BASIC: A Computer Programming Language

Computer programming has its own language, and that’s just the beginning of the software adventure. There are many different languages in computer programming, and all of them have their own purposes. In order to understand the importance of computer programming languages, knowing them, and tweaking them, one has to understand the importance of computer programming. Computer programming produces software packages, among other things, to meet our needs. We may need software for accounting, making photos bigger or smaller, or editing our home videos. Behind all these software packages are the computer programmers who use their individual languages in order to create the software.

One such computer programming language is the Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, or BASIC. BASIC is actually composed of many different kinds of programming languages that are actually higher level than most other languages. This BASIC family of computer programming languages was first designed in the 1960’s, and was originally made for non-science people to gain better access to computers. During that time, using a computer required that a person write customized software, a task that only mathematicians and scientists were equipped to do. The BASIC language was therefore a bridge for people of other professions to take advantage of the power of computers.

When the 1970’s came, the BASIC language, whether in its original form or a variant of it, spread onto microcomputers; and by the 1980’s, even home computers could be run in BASIC. Today, BASIC remains popular, as it serves as the basis for many of the more modern programming languages that have been developed in the wake of advanced operating systems and the Internet.

When it was originally conceived, BASIC was meant for beginners: it was a language that people could use easily, whether or not they were educated in mathematics and the sciences. The language also had to be a general purpose one, in that it had to serve many different needs, and not only those that mathematicians and scientists required. The root language of BASIC also had to allow for advanced features to be plugged on as experts grew more and more adept in it, and as the language found further use in many other fields. BASIC was also meant to be interactive, and was designed to show error messages that were clear and friendly; that is, these error messages had to completely explain what the problem was, which would hopefully allow the user to fix it faster and easier.

When it was first released, moreover, BASIC was free of charge, which allowed the language to spread much faster. Once the language spread much faster, it was also easy to modify it and correct errors. BASIC was also distributed to a few high schools in order to promote it faster. Thanks to this widespread use of the language, BASIC was soon implemented on several microcomputers, and by several software manufacturers.

Despite its success, BASIC has had its dissenters. For instance, some programmers find that its scripts do not show proper programming practices, and the language itself is too slow, or sometimes even too simple. Despite all these, however, BASIC has continued to thrive, succeed, and evolve, and has thus become a good tool to introduce beginner programmers to the concept of coding and computer programming.

These are only a few facts about the BASIC language. For more information on BASIC, read and do your own research through several key pages online, or using computer programming books.

Are Functions Core Concepts in Computer Programming?

Computer programming is a phrase that is bandied about quite heavily, but only few people actually understand its implications. The process of computer programming itself is difficult to understand for people who are not in the computer science field. Computer programming makes use of a code or a language: this language can be placed into several lines of code that can be translated to mean different things once they are processed as a program. For instance, the software that you use to calculate your taxes, or the software that you employ to make your simple web page are all products of skilful computer programming. Behind these software programs are scripts and codes, and these scripts and codes can mean different things.

For many different programming languages, a function can be important and can therefore be a key concept to learn when someone is interested in software and computer programming. A function can also be termed as a subroutine, procedure, or sub-query. How is a function important? For instance, if a company or institution has a library of many different programs, these programs can therefore consist of millions upon millions of lines of a source code. In the interests of time and space, you would like to keep from duplicating a certain source code in many different places.

Why is duplication so undesirable? If a source code is duplicated in many different places, it is being needlessly copied, and it can spell Hell for the programmer and troubleshooter when things go wrong down the line. If the source code is actually erroneous, the programmer or troubleshooter will have to correct the code in all the different places that it appears. If the source code has to be updated or improved in order to make the program either run faster or perform more operations, then the source code has to be modified, improved, and updated in all the places that it appears. And if the source code has to be removed and replaced with a new source code, then it has to be erased and replaced with the new code in every single place that it appears.

This is indeed time-consuming, and it can lead to more errors because of all the human intervention that has to be done. On the other hand, if there are functions that are built to handle all the different programs, then only one or a few changes need to be made should there be errors, or should the source code have to be updated, modified, improved, or changed. You can think of the function as an umbrella: it covers all of many different programs beneath it, so that you do not have to cover each program individually.

Having a single source code serving as the function is also advantageous when you have to introduce a new program that still makes use of that same source code. Because the source code is already available as an overall function or sub-program, you do not need to add the source code to the new program. You only need to find a way for the new program to interact with the source code itself.

These are only a few facts that you need to know about functions in computer programming. For more information, read up on the latest computer programs, how different programs can interact with each other using some umbrella or overall scripts, and how different programs can be improved when using functions.

Dell's Embedded PCs Take the IoT to the Mainstream

Dell on Tuesday announced the release of its first purpose-built industrial PC products for the mainstream market: the Embedded Box PC 3000 Series and 5000 Series.

The products are a response to the growing embedded computing market and the lack of reliable devices, Dell said.

The embedded systems market was valued at more than US$11 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $23.1 billion in 2019, growing at a compound annual rate of almost 15 percent, according to a Technavio study that Dell cited.

Falling component costs, improved power efficiencies, increasing return-on-investment needs, and demand from the Internet of Things are fueling that growth.

Known Quantity

"Customers have consistently told us that current embedded solutions do not meet the level of cost-effective sophistication, scale and support they need for these to be a critical, reliable component of their operations," said Andy Rhodes, Dell's executive director of commercial IoT solutions.

Dell provides global scale and an end-to-end IT and operations technology security portfolio, he said.

The products' rugged design can withstand extreme temperatures while using a fanless cooling system, which is beneficial in several applications, according to Dell spokesperson Sarah Luden.

"These were made to be used in a wide range of industries, from digital signage to factory automation and transportation and construction. Within factory automation, the fan is the first thing to go down," she told TechNewsWorld.

"It's also much quieter, so in a hospital setting, think of MRI machines, where patient care and comfort is important," Luden added.

The IoT is a new arena for many business owners, and investing in costly computers and programmers can be a scary proposition, she noted. "For some people, the Internet of Things is new, so they want to go with a brand they know."

Why This Box Is Different

What makes the Dell PC appealing is its out-of-the-box capabilities, said Christian Juarez, an instructor at TechShop.

Dell Embedded Box PC

The IoT is helping industries streamline their processes to make work more efficient. "The whole point of IoT is bringing everything to the cloud and then connecting to the Internet and then having a control center for it," Juarez told TechNewsWorld.

"What happens a lot of times is that you have to set up the control center yourself. If you're setting it up yourself, as opposed to what Dell's offering, you have to decide on your distro, have all kinds of software running to get everything working together, you have to code things yourself, things of that nature," he said.

"With Dell, they have software built in for you, so you don't have to do that much. Software can be a huge issue, so with something like an out-of-the-box embedded machine you're going to appeal to a lot more people," Juarez added.

Microcomputers like Raspberry Pi are used for control centers, he noted, but that kind of device requires expert-level programming skills that a Dell doesn't necessarily need, which may help companies save money in the long run.

The Embedded Box PCs will be available this summer. Pricing starts at $1,099 for the 3000 series and $1,699 for the 5000 series.


Source by: http://www.technewsworld.com

Wall Street Backs Off Apple

Their fears confirmed, investors were bearish on Apple Wednesday, the day after the company reported its slowest-growth quarter ever. The company's shares closed the day at US$93.44, down 6.55 percent.

In its Q1 earnings report, Apple prepared investors for what may come next: its weakest quarter for iPhone sales in 13 years. Even worse is that the company may not see a significant boost in handset sales until the launch of the iPhone 7 later this year.

Apple moved about 74.8 million iPhones during the quarter that ended in January, and the company forecast sales of between 50 and 52 million units during the three-month period that will end in March.

The news of Apple's slowing growth came on the heels of reports detailing the rise of Alphabet, Google's recently formed parent company, valued at around $500 billion.

For now, Apple is still the world's most valuable company, with a valuation of around $562 million.

Apple reported that it sold about 16 million iPads and 5.3 million Macs in Q1 -- down about 25 percent and 4 percent, respectively, from the year-ago quarter.

Keeping the Faith

Taking note of the general saturation of the smartphone market, many investors have been turning to Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon for growth. However, those companies rely on ad revenues, which could prove more volatile than Apple's handsets reliance.

Though hardware accounts for more than half of Apple's business, the company has been pivoting toward services, noted Larry Chiagouris, professor of marketing at Pace University'sLubin School of Business.

That should count for something with investors, he said.

"Its ecosystem, to include iTunes and iCloud services, are either already dominant or possibly on the way to being dominant, and so this is not the time to lose faith in the company or its stock," Chiagouris told the E-Commerce Times.

The current perceived loss of faith likely is a byproduct of the times, he suggested. In a connected world, speed rules and investors don't hesitate to look elsewhere for growth when a company stumbles.

Also, investors are more influenced by media reports today than they were a decade or two ago, Chiagouris pointed out.

"All the reporting as of late has been on iPhone sales slowing, and so investors are reacting to these reports," he said. "The more important fact is that, ultimately, hardware companies always confront shrinking margins as the products that they make begin to become less differentiated or even commoditized."

Too Big to Fail

Paradoxically, investor disappointment might be a consequence of Apple's historic rise to become the most valuable company in the world and its position at or near the top of any list of most-respected organizations, suggested Ritch Blasi, president of MediaRitch.

"By continually overachieving in offering innovative products and services, and outperforming financial targets, it has become a darling of investors," Blasi told the E-Commerce Times. "Apple's latest numbers are viewed as not quite up to snuff, and the financial markets are feeling jittery."

While investors may want to hedge some of their bets by looking elsewhere, it would be premature to count Apple out, he said. The company didn't become this powerful by chance.

"While it may never again have the impact magnitude it did when introducing the iPhone," said Blasi, "expect Apple to rebound from this financial burp and continue on its course of changing the way we work and live."


Source by: http://www.technewsworld.com

Fresh Raspberry Pi Has Better Hardware Baked In

The Raspberry Pi Foundation on Monday announced the availability of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B for US$35, the same price as the previous model.

It is the second major upgrade to the board in just over a year.

The hardware upgrade boosts the single-core processor of the original Pi to a faster, more capable quad-core chipset in the Pi 3. The current model is based on a 64-bit chipset that runs faster than the Pi 2's 900-MHz quad-core, 32-bit ARM Cortex-A7-based hardware. The credit card-sized computer board adds WiFi and Bluetooth support.

The machine better handles Web browsing and office tasks home users need. It opens up even more possibilities for the Internet of Things and embedded projects, according to Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Trading. He launched the first Raspberry Pi version fours years ago.

"The new Raspberry Pi 3 Model B offers a higher level of performance than any other Raspberry Pi board on the market," said Claire Doyle, global head of Raspberry Pi at element14.

It "allows customers to develop specific applications and build new projects. We can't wait to see what customers will do with it," she told LinuxInsider.

Changing Usage Landscape

The upgrade to the Raspberry Pi hardware is a big deal for several reasons, said Jeremy Bray, owner ofCyberspace Fortress. The built-in support for WiFi and Bluetooth means users no longer have to buy third-party dongles to get those services.

"That means you are not taking up the Pi's four USB ports to get that functionality, so you can now use those ports for other things. When it comes to business applications, I have seen businesses customize them for their own uses. ... It is really just up to the business and their imagination for how it can be used in their business," he told LinuxInsider.

The Raspberry Pi will be even more suitable for advanced computer training in classrooms, noted Craig Brown, president at PicoCluster, an educational platform based on Raspberry PIs.

"The bump from 900 MHz to 1.2 GHz allows for faster processing. This is particularly welcome for clustered application learning and certainly any application or learning environment that we're running. This also makes it much better suited as a desktop replacement in classrooms and homes," he told LinuxInsider.

The hardware could use more upgrades, such as options for 2 GB of RAM and Gigabit Ethernet, even if it came at a higher price point, but that may be beyond the scope of the manufacturing plan, Brown noted.

"Overall, this is a great way to upgrade our clusters while giving us a chance to reduce costs," he said.

Business Beneficiaries

IT service businesses looking for lower costs in providing support and services to remotely monitor, manage and maintain their IT environments will benefit from the Raspberry Pi release, according to Ian Newman, CEO of IN NYC IT. His company uses the small footprint of a Raspberry Pi in clients' offices instead of a laptop or small desktop to monitor operations.

"We foresee placing the Pi in locations where clients report WiFi issues. We could use the Raspberry Pi 3 to collect data on the client's wireless infrastructure and possible interference, all without interrupting users, increasing their productivity and our response and resolution times," he told LinuxInsider.

The built-in WiFi/Bluetooth and improved 1.2-GHz, 64-bit CPU makes the Pi 3 easy for hobbyists to start developing projects on, noted Benny Estes, product manager at myDevices. The same makers that are tinkering in their homes are also using the Pi to rapidly prototype solutions for applications for their businesses.

"This tool provides companies with the ability to quickly vet an idea or improve a process at a fraction of the time and cost, with little risk. As the Pi continues to improve, it will be used in production-ready solutions and will not be limited to just prototyping," he told LinuxInsider.

Pi Specs

The Raspberry Pi 3 runs a Broadcom BCM2837 chipset on a 1.2-GHz quad-core 64-bit ARM Cortex-A53 CPU. It has an Ethernet connector for 10/100 with a maximum throughput of 100 Mbps and provides storage on a MicroSD card or via USB-attached storage.

Its graphics are from a 400-MHz VideoCore IV multimedia with full HDMI port, and the system memory is 1-GB LPDDR2-900 SDRAM. Audio support is a combined 3.5-mm audio out jack and composite video. The hardware includes a camera interface (CSI) and display interface (DSI).

The Pi board can play 1080p video at 60 frames per second. It sports a new power supply rated at 2.5A5.1V. Earlier boards used a power supply rated at 2A5V.

Unlike previous boards, the Pi 3 boots directly from a USB-attached hard or pen drive instead of from an SD card. Similarly, Pi 3 supports booting from a network-attached file system using PXE.

The latest Raspbian OS image is available for download.


Source by: http://www.technewsworld.com

IBM Watson Forks Over $2.6B for Health Data Stash

IBM Watson Health on Thursday announced plans to acquire Truven Health Analytics for US$2.6 billion.

The acquisition will give the company access to about 300 million patient files, according to IBM, making it one of the world's largest holders of diverse health-related information.

One of its chief objectives is to use the data to bring more value to healthcare recipients. By integrating Truven's extensive cloud-based data sets, including cost, claims and lab results, into its own data sets, Watson will be able to create meaningful insights that can be translated into practical solutions for patients across the globe, IBM said.

Big Data's Big Impact in Healthcare

"We're adding more than 8,500 clients, which includes all the different stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem, from government to employers to health plans to hospitals to providers and life science companies," said Kyu Rhee, chief health officer at IBM Watson Health.

The acquisition of information is really about finding meaningful insights that were previously unknown, he told the E-Commerce Times. By combining Watson's analytic capabilities with Truven's rich trove of data, IBM hopes to crack many of the healthcare industry's biggest codes, namely value and accuracy.

"Now we house one of the world's largest and most diverse repositories of health-related data, and it represents about 300 million lives, if you add it all up," Rhee said.

"This is exciting because what does Truven have in terms of data? They've got a great cloud-based data set, which has hundreds of different types of cost data, claims data, quality data, outcomes data, which is now added to the other data sets we have. With the power of Watson, with cognitive insights, we are going to translate that big data into big insights to those key stakeholders in the health and healthcare ecosystem," he added.

An example of a stakeholder who would benefit from the acquisition is a doctor treating a patient, said Rhee, who is a physician.

"It's ultimately about providing more value. ... It is about improving quality, improving the health of populations at a reasonable cost. I, as a physician, want to know if I've got a patient in front of me -- whether it's taking care of diabetes, pneumonia or cancer -- I want to know that I am recommending the highest-value options to my patients in terms of care," he said. "That demonstrates evidence-based guidelines. That is consistent with the literature. That's consistent with the people like the person in front of me in terms of good outcomes. Watson will deliver those insights through cognitive computing. That's value. Obviously, I want to do it at a reasonable cost," Rhee noted.

The Price of Smart Healthcare

While there are other powerful analytics systems, none are focused on healthcare the way Watson is.

One reason is that it's a costly endeavor, especially when you factor in the countless variables such as the number of medicines, illnesses and procedures, according to Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Building Watson was a daunting endeavor, but "IBM did it anyway," he told the E-Commerce Times.

"The first public use of Watson was for healthcare, so an awful lot of work has gone into educating the system so it can diagnose illnesses relatively quickly and very accurately. To carry this thing to scale, however, it kind of needs to be integrated with some system that already exists, thus the purchase of Truven," Enderle said.

"When you tie these two together, now you have the machine and the go-to-market and existing set of folks that can service and sell the overall solution. But now they need to scale it out and get it broadly used so people can see the benefit. Now people will be able to see the advantage of having an intelligent system, a cognitive system, which is better than anything out there," he said.

Because of IBM's huge investment in the healthcare field and its large amassment of data, Enderle speculated that the company won't have competition at that level in the near future.

"For a while now," he said, "they will be the only ones at scale."


Source by: http://www.technewsworld.com