This article aims to provide a brief explanation of some of the common technologies used in modern software development.
.NET Framework
The .NET Framework is a software development component from Microsoft, designed to run on most modern Microsoft Windows operating systems. The framework provides a large library of pre-written functions to allow developers to easily complete common programming tasks. The framework manages the execution of applications written using it. The most common programming languages used with the .NET Framework are C# and VB.NET.
AJAX – Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
AJAX is a development technique used on web-based applications to provide a greater level of interactivity. AJAX allows web pages to communicate with the web server without the need to reload the entire page, thus providing greater levels of interactivity, performance and usability.
API – Application Programming Interface
An API is a computer program that is specifically designed to allow two separate computer systems to interact using a pre-defined message format.
Apple Mac OS X
Apple Mac OS X is a group of operating systems created by Apple which, unlike its predecessors is Unix-based. Mac OS X is renowned for its graphical user interface, which is often regarded as at the forefront of user interface design.
ASP – Active Server Pages
ASP is a web-scripting interface created by Microsoft for use with their web server software. ASP can be written in a variety of languages, the most popular of which is VBScript. Since the release of ASP.NET, ASP is sometimes referred to as “Classic ASP”.
ASP.NET
ASP.NET is a web application framework developed by Microsoft as part of the .NET Framework. Developing ASP.NET applications is significantly different to ASP.
C
C is an imperative, procedural, block structured, computer programming language. It is primarily used for “system programming”, but is also widely used in end-user applications. It has influenced many other languages, including C++.
C++
C++ is a middle-level general purpose object-oriented programming language. It was originally designed as an enhancement to the C programming language and was named “C with Classes”.
C#
C# is an object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft for use with the .NET Framework. Its design was heavily influenced by the C++, Java and Delphi programming languages.
CRM – Customer Relationship Management
CRMs are IT systems that aid and manage the communication between a company and its customers.
CSS – Cascading Style Sheets
CSS is a language used to describe the presentation of a document written in a markup language. Its most common usage is with HTML in a web-based environment. CSS is used to define the various presentational aspects of a website, including fonts, colours and positioning of elements.
DBMS – Database Management System
A DBMS is a piece of software that controls the organisation, storage, management and retrieval of data in a database. Popular database management systems include: Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, DB2, Sybase ASE and PostgreSQL.
DirectX
DirectX is a set of APIs specifically designed for handling multimedia, especially video games. It can be used with a variety of programming languages. An alternative to DirectX is OpenGL.
HTML – HyperText Markup Language
HTML is the markup language used to describe the structure of information in a web page. Tags are used to denote the various elements of a page (e.g. images, links, forms, paragraphs).
HTTP – HyperText Transfer Protocol
HTTP is a communications protocol used to transfer information across an intranet and the World Wide Web. A series of requests/responses between a client and a server form the basis of the communication.
Java
Java is an object-oriented programming language with a C/C++ style syntax. The Java code is compiled into bytecode that can run on any computer with the Java Virtual Machine installed, this allows Java applications to be cross-platform.
JavaScript
JavaScript is a scripting language, best know for its use on websites. Except for their similar syntax, JavaScript is unrelated to Java. On websites, JavaScript executes “client-side” - within the web browser.
Linux
Linux is the name given to a group of Unix-based operating systems that use the Linux kernel. Linux operating systems are generally free to use and open source. Currently, it is predominantly used on servers, but is growing in popularity as a desktop operating system.
Microsoft Exchange Server
Exchange Server is a message and collaborative software product by Microsoft. Its primary functions relate to email, calendaring, contacts and tasks. Microsoft’s personal information manager, Microsoft Outlook, can integrate closely with Exchange Server.
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system that runs on the Microsoft Windows operating system. It uses an implementation of SQL called Transact-SQL.
Microsoft Windows
Windows is the name given to a group of operating systems produced by Microsoft. It currently dominates the market for PC operating systems. There are both desktop and server version of Windows.
Microsoft Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile (formerly known as Pocket PC) is an operating system produced by Microsoft specifically designed for mobile devices, such as mobile phones and PDAs.
MySQL
MySQL is an open-source multi-user database management system that is particularly popular with web-based applications. MySQL can run on a variety of different operating systems. Currently the MySQL Community Server is free to use.
OOP – Object Oriented Programming
OOP is a method of software development where entities in the system and their interactions are represented by “objects”, where each object can send data to other objects, store data, process data and receive data from other objects.
OpenGL
OpenGL is a cross-language cross-platform API for producing 2D and 3D graphics in software. It competes with Microsoft’s DirectX for use in video game development.
Oracle Database
Oracle Database is a relational database management system produced by Oracle Corporation. It can run on most major server operating systems.
Perl
Perl is a dynamic programming language with a C-style syntax. It was originally widely adopted because of its powerful text processing features, but is now used for a variety of purposes, including: system administration, web development, graphical user interfaces and network programming. Perl has a large collection of third-party modules that can be used to provide a variety of functionality.
PHP
PHP is a server-side scripting language mainly used for producing dynamic web pages. It can be deployed on almost any server operating system and is free of charge. It is often used alongside MySQL to create database-driven websites. A variety of modules can be added onto a PHP installation to provide additional functionality to the programmer.
Prolog
Prolog is a logic programming language, making it unlike many other programming languages. It is often used for artificial intelligence and computational linguistics applications.
SQL – Structured Query Language
SQL is a database language used for the management and retrieval of data in a relational database management system. Implementations of SQL across various DBMS often have extensions and slight variations.
Unix
Unix is a operating system originally developed in the 1960s. There are many modern Unix and Unix-like operating systems that are widely used on both servers and workstations. Linux, BSD and Mac OS X are all Unix-based operating systems.
Visual Basic
Visual Basic is an event driven programming language created by Microsoft. It allows for the rapid development of applications with graphical user interfaces. Visual Basic.NET was released to allow for programming with the .NET Framework.
WCF – Windows Communication Foundation
WCF is a programming API in the .NET Framework (from version 3.0) designed to be used to help applications communicate with each other.
WPF – Windows Presentation Foundation
WPF is a programming API in the .NET Framework (from version 3.0) designed to be used to create graphical user interfaces. It provides a clear separation between the development of the user interface and the business logic of an application. WPF programs can be deployed onto the desktop or hosted inside a web browser.
XML – Extensible Markup Language
XML is a general purpose specification for defining custom markup languages, allowing users to define their own elements. It is primarily used to allow the sharing of data across different system via a common format, particularly over the Internet.
Further Reading
For more information on any of the above topics, visit Wikipedia.
© 2008 Software-Developer.co.uk
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