Mobile Computing: Module 1.1

UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

There are more mobile devices accessing the Internet than there are human beings living on Earth, according to

Mobile Computing

Refers to a technology that allows transmission of data, voice, and video via a computer or any other wireless-enabled device without having to be connected to a fixed physical link.

Mobile Communication

Refers to the infrastructure put in place to ensure that seamless and reliable communication goes on.

Mobile Hardware

Includes mobile devices or device components that receive or access the service of mobility.

Mobile Software

Actual program that runs on mobile hardware.

Mobile Platforms

Refer to the hardware-software environment for laptops, tablets, smartphones, and other portable devices.

Windows and Mac

Environments lead the field for laptops

Apple and Android

Environments lead in the area of smartphones and tablets

Mobile Apps

Computer programs that run in these hardware-software environments, specially designed for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

Information Retrieval

Mobile Apps are originally meant for what and general activities such as email, calendar, contacts, and so on.

Apps

Are downloaded to a target device such as the iPhone, Android, or Windows phone. Some can also be downloaded to laptops or desktops. Can be either free or paid.

Mobile Apps Market

More mobile subscribers prefer using mobile apps to browsing the web with more than 100 billion apps downloaded in a year (2013). Although most of them are free apps, they still generate revenues worth billions of dollars.

1G or First Generation

Since the introduction of this generation systems in 1981, each new generation of mobile technology has been characterized by new frequency bands, higher data rates, and non-backward compatible transmission technology.

Global System for Mobile Communications

Is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe protocols for second generation or 2G cellular networks.

GSM Evolution or EDGE

GSM has expanded to include data communications in Enhanced Data Rates for what?

LTE or Long-Term Evolution

Also referred to as 4G LTE. It is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals, which increases the capacity and speed of data networks.

Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)

The advent of portable computers and laptops, PC tablets and smartphones, has in turn made mobile computing very convenient.

Smartphones

This kind of phone combines the features of a PDA with that of a mobile phone or camera phone. It has a superior edge over other kinds of mobile phones.

Tablet PC and iPads

This mobile device is larger than a mobile phone or a PDA and integrates into a touch screen and is operated using touch sensitive motions on the screen.

Location Flexibility

This has enabled users to work from anywhere as long as there is a connection established. A user can work without being in a fixed position. Their mobility ensures that they are able to carry out numerous tasks at the same time and perform their stated jobs.

Saves Time

The time consumed or wasted while travelling from different locations or to the office and back, has been slashed. One can now access all the important documents and files over a secure channel or portal and work as if they were on their computer. It has enhanced telecommuting in many companies. It has also reduced unnecessary incurred expenses.

Enhanced Productivity

Users can work efficiently and effectively from whichever location they find comfortable. This in turn enhances their productivity level.

Ease of Research

Research has been made easier, since users earlier were required to go to the field and search for facts and feed them back into the system. It has also made it easier for field officers and researchers to collect and feed data from wherever they are without making unnecessary trips to and from the office to the field.

Entertainment

Video and audio recordings can now be streamed on-the-go using mobile computing. It's easy to access a wide variety of movies, educational and informative material.

Streamline of Business Processes

Business processes are now easily available through secured connections. Looking into security issues, adequate measures have been put in place to ensure authentication and authorization of the user accessing the services.

JavaScript

Is the world's most popular programming language. Is the programming language of the Web. Is easy to learn.

Markup Languages

Are used to describe and define elements within a document.

HTML and CSS

These are markup languages

JavaScript Virtual Machine

The browser has an embedded engine sometimes called a what?

Codenames

Different engines have different what?

Modern JavaScript

Is a “safe” programming language. It does not provide low-level access to memory or CPU, because it was initially created for browsers which do not require it.

OS functions

JavaScript on a webpage may not read/write arbitrary files on the hard disk, copy them or execute programs. It has no direct access to this.

Plugins/Extensions

Modern browsers also allow these which may ask for extended permissions.

Same Origin Policy

JavaScript from one page may not access the other if they come from different sites (from a different domain, protocol, or port).

<script>

JavaScript programs can be inserted into any part of an HTML document with the help of this tag. This tag contains JavaScript code which is automatically executed when the browser processes the tag.

type

The old HTML standard, HTML4, required a script to have this

language

This attribute was meant to show the language of the script. This attribute no longer makes sense because JavaScript is the default language. There is no need to use it.

innerHTML

Writing into an HTML element, using what?

document.write()

Writing into the HTML output using what?

window.alert()

Writing into an alert box, using what?

console.log()

Writing into the browser console, using what?

id

This attribute defines the HTML element.

var

Before 2015, using this keyword was the only way to declare a JavaScript variable.

const

The 2015 version of JavaScript (ES6 - ECMAScript 2015) allows the use of this keyword to define a variable that cannot be reassigned

let

The 2015 version of JavaScript (ES6 - ECMAScript 2015) allows the use of this keyword to define a variable with restricted scope.

Identifiers

All JavaScript variables must be identified with unique names. These unique names are called what?

String

Is a series of characters like "John Doe".

true or false

Booleans can only have two values

JavaScript Arrays

Are written with square brackets.

typeof

You can use this JavaScript operator to find the type of a JavaScript variable. Returns the type of a variable or an expression

Undefined

In JavaScript, a variable without a value, has this value

null

In JavaScript this is "nothing". It is supposed to be something that doesn't exist.

if

This statement is the fundamental control statement that allows JavaScript to make decisions and execute statements conditionally.