages quickly and easily. The language can be used on other application servers, as well, to create powerful applications quickly and easily. Languages like FLASH make animation happen on the screen. ColdFusion allows the programmer to manage the data that feeds into some FLASH applications.
ColdFusion defined in wikipedia
more about ColdFusion
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PHP
This programming language was specifically designed to produce dynamic Web pages.
PHP defined in wikipedia
http://www.php.net/
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Oracle
The primary commercial database application in use today.
Oracle defined in wikipedia
http://www.oracle.com/
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