Seven Fields of Computer Programming: A Brief Survey

By , on January 25th, 2020 (3,632 views) | 3 comments - Leave a comment!
Topic: Software Engineering, SWEng--Programming

Written July 7th, 2012, Revised Jan 12th, 2013, Updated & extended Jan 25th, 2020

There are at least seven distinct fields of computer programming that have less to do with languages and more to do with the target platform, desired functionality, and intended user. This article provides a short introduction to each, intended as a brief orienting survey. These are:
(1) Bare metal programming, not requiring an operating system,
(2) Application programming, in which an operating system is presumed,
(3) Mathematical computing and algorithms, from matrix computations and statistical learning to wavelet compression and cryptography,
(4) Web or Client-Server programming, in which the application lives in a client browser in communication with content generated on-the-fly from programs running on central servers,
(5) Mobile or App programming,
(6) Cloud programming, and
(7) Exotic programming (traditional super-computing, quantum computing, biological computing/soft robotics, deep machine learning).

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(3,632 views) | 3 comments - Leave a comment!

A microcontroller development kit for under £10 (Arduino)

By , on September 2nd, 2019 (4,780 views) | 3 comments - Leave a comment!
Topic: Education, Electronics, Maths--General Interest, SWEng--Programming, Technology

For under £10, you can put together a microcontroller development platform, ready to program directly from your PC over USB using free Arduino software. Once programmed, your microcontroller will run autonomously, untethered from your PC, powered by as small a battery power supply as a single 1.5V AAA or 3V CR2032 coin cell. You can have it interact with its environment using dozens of low-cost sensors and motors. Everything you need to explore the exciting world of embedded systems is available to you, typically for less than a day pass on the London underground.

An Arduino Nano microcontroller development kit for under £13

A homebrew Arduino Nano microcontroller development kit for under £12 (including optional OLED display)

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Sensors and Systems: Integrating Sensors into the Ubiquitous Computing Stack

By , on March 5th, 2010 (16,724 views) | 2 comments - Leave a comment!
Topic: Technology

“Smart dust”, tiny leaf sensors, wearable computing — these and a host of other sensors that make measurements and communicate without requiring human intervention can now be readily integrated into dispersed systems to provide ambient intelligence, situational awareness, and the capability for adaptive behaviors or intelligent process automation.

Whether the sensor’s output is used to control the opening and closing of relays or thermostats, or to automatically raise alerts — the integration of sensors into systems is at the heart of the promise of ubiquitous computing. With the ability to place hundreds of embedded sensors within a given coverage area, each wirelessly streaming information, the possibility of self-organizing sensor networks is increasingly becoming a reality.

This article takes a look at the sensor layer of a basic ubiquitous computing stack.

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