JHU's Class Search

Most software applications, including JHU's class search, follow the client-server architecture. To illustrate this, let's explore the request-response cycle for the class search at JHU's site.

Screenshot of JHU's class search portal
  1. Access https://sis.jhu.edu/classes/ via a browser like Chrome. This browser is your interface to the application, representing the "client" side.
  2. Upon visiting, the class search UI is displayed in your browser. This UI allows you to enter search criteria.
  3. After entering your search query and clicking "search," the client sends a request with your query to the server.
  4. This request travels across the internet to the class search server, which processes incoming requests from users.
  5. The server queries its database to find classes matching your criteria and retrieves the data.
  6. Having gathered the required data, the server prepares and sends a response back to the client, containing the matching classes.
  7. This response travels back through the internet to your browser, which then renders the search results.

Below is a sequence diagram summarizing this interaction:

sequence diagram summarizing how JHU's class search portal works