Mobile computing

Mobile computing is a form of human–computer interaction where a computer is expected to be transported during normal usage. Mobile computing has three aspects: mobile communication, mobile hardware and mobile software. The first aspect addresses communication issues in ad-hoc and infrastructure networks as well as communication properties, protocols, data formats and concrete technologies. The second aspect focusses on the hardware, i.e. mobile devices or device components. The third aspect deals with the characteristics and requirements of mobile applicatio...

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Definitions

Mobile computing is "taking a computer and all necessary files and software out into the field."[1] "Mobile computing: being able to use a computing device even when being mobile and therefore changing location. Portability is one aspect of mobile computin...

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Devices

Many types of mobile computers have been introduced since the 1990s, including the Wearable computer Personal digital assistant/enterprise digital assistant Smartphone Carputer Ultra-Mobile ...

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Technical and other limitations of mobile computing

Insufficient bandwidth Mobile Internet access is generally slower than direct cable connections, using technologies such as GPRS and EDGE, and more recently HSDPA and HSUPA 3G networks. These networks are usually available within range of commercial cell phone towers. Higher speed wireless LANs are inexpensive, but have very limited range. Security standards When working mobile one is dependent on public networks, requiring careful use of VPNs. Power consumption When a power outlet or portable generator is not available, mobile computers must rely entirely on battery power. Combined with the compact size of many mobile devices, this often means unusually expensive batteries must be used to obtain the necessary battery life. Transmission interferences Weather, terrain, and the range from...

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In-vehicle computing and fleet computing

Many commercial and government field forces deploy a ruggedized portable computer such as the Panasonic Toughbook or larger rack-mounted computers with their fleet of vehicles. This requires the units to be anchored to the vehicle for driver safety, device security, and user ergonomics. Ruggedized computers are rated for severe vibration associated with large service vehicles and off-road driving, and the harsh environmental conditions of constant professional use such as in emergency medical services, fire and public safety. The Compaq PortableOther elements that enables the unit to function in vehicle: Operating temperature: A vehicle...

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Portable computing devices

There are several categories of portable computing devices that can run on batteries but are not usually classified as laptops: portable computers, keyboardless tablet PCs, Internet tablets, PDAs, ultra mobile PCs (UMPCs) and smartphones. A Nokia N800 Internet tabletA portable computer is a general-purpose computer that can be easily moved from place to place, but cannot be used while in transit, usually because it requires some "setting-up" and an AC power source. The most famous example is the Osborne 1. Portable computers are also called a "transportable" or a "luggable" PC. A tablet PC that lacks a keyboard (also known as a non-convertible...

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System software

System software provides the basic functions for computer usage and helps run the computer hardware and system. It includes a combination of the following: device drivers operating systems servers utilities window systems System software is responsible for managing a variety of independent hardware components, so that they can work together harmoniously. Its purpose is to unburden the application software programmer from the often complex details of the particular computer being used, including such accessories as communications devices, printers, device readers, displays and keyboards, and also to partition the computer's resources such as memory and processor time in a safe and stable mann...

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Programming software

Programming software usually provides tools to assist a programmer in writing computer programs, and software using different programming languages in a more convenient way. The tools include: compilers debuggers interpreters linkers text editors An Integrated development environment (IDE) is a single application that attempts to manage all these functio...

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Application software

System software does not aim at a certain application fields. In contrast,different application software offers different functions based on users and the area it served.Application software is developed for some certain purpose,which either can be a certain program or a collection of some programmes,such as a graphic browser or the data base management system. Application software allows end users to accomplish one or more specific (not directly computer development related) tasks. Typical applications include: industrial automation business software video games quantum chemistry and solid state physics software telecommunications (i.e., the Internet and everything that flows on it) databases educational software Mathematical software medical software molecular modeling software image editing spreadsheet simulation...

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Architecture

Users often see things differently than programmers. People who use modern general purpose computers (as opposed to embedded systems, analog computers and supercomputers) usually see three layers of software performing a variety of tasks: platform, application, and user software. Platform software: Platform includes the firmware, device drivers, an operating system, and typically a graphical user interface which, in total, allow a user to interact with the computer and its peripherals (associated equipment). Platform software often comes bundled with the computer. On a PC you will usually have the ability to change the platform software. Application software: Application software or Applications are what most people think of when they think of software. Typical examples include office suites...

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Documentation

Most software has software documentation so that the end user can understand the program, what it does, and how to use it. Without clear documentation, software can be hard to use—especially if it is very specialized and relatively complex like Photoshop or AutoCAD. Developer documentation may also exist, either with the code as comments and/or as separate files, detailing how the programs works and can be modifi...

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Library

An executable is almost always not sufficiently complete for direct execution. Software libraries include collections of functions and functionality that may be embedded in other applications. Operating systems include many standard Software libraries, and applications are often distributed with their own librari...

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Standard

Since software can be designed using many different programming languages and in many different operating systems and operating environments, software standard is needed so that different software can understand and exchange information between each other. For instance, an email sent from a Microsoft Outlook should be readable from Yahoo! Mail and vice ver...

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Execution

Computer software has to be "loaded" into the computer's storage (such as the hard drive or memory). Once the software has loaded, the computer is able to execute the software. This involves passing instructions from the application software, through the system software, to the hardware which ultimately receives the instruction as machine code. Each instruction causes the computer to carry out an operation – moving data, carrying out a computation, or altering the control flow of instructions. Data movement is typically from one place in memory to another. Sometimes it involves moving data between memory and registers which enable high-speed data access in the CPU. Moving data, especially large amounts of it, can be costly. So, this is sometimes avoided by using "pointers" to data instead....

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Quality and reliability

Software quality is very important, especially for commercial and system software like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows and Linux. If software is faulty (buggy), it can delete a person's work, crash the computer and do other unexpected things. Faults and errors are called "bugs." Many bugs are discovered and eliminated (debugged) through software testing. However, software testing rarely – if ever – eliminates every bug; some programmers say that "every program has at least one more bug" (Lubarsky's Law). All major software companies, such as Microsoft, Novell and Sun Microsystems, have their own software testing departments with the specific goal of just testing. Software can be tested through unit testing, regression testing and other methods, which are done manually, or most commonly,...

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License

The software's license gives the user the right to use the software in the licensed environment. Some software comes with the license when purchased off the shelf, or an OEM license when bundled with hardware. Other software comes with a free software license, granting the recipient the rights to modify and redistribute the software. Software can also be in the form of freeware or sharewa...

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Patents

Software can be patented; however, software patents can be controversial in the software industry with many people holding different views about it. The controversy over software patents is that a specific algorithm or technique that the software has may not be duplicated by others and is considered an intellectual property and copyright infringement depending on the seve...

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Design and implementation

Design and implementation of software varies depending on the complexity of the software. For instance, design and creation of Microsoft Word software will take much more time than designing and developing Microsoft Notepad because of the difference in functionalities in each one. Software is usually designed and created (coded/written/programmed) in integrated development environments (IDE) like Eclipse, Emacs and Microsoft Visual Studio that can simplify the process and compile the program. As noted in different section, software is usually created on top of existing software and the application programming interface (API) that the underlying software provides like GTK+, JavaBeans or Swing. Libraries (APIs) are categorized for different purposes. For instance, JavaBeans library is used for...

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Industry and organizations

A great variety of software companies and programmers in the world comprise a software industry . Software can be quite a profitable industry: Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft was the richest person in the world in 2009 largely by selling the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office software products. The same goes for Larry Ellison, largely through his Oracle database software. Through time the software industry has become increasingly specialized. Non-profit software organizations include the Free Software Foundation, GNU Project and Mozilla Foundation. Software standard organizations like the W3C, IETF develop software standards so that most software can interoperate through standards such as XML, HTML, HTTP or FTP. Other well-known large software companies include Novell, SAP, Symantec,...

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