Cloud Computing Fundamentals

Cloud Computing

• The number one concern about cloud computing is security concerns.
• Google Docs is a type of cloud computing.
• Ladder is not a cloud computing pricing model.
• An Internet connection is necessary for cloud computing interaction.
• In cloud computing, "cloud" represents the Internet.
• Before implementing cloud computing technology, a company should consider employee satisfaction, potential cost reduction, and information sensitivity.

Cloud Computing Concepts

• Cloud computing is computing resources that can be accessed on demand, like electricity from a utility.
• Examples of services built on cloud-computing technology include Twitter, Skype, Gmail, and YouTube.

Database and SQL

• SQL stands for Structured Query Language.
• The SQL statement used to extract data from a database is SELECT.

Data, Information, and Knowledge

• Computerized representations of models and attributes of real or simulated entities are data.
• Representation of the results of a computational process, such as statistical analysis, or the transcripts of some meanings assigned by human beings is information.
• Representation of the results of a computer-simulated cognitive process, such as perception, learning, association, and reasoning is knowledge.

Data Representation

• Analog data is a continuous representation, similar to the actual information it represents.
• Digital data is a discrete representation, breaking the information up into separate (discrete) elements.
• Two bits can represent four things.

Unicode and Character Sets

• The extended version of the ASCII character set is not enough for international use.
• The Unicode character set uses 16 bits per character.
• The first 256 characters in the Unicode character set correspond exactly to the extended ASCII character set.

Computer Systems

• The levels of computer systems from top to down are users, application software, operating system software, and the hardware system.
• The levels of computer systems from bottom to up are hardware system, operating system software, application software, and users.

Software

• Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, Macromedia Dreamweaver, and Adobe Acrobat Reader are examples of application software.
• Microsoft Windows, Unix, and Mac OS are examples of system software.

Hardware

• The operating system is the master controller for all activities that take place within a computer.
• A network interface card (NIC) sends data from a computer over a network and collects incoming data sent by other computers.
• A modem enables data from a computer to be transmitted via phone lines or television cable lines to reach other computers on the Internet.
• ENIAC was the first computer prototype to use vacuum tubes.

Computer Components

• The microprocessor is the main component that executes instructions stored in the main memory.
• Main memory stores instructions to be executed by the microprocessor.
• Storage devices store data permanently even when the computer is turned off.
• Peripherals enable data input and output.
• The chipset acts as the traffic cop controlling the flow of data and coordinating interactions among components in the system.
• The motherboard provides sockets for microprocessor and memory chips, slots for circuit boards, and the circuitry that enables electrical signals to travel from component to component.