Technipages

Tutorials and fixes for smartphone, gadget, and computer problems

Definitions

ADSL

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ADSL is the acronym for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, and they are used to enact data transmission at high speed to the internet. Invented by AT&T and adopted by ANSI as standard T1.413 in 1995. Like all DSL broadband technologies, enables a standard telephone line (copper twisted-pair) to simultaneously carry voice and data. Asymmetric bandwidth is ideal for … [Read more...] about ADSL

Technipages Explains ADSL

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line is a technology that provides a high-speed digital network with the use of the Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). The copper cable used by POTS is most being used in most home and offices. ADSL allows transmission of both data and voice at the same time.

ADSL allows a faster download speed and a slower upload speed in order to utilize the copper wires more effectively. Before the advent of ADSL, SDSL was in operation, SDSL (Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) only allows for upload speed and download speed to be at same speed rate. The downside to this was that it caused traffic over the lines to stop.

ADSL works best with users who download content from the internet, as ADSL would be stressful to use for users who will need to upload contents data. ADSL technology relies on the ability of copper telephones lines to transmit signals, this was introduced by Joseph Lechleider in the 1980s. At the time Joseph Lechleider worked at Bellcore, a research firm broken out from AT&T. Commercialization of ADSL began in the 1990s, and this can be credited to John Cioffi.  ADSL was the implementation of Joseph Lechleider’s work.

Common Uses of ADSL

  • ADSL was a very insightful exploration of an already available base material, copper wires being used in the local landlines.
  • The Advent of ADSL has now made downloading of files from the internet much more enjoyable as it ensures a high download speed
  • With the usage of POTS copper cables, ADSL can be used at both home and high-speed offices

Common Misuses of ADSL

  • With ADSL it is impossible to surf the internet and make voice calls at the same time
  • ADSL technology is best suited for uploading of data over the internet as it features high upload speed and slow download speed.

Join

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Join in a relational database management program is a data retrieval operation in which a new data table is built from data in two or more existing data tables. The join operation for relational databases is otherwise known as a natural join, and this type of join is characterized by two relations that are connected with their common attributes. In SQL, an INNER JOIN … [Read more...] about Join

Technipages Explains Join

Join in relation to a relational algebra that looks to combine columns from multiple tables in a relational database. It creates a set that can be saved as a table or used as it is. A join serves the purpose of combining columns from one or more tables by adopting values similar to each. ANSI-standard SQL specifies five types of join namely:

  • Left outer
  • Right outer
  • Full outer
  • Cross

Join works off the back of the relational database management program that uses operates using a process data with an easy-to-understand concept of a table. A relational database is a type of database that functions using a structure that allows users to identify and access data about another piece of data in the database. Data in a relational database is organized into tables.

The relational model was first designed and proposed by Edgar Codd to serve as an alternative for a general model of data, and subsequently promoted by Chris Date and Hugh Darwen among others and was released in 1995.

Common Uses of Join

  • Join has proven to be a very instrumental technique when you want to combine tables.
  • Join is a method of relating databases, and it has proven to be very effective over the years.
  • It would be impossible to separate Join from relational database management.

Common Misuses of Join

  • Join is the only relational model method we have had since the ’90s.

Software License

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A contractual agreement between software purchasers and the software publisher that specifies what the purchaser may and may not do with the software. Typically, such licenses include clauses that deny that any sale of goods has taken place; what is being sold is not the software itself, the ownership of which is retained by the software publisher, but rather specific rights to … [Read more...] about Software License

Technipages Explains Software License

Software Licenses is an agreement legally binding guidelines for the use of a software as agreed upon by the Software developer and software user. This bestows the user of the software, the permission to use such software in a pre-defined environment.

Licenses usually come with instructions stating how that the sales of the software only means the right to use the software and not the sale of the proprietorship of the software, which most times would mean using the software on just a computer system.

Software licensing started with the use of cassette and audio tapes which were hard to duplicate, As 8’ and 5 1/4 “gained grounds, it made it easier for the copying of software. Later on ISV (International Software Vendors) started building software which would be bonded to a specific machine through an identifier unique to the machine.  This proved to be a problem as the programs stopped working once customers changed their machine. The software couldn’t be transferred easily to another machine. Eventually, ISV came up with the use of servers that have license delivery systems on them, which limited a number the number of users who could use the software at a time. The emergence of digital communication has made the use of license keys distributed electronically, so does pirate the software. Today Cloud licensing technology is what is being used.

Common Uses of Software License

  • The purchase of software Licenses does not mean the proprietor of the software is selling the ownership of the software
  • International software vendors have been ensuring over the years that software licenses are devoid of fraudulent practices both at the side of the Purchaser and the Proprietor
  • Software licenses are proof that permission has been given to an individual or group of people to use a software

Common Misuses of Software License

  • Software Licenses implies once gotten, a customer has shares in the proprietors profit from the software
  • Software licenses should not hinder customers from purchasing one copy of a program and copying it into multiple computers or machines

Pentium 4

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The successor to Intel’s sixth-generation processors, including the Pentium II and Pentium III, this chip heralds the seventh generation of Intel processor technology. What is revolutionary about the is its deep pipelining architecture; it is implemented in 20 stages (compared to 10 in the Pentium III). This enables the chip to run at significantly higher clock speeds than the … [Read more...] about Pentium 4

Technipages Explains Pentium 4

Pentium 4 is a brand by Intel for a whole series of single-core CPUs for desktops, laptops, and entry level servers, it is a seventh-generation CPU, succeeding the sixth generation of Intel processors including Pentium 2 and 3.  The processors were produced from November 20, 2000 to August 8, 2008.

The standing out factor for Pentium 4 being its new chip architecture, which unlike Pentium 3 (implemented in 10 stages) is implemented in 20 stages. This is the underlying mechanism for the rapid processing speed of the chip. Pentium CPU clock rate ranges from 1.3 GHz-3.8 GHz while that of Pentium 3 couldn’t be pushed beyond 1.2 GHz.

This design came at the expense of Pentium 4 only being able to complete fewer executions per clock cycle, and this resulted in Athlon and Pentium 3 processors running faster than Pentium 4 even at their lower speed clock rate.

Intel engineers’ continuously improved Pentium 4 chip’s clock rate until the downside was minimal. Other improvements made on Pentium 4 include system data bus speeds of up to 533 MHz when used with Rambus RDRAM memory, improved branch prediction, two arithmetic-logic units (ALU) that run at twice the chip’s clock speed, and an expanded set of Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE).

Common Uses of Pentium 4

  • Pentium 4 brand of Intel’s single-core CPUs for desktops, laptops and entry level servers only ran for almost eight years
  • The underlying technology for Pentium 4 lies in its new chip architecture, which is implemented in over 20 stages.
  • Pentium 3 was succeeded by Pentium 4 which was supposed to be better, but it was only able to run few executions per clock cycle; eventually it was improved by Intel engineers

Common Misuses of Pentium 4

  • Athlon and Pentium 3 even though they were executed over 10 stages eventually replaced the Pentium 4 design which was implemented over 20 stages, due to a design flaw
  • Intel engineers only fixed Pentium 4’s trade-off of few executions per clock cycle, no other improvement was made.

Virus

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A program that replicates itself, and in so doing resembles a biological virus, by attaching to other programs and carrying out unwanted and sometimes damaging operations. Although some viruses are relatively benign and are little more than pranks, most are written with malicious intent; at the extreme, they can wipe out all the contents on a computer’s hard disk. Viruses … [Read more...] about Virus

Technipages Explains Virus

A virus is a software program created by a person that replicates between computer systems causing restrictions in computer operations or carrying out unwanted activities of its own accord. The first computer virus ever released was in 1971, and it was written as an experimental self-replicating virus, it is called “Creeper system,” its task was to fill up a computer hard drive until computer operations on the computer was no longer possible.

At the inception of virus programming, the only means of propagation was through the exchange of storage devices such as floppy disks, the aim of exchanging storage devices is mainly to share data or computer software. With the advent of the internet, a better propagating platform is now made available for Virus programmers. A sure way to stay safe from viruses would be to refrain from opening or executing any attachment on an e-mail and also installing and running anti-virus packages.

Common Uses of Virus

  • A virus is a self-initiating software package written with the intent of causing abnormalities in the operation of a computer system
  • Computers are now at higher risks of virus infestation as virus programmers now utilize the internet by sending corrupted emails to unsuspecting people.
  • A virus starts operation from the moment a corrupted file is opened, till it infiltrates other parts of the computer like the program and packages

Common Misuses of Virus

  • A virus spreads by the use of scanners as it also involves the transfer of files between a network of computers
  • A virus can infect hardware such as the keyboard, mouse, monitor, and text-based messages

Proxy Server

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A proxy server is a program that stands between an internal network and the external Internet, intercepting requests for information. A proxy is generally part of a broader solution to internal network security called a firewall. The purpose of a proxy is to prevent external users from directly accessing resources inside the internal network or knowing precisely where those … [Read more...] about Proxy Server

Technipages Explains Proxy Server

A proxy makes it hard for cybercriminals and hackers to exploit loopholes in the servers and related application, gaining unpermitted access into the network, this is done by disguising the location of the parent server of the information. Fighting cybercriminals and hackers comes at the cost of having slower performance, configuration troubles on the client who wants to use the external internal.

Before a request from a proxy is completed, the proxy intercepts a request for information, then ascertains whether the request can be fulfilled, and then relays the request to an internal server, during all this while the address of the data is not revealed to the requester of the information.

On online platforms, such as American Online, when platforms clients and users visit a webpage, a server is configured to store such web pages. So when clients request these pages, the server provides the stored copy instead of requesting the same page from the external internet. The downside to this is that the stored pages may be out-of-date even though the clients now see webpages faster and a lighter load on the network.

Common Uses of Proxy Server

  • Connecting to the internet through a proxy server makes it hard for anyone to track because a proxy server makes it hard to pinpoint one’s location
  • Proxy servers act as a stand between a client’s computer system and an external internet for exchange of information and data
  • Nowadays, we use proxy servers for various purpose like sharing internet connection on a local area network and hiding our IP (Internet Protocol addresses)

Common Misuses of Proxy Server

  • Frequently visited pages do not get stored on a proxy server, they are requested anew from the external internet
  • Pages stored on a proxy server are being refreshed continuously to keep them up to date, they don’t get out of date

TCP/IP

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Abbreviation for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is a commonly used phrase to refer to the entire Internet protocol suite. It is by far the most widely used suite of networking protocols, providing the technical foundation for the public Internet as well as for large numbers of private networks (called internets with a small “i” to distinguish them from … [Read more...] about TCP/IP

Technipages Explains TCP/IP

TCP is a connection-oriented Protocol in which before any information or data is exchanged; a connection must be established. TCP ensures an input data is received in the same other as it was sent. The information is firstly broken down and rerouted and received at the destination.

Internet protocol suites are the most widely used of networking protocols, and it is the model for which the public internet and private networks (called internets with a smaller “i’’) which are not linked to the internet, operate.

TCP/IP  is an abbreviated form for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, and it is a collective term for the Internet protocol suite. It is used to interconnect network devices on the internet.

TCP/IP protocols were intended as part of the research networks developed by the United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It was designed by 2 DARPA scientists namely Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, in 1974 after researches which started in 1969.

Common Uses of TCP/IP

  • TCP/IP is the Internet suite developed for the United  States Department of  Defense Advanced Research projects agency in the year 1969
  • TCP/IP is an open protocol suite which can be used by any individual or organization, and it is not owned by any particular institute.
  • TCP/IP is an industry-standard model which can be effectively deployed  in practical networking solutions

Common Misuses of TCP/IP

  • The development of the TCP/IP suite started in the late 90s with no backing or initial research, and there was no prior work before this.
  • TCP/IP does not use the address of a machine connected to it to identify the machine as well, and the identity works simultaneously as its address.

Function

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In programming languages, a separate named unit of code that performs a specific calculation or procedure. To use functions, they must be declared in a special area of the program set aside for this purpose. A function includes placeholders, called logical parameters, that will be replaced by real values (actual parameters) when the function is initiated through a call … [Read more...] about Function

Technipages Explains Function

A function in a body of code is an identified smaller piece of code whose position is dependent on the larger body of code. It has a defined role to perform a single specific task. Once a function is written at a point in a program, it is accessible from any part of that same program.

Functions are mainly used because they can be re-used hence save time, functions once they have been declared can be used in as many as possible places and times. Most functions being used, once they have been declared can also be used by other programmers in several different programs. A programmer can compile a list of functions and export them to be used in other programs.

Functions in programming can be traced to the Lambda Calculus system which was developed in the 1930s. Lambda Calculus allows for the provision of a base for evaluating functions and their results. Programming languages that use the Lambda Calculus model are Common Lisp, Scheme, Clojure, Wolfram Language, Racket, and Haskell. Functions in programming are also being utilized by some other programming languages to create a sub-hub in the programming niche for themselves, and examples are XML, SQL, and Lex/Yacc.

Common Uses of Function

  • The main reason a function can be used is that it can be used to avoid repetition of commands within the program
  • Functions and procedures are very similar when functions are initiated, and they return a value, procedures do not.
  • Another reason a function can be used is to help define a logical structure for your program by breaking it into several smaller modules with apparent purposes.

Common Misuses of Function

  • A function even though it’s a defined piece of code  in a much more bigger body of code does not depend on the bigger code
  • Re-usability of a function is highly doubtful as programs do not compile a list of well-known functions.

Packet-Switching Network

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Packet Switching Network is one of two fundamental architectures for the design of a computer network; the other is a circuit- switching network. In a network such as the Internet, no effort is made to establish a single electrical circuit between two computing devices; for this reason, the connection established is often called connectionless. Instead, the sending computer … [Read more...] about Packet-Switching Network

Technipages Explains Packet-Switching Network

Packet switching Network is the building block of the internet; they are digital structures for sending data from a network to another in smaller bits called packets, this helps to reduce the time for transfer of files and also reduce delay in transmission.

When a data is transferred, a computer breaks down the file into packets to aid the transmission of the packets across the network which consumes less time, after the packets are received on the recipient computer, they are then reassembled.

The network IP address is recorded in a “header,” the header contains the network IP address of where the packet was sent from and also its destination network IP address. A header also keeps track of the number of packets a file was broken. After which the packets is relayed to a router machine, a router works out the best connection for a packet. On arrival, with the help of the header, the packets are reassembled. The breaking of the data into packets allows for it to be accessible to all the users in a network.

Common Uses of Packet-Switching Network

  • The success and the benefits of using the internet are all hinged on the Packet Switching Network
  • Packet switching network breaks down data at; they origin computer and re-assembles them at the period destination
  • A router helps the packet switching network to relay packet between computers

Common Misuses of Packet-Switching Network

  • When a packet switching network breaks data into packets, it is mostly not accessible by members of the same network.
  • A packet switching network takes more time to be completed

Encapsulation

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This is the process that data goes through when it's transmitted through a computer by way of protocols. There are different layers of protocols and each of them alters the data a little bit, changing it enough that it will pass the next layer and can then be sent via the network. On the other machine, this process is reverse, and the data is put back into its original 'shape' … [Read more...] about Encapsulation

Technipages Explains Encapsulation

Encapsulation works a little bit like paint does – as data passes through layers of protocols, it changes, little by little. Once it has passed through all of them, it can be transmitted via a network connection like the Internet. Once the data, layered as it is, reaches the other machine, the encapsulation process is reversed, and layer by layer, the data is put back together to the way it was. When that’s done, the data can be used, just like on the original machine.

This process is an important aspect of object-oriented programming – part of that is a ‘rule’ that some things and aspects of data should not be available to other objects. The data can still be moved through communication channels (in this case, usually a network), but it can’t be directly altered or even accessed while in motion. Once reversed, the data is back in its original state.

Common Uses of Encapsulation

  • Encapsulation is an essential aspect of OoP.
  • Data transfer puts data through an encapsulation process.
  • Encapsulation restricts direct access to an objects components and properties.

Common Misuses of Encapsulation

  • Encapsulation protects data against viruses.

XML

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Abbreviation for extensible Markup Language is not a declarative markup language like HTML; instead, it is a language for creating markup languages.XML is maintained by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C). A slimmed-down version of SGML enables Web authors to create and name their tags so that they can more accurately capture the structure of their data. In a well-structured … [Read more...] about XML

Technipages Explains XML

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a mark-up language that bridges the gap of formatting of documents between humans and machines. XML includes structured data in a text file in a text file. XML allows its users to create a vocabulary and use the same vocabulary to describe data. XML uses tags (“<” and “>”) to create files that are easy to generate by a computing machine.

Usually, most machines that process structured data store the data on disks from which they can only be used in either a binary format or text format. XML makes it possible for a user to access the data without having to access the software used for generating it. Example of structured documents would include contracts, letters, articles, address books, spreadsheets, technical drawing, financial transaction, memos amidst many others.

XML is currently being developed World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) under the supervision of an XML Working Group, it was initiated in the year 1996, XML being a product of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). The intention being to make SGML easier and also due to the success of HTML which was written in the late 1990s by a CERN physicist Tim Berners Lee. XML is an extension of HTML.

Common Uses of XML

  • XML is a recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium, and the development of the specification is being supervised by an XML working group.
  • The reason why you can open XML files with several different programs is because it stores data in plain text.
  • Some of the programs that can open XML files are window notepad, any text editor or even any web browser

Common Misuses of XML

  • XML was never meant to tackle any problem the SGML created, and it was a mark-up language of its own
  • The recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) of XML is not being supervised by any XML affiliated group

Binary Notation

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The binary notation a method of representing numbers that employ a base (radix) of 2; therefore, there are only two possible values (0 and 1). Binary notation differs from the notation systems people prefer; these have bases of 10 (decimal numbers), 12 (measurements in feet and inches), or 60 (minutes and hours). Binary notation shares one characteristic in common with more … [Read more...] about Binary Notation

Technipages Explains Binary Notation

Binary is a base-2 number system, which adopts the use of two digits (0 & 1). It is a system used at the crux of all digital computers, enabling them to encode information, perform arithmetic operations, and carry out logical control processes.

The modern binary notation system was studied in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries by Thomas Harriot, Juan Caramuel Lobkowitz, and Gottfried Leibniz. However, methods related to binary numbers have appeared earlier in multiple cultures, including ancient Egypt, China, and India.

Using two digits as opposed to, say, the familiar ten digits used in decimal systems (0 to 9) enables hardware to be easily implemented via a simple ‘on’ or ‘off’ circuit states or logic gates. This is the basis for all digital systems.

To understand binary values imagine each digit (or ‘bit’) of the binary notation as representing an increasing power of 2 – with the rightmost digit representing 20, the next representing 21, then 22 and so on.

For each bit, the 1 or 0 signifies whether the value of the increasing power of two summates towards the number’s total.

Common Uses of Binary Notation

  • The very first message is the numbers in sequence 1 to 10 in binary notation.
  • You can erase this feature, by arranging that ‘n’ is expanded in binary notation
  • Binary notation is popularly used in computer languages.

Common Misuses of Binary Notation

  • A value of 0 and 1 is not represented internally by binary notation
  • In binary notation, there exist numbers other than 0 and 1

Reusability

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Reusability in computer programming is the measurement of the likelihood that a given unit of code can be successfully incorporated into another program. Computer programming languages offer varying degrees of reusability. In structured programming languages, programmers develop code libraries that contain frequently used routines, such as those related to opening a window and … [Read more...] about Reusability

Technipages Explains Reusability

Reusability is the quality of a code being used in different platforms for multiple functions. The reusability of code is based on the programming philosophy, which emphasizes a programmer is not repeating himself. The philosophy justifies that every piece of knowledge must have a single unambiguous representation within a system. Reusability of code is possible by some features of codes, one of such features is Inheritance, which is all about a class being able to use the base class function and members, other methods are functions libraries.
Asides these, the existing code could be broken down into modules, the modules must be cohesive, i.e. the ability of two or more modules to work together. For the breaking into modules to work, the modules must be able to function independently.
For a code to be reusable, it means the code has been written in a well-structured way, easy to maintain and it is clean. It all comes down to the simplicity of code, that is, the ability of non-authors of native code to easily understand the properties of the written code.

Common Uses of Reusability

  • The reusability of a code hinges on the ability of other programmers to be able to look at the code and understand it and its properties
  • Reusability is the quality of a code being used in different platforms for multiple functions
  • For reusability to work, a known method is known as modularization, wherein a code is broken into modules.

Common Misuses of Reusability

  • When reusability is applied to code or program, it is compulsory that the code is a closed source programming
  • For reusability to work, it is not compulsory the code is broken into modules

Apache

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Apache is a popular open-source Web server that currently powers more than half of all websites. Originally developed by programmers who were using a Web server daemon called httpd, developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). These programmers fixed errors in httpd and modified it by releasing a series of software patches. Over time, they had … [Read more...] about Apache

Technipages Explains Apache

Apache is an HTTP based server development and management software which is currently free and open source. Apache handles Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) data requests through the Universal Resource Locator(URL). URLs are simply the name of a website that clients enter into Web browers to locate a Web page.The HTTP protocol is the internet standard data transfer protocol for Web pages, so when URL requests are made to an Apache server, the Apache server will handle the HTTP request and return the requested Web pages.

Apache can be used alongside with plugins or add-on extensions to improve the performance. Beyond server development, Apache can also be used to host websites

Its first release was on the 25th of August, 1995. Before this, initial development began in February 1993, the aim of the eight pioneering engineers was to enhance the NCSA(National Center for Supercomputing Applications) HTTPd daemon, their collision was what formed the apache group now The Apache Software Foundation.

There have been several notions as to the coinage of the word ”Apache”; however the foundation claims that “Apache” was chosen out of respect for the various Native American nations known for their endurance and intelligence in war planning.

Common Uses of Apache

  • Apache being open-source boasts of a vibrant and teeming community of dedicated programmers, ever ready to tackle challenges.
  • Apache developers always tackle security breaches as soon as they are reported.
  • The selling point of Apache is its ability to use different add-ons and plugins extensions which improves the performance of the software.

Common Misuses of Apache

  • Apache coinage for The Apache Software Foundation was influenced because the software started with patches
  • Apache is not one of the most used software for the development of softwares.

Cooperative Multitasking

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In an operating system, cooperative multitasking is a means of providing the appearance that more than one task (executing process) is running at a time. Cooperative multitasking represents an improvement over multiple programs loading, in which more than one program can be loaded into memory, but only one can execute at a given time. Multitasking creates the impression that … [Read more...] about Cooperative Multitasking

Technipages Explains Cooperative Multitasking

Cooperative multitasking is a technique in which different pieces of software give up their immediate control of the processing unit of a computer so that another software can use it. The programs voluntarily give up their control as this allows other programs to use the processor of the computer.
The technique depends on the ability of the applications to agree on the best processing ratio. The applications equally allow the processing units’ power between themselves; hence, when a program is being used, every other program stops. The applications in the background will only process data when programs in the foreground are inoperative.

The downsides to this being, when a program which was not written to comply with cooperative multitasking begins to run it will stop other programs from running. This has been a big concern for developers, as a single program can crash an entire operating system. The use of cooperative multitasking has declined, as windows 3.1 and Macintosh operating system (macOS), had cooperative multitasking built into them. Subsequent versions from the two companies now rely on pre-emptive multitasking, a new technique that silenced the use of its predecessor-cooperative multitasking.

Common Uses of Cooperative Multitasking

  • In one way or the other, weightless threads make people recall the cooperative multitasking of macOS versions and older Windows.
  • Generally speaking, in cooperative multitasking, a process won’t stop running until it figures out to do so voluntarily.
  • Cooperative multitasking helps the central processing unit of computer dedicate it’s processing resources to a singular activity.

Common Misuses of Cooperative Multitasking

  • Cooperative multitasking is not allowed for heavyweight threads.

Recursion

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In programming, a program module or subroutine that calls itself to perform an iterative operation; in other words, a pure expression repeats itself to achieve a much more complex operation. The Principle of Recursion is illustrated by Fibonacci numbers, a number series in which the first two terms are 1; successive terms are given by summing the two previous terms (1,1, 2, … [Read more...] about Recursion

Technipages Explains Recursion

Recursion is a method of solving problems in programming, in which a problem is broken down into smaller units of problems and solved individually. So the first solution is dependent on the smaller solutions got from, the more minor problems. Recursions aids problem solving, as a question is solved on its terms.

It is best illustrated with the Russian Matryoshka dolls, which is a set of dolls encased in a bigger doll; every piece of doll is a direct replica of the succeeding or preceding doll except smaller. So every doll is a small or more significant version of the other. Recursive programming is based on this principle in which a problem is tackled by breaking it down into more minor problems.

Recursion can be traced back to 1958, John McCarthy was the first to utilize the principle of Recursion in programming, and this can be found on his work on LISP. LISP was the first programming language to feature recursive functions as we have them today. McCarthy’s work was inspired by the works of Alonzo Church, which were two decades prior. Notable mentions associated with recursion can also be dated back to Dedekind’s work on Natural numbers in 1888. Rozsa Peter presented on recursive functions in 1932 at International Congress of Mathematicians in Zurich in 1932.

Common Uses of Recursion

  • Recursion helps in tackling problems as it addresses a problem on its terms from breaking the problem down to smaller problems
  • A better way to tackle problems would be through Recursion because it widens one’s perspective on the problem at hand
  • In Recursion, the new set of problems are replicas of each other, and the problems are each solved on their own.

Common Misuses of Recursion

  • Recursion doesn’t tackle problems even though the problem is broken down to tackled on a smaller scale
  • Recursion only simplifies a problem, and it does not answer it.

Public Key Cryptography

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In cryptography, a revolutionary new method of encryption that does not require the message’s receiver to have received the decoding key in a separate transmission. The need to send the key, which is required to decode the message, is the chief vulnerability of previous encryption techniques. In public-key cryptography, there are two keys: a public one and a private one. The … [Read more...] about Public Key Cryptography

Technipages Explains Public Key Cryptography

Public key cryptography also called Asymmetric Key cryptography, is a system of encryption which is based on the use of two virtual keys, the private key, and the public key. The private key is used to decrypt a message while the public key is used to encrypt the message. In this model, once a message is encrypted by the public key, only the private key can decrypt the message. Just as the name of the key depicts, the private key is meant to be private so that only the handler of the key can access the message, unlike the public key which can be encrypted by anyone.

The keys are virtual keys, and the private and public keys are large numerical values used to encrypt and decrypt data.  The keys are produced by a trusted authority trusted by both parties. The private key is usually held by the generator of the key pair, while the public key, to anyone who wants to send data.

In 1977, public key cryptography was published by Whitfield-Diffie and Martin Hellman, but it was initially formulated by James Ellis. But even neither of them could devise applications of these in a practical world. Rivest-Shamir-Adleman was the first to publish a working public key cryptography system.

Common Uses of Public Key Cryptography

  • Public key cryptography is a modern cryptographic process  for communicating  securely without having previously agreed upon the secret key
  • In public key cryptography, it utilizes a pair of keys to establish secure communication.
  • Public key cryptography brings major security technologies to the desktop in the Windows 2000 environment.

Common Misuses of Public Key Cryptography

  • Public key cryptography doesn’t allow for non-repudiation so the sender can deny sending a message
  •  In public key cryptography, when a private key is lost, there are other ways to decrypt the message

Osi Reference Model

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Abbreviation for Open Systems Interconnect Reference Model. An international standard for conceptualizing the architecture of computer networks, established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), that improves network flexibility. The employs a divide-and-conquer approach, in which network … [Read more...] about Osi Reference Model

Technipages Explains Osi Reference Model

OSI reference model is a representation to understand how applications communicate on a network. IT professionals, through the model, can chart how a data is sent or received. What OSI reference model does is to allow the data transmission to pass over seven layers, each of the seven layers have their distinctive roles. Better put, any communication between people from two ends can be reduced to seven layers.

Each of the layers has its; each function and that’s all the layer does. All the seven layers are powered by hardwares which ensures a signal is sent over the network. From the top of the stack of layers to the bottom, they are: application layer, presentation layer, session layer, transport layer, network layer, data link layer, and physical layer.

The model makes use of layers to understand what is going on in a particular system, if there was to be any issue, it helps the IT professional to pinpoint the source of the problem.

OSI reference model was adopted by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in 1984. Before this, it was being developed by some computer and telecommunications company in 1983. When the model was being developed, the aim was to provide a set of design standards for equipment hardware they could communicate.

Common Uses of Osi Reference Model

  • For IT professionals, the seven layers refer to the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, which is a conceptual framework.
  • Most of the description of the OSI reference model go from top to bottom, with the numbers descending from layer 7 up till next layer 1.
  • OSI reference model is based on a proposal developed by the International Standards Organisation

Common Misuses of Osi Reference Model

  • The OSI reference models were not intended as a basis for developing universally accepted networking protocol.
  • OSI reference models have its equivalent of IP and TCP

X Window System

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A graphical, network-based windowing environment originally developed for Unix and Unix- like operating systems (and since made available for other platforms) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; currently, it is under continuous development as an open-source program by the Open Group, a Unix industry consortium. X (as the X Window system is known to UNIX users) … [Read more...] about X Window System

Technipages Explains X Window System

X Window System is an open-source software package for designing the human-computer interface on a computer or a network of computers. It divides processing between clients and servers that run on the same computer or different computers on the same network. X window system is also known as X by its users.

An X window system interacts with, the software of the computer controlling the video output of a network or an application displaying to the window of another display system, of the clients. However, the server for X resides on the local computer being used directly by the user instead of on a separate computer in the network, and this makes it possible for the client user to be either on the separate computer or on his computer.

X from inception unlike contemporary display-oriented software programs which required users to be used with an attached display device, X was designed to be used over network connections. So X could be running on a computer in a network, and it will display its user interface when accessed by another computer in the same network. In 1984, a merger of Stanford University, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) aided by IBM (International Business Machine Corporations), it was originally designed for communications between X Terminals and UNIX workstations.

Common Uses of X Window System

  • X window system network protocol allows for both 2D and 3D operations by an X window system client application which might be running on a different computer.
  • There is no inbuilt audio function for the X window system, and compatible extensions can be adopted
  • The user interfaces being used X window system users is not mandated by it, rather by the individual programs running on its platform

Common Misuses of X Window System

  • X window system network features result in excessive complexity if only used locally, its recent version network capabilities can cause an undesirable performance hit
  • While using X  window system, administrators don’t manually have to edit configuration files

Microsoft Windows 95

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A hybrid 16/32-bit operating system for Intel microprocessors that takes full advantage of the processing capabilities of Intel 80486 and Pentium microprocessors, while retaining downward compatibility with Windows 3.1 programs. Compared to Microsoft Windows 3.1, Windows 95 offers a redesigned graphical user interface (GUI) that enhances ease of learning as well as … [Read more...] about Microsoft Windows 95

Technipages Explains Microsoft Windows 95

Windows system 95 is an operating system developed by Microsoft, and the system runs with MS-DOS. It is no longer a graphic user interface but now a complete operational system. The windows system 95 supports a RAM of up to 480MB. The codename for the project was Chicago.

Windows system 95 succeeded windows 3x. Improvements made to the windows 3x include the windows control, its notable plug and play feature, improved from 16-bit to 32-bit operating system, the inclusion of a start button, the introduction of the taskbar amidst many other things. The upgrade to 32bits was one of the most notable of the windows system 95. The improved 32-bits operating system allowed for far better user experience; this was owing to the larger main memory spaces and usage of faster CPUs.

The windows system 95 was initially released on August 24, 1995. On December 31, 2001, Microsoft terminated its support for Windows 95 and based on Microsoft Lifestyle Policy, and it was termed an obsolete product. The release of Windows system 95 was the biggest release by Windows.

Common Uses of Microsoft Windows 95

  • Windows system 95 is not a true 32-bit operating system (like OS/2 Warp or Microsoft’s own Microsoft Windows NT); nevertheless, users appreciate not having to upgrade their applications.
  • In Windows 95 and 98, you can boot into MS-DOS instead of Windows if you need to run MS-DOS for older programs.
  • Follow the instructions below to allow the computer to boot into Windows 95 or Windows 98 instead of MS/DOS

Common Misuses of Microsoft Windows 95

  • Before the advent of windows system 95, there were the 32-bits operating systems in operation
  • Windows system 95 was not designed to be maximally compatible with existing MS-DOS and 16-bits Windows programs and device drivers