Module 6

Module 6 builds upon the JavaScript skills you learned in Module 5.

Reading

The following articles on the online class wiki textbook contain information that will help you complete the assignments.

• Node.JS
• Socket.IO

Individual Assignments

Install Node.JS

Install Node.JS from Apt or Yum according to the instructions in the Node.JS guide.

Static File Server in Node.JS

The individual portion of Module 6 is short in order to give you enough time to complete the group portion.

1. Copy the example code from the Node.JS guide into a file called static_server.js or something of that nature. Save it on your EC2 instance (but not in a place that Apache can serve!).

   Ensure that you understand what the static file server script is doing…

2. Make a directory parallel to static_server.js named static.
3. Change "<STATIC DIRECTORY NAME>" on line 11 of the static fileserver example code to reflect the name of the directory you just made.
4. Save the following files in your static directory:
   • hello.txt, a text file containing "Hello World"
   • brookings.jpg, an image file you can download from here: http://classes.engineering.wustl.edu/cse330/content/brookings.jpg
   • college.html, an HTML document based on the Quick and Easy HTML Layout containing an image tag pointing to brookings.jpg
   • phpinfo.php, a PHP file containing the phpinfo command that generates a diagnostic page of the server:

   <?php   phpinfo();   ?>
   

5. Boot up your Node.JS static fileserver, and from your browser, load all four of the files you created in step 4.

   Which ones work and which ones don't? Why might this be the case?

Group Project

In the group portion of Module 6 you will create a multi-room chat server using Node.JS and Socket.IO.

This chat service will contain a main lobby where users sign on with a nickname and can communicate with each other. Users may also create chat rooms for other to join. The entire app should be displayed on a single webpage, listing the room you are in, all available rooms, and the users in the current room.

The single room chat server and client are provided here: Socket.IO

Grading

We will be grading the following aspects of your work. There are 75 points total.

Assignments must be demoed by the Friday at 1:00 PM of the week of the assignment being due. We will grade late penalties based on Bitbucket submission time-stamps, so you are allowed to demo at TA office hours. However, after Friday, you will receive a late penalty for the assignment (ie. if you demo on Saturday, you will be 5 days late, regardless of your timestamp).

1. For the group project, you must save your repo as:
   • "<Season><year>-Module<#>-FirstName1-LastName1-StudentID1-FirstName2-LastName2-StudentID2"
   • (ie. Spring2025-Module3-John-Doe-201343-Jane-Doe-201243)

If you do not name your repo correctly, the TA's are not responsible for grading your assignment. If we cannot find it, you will receive a zero.

_________

1. Individual Portion (25 Points):
   • Node.JS is installed on your EC2 instance (5 points)
   • The hello.txt, brookings.jpg, and college.html files all load successfully (4 points each)
   • Visiting a file that does not exist inside the static directory results in a 404 (4 points)
   • You can explain to the TA why phpinfo.php behaves the way it does when loaded through Node.JS (4 points)
2. Multi-room Chat Server (50 Points):
   • Administration of user created chat rooms (25 Points):
     • Users can create chat rooms with an arbitrary room name(5 points)
     • Users can join an arbitrary chat room (5 points)
     • The chat room displays all users currently in the room (5 points)
     • A private room can be created that is password protected (5 points)
     • Creators of chat rooms can temporarily kick others out of the room (3 points)
     • Creators of chat rooms can permanently ban users from joining that particular room (2 points)
   • Messaging (5 Points):
     • A user's message shows their username and is sent to everyone in the room (1 point)
     • Users can send private messages to another user in the same room (4 points)
   • Best Practices (5 Points):
     • Code is well formatted and easy to read, with proper commenting (2 points)
     • Code passes HTML validation (3 points)
   • Usability (5 Points):
     • Communicating with others and joining rooms is easy and intuitive (4 points)
     • Site is visually appealing (1 point)
3. Creative Portion (10 Points)