Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Tech Terminology for non-technical peopleTim Bornholtz
2006 Annual Conference
Annual Conference 2006
About This Session
•The goal is to translate techno-babble into plain English.
•This session may be a bit different than what you're used to hearing.
•Please interrupt me and ask lots of questions.
•Deviating from the presentation is the expected plan!
Annual Conference 2006
Database
• Database – a collection of related information structured so the computer can answer questions efficiently
• Relational Database – Data is stored in tables usually based on subject– Student or Award or Course
• Examples of relational databases– Oracle – Microsoft SQL Server– and many others
– Microsoft Access– IBM DB2
Annual Conference 2006
Flat Files
• Plain text file containing records• Usually one record per line• Each field is a specific fixed width, no
more, no less
@HPS001998 2005100408302920051004083029COMMONAPPLI@1ASMITH GRANT A0012345678902 28TH STREET APT 8SAN FRA@[email protected]@T00000400000020051004083029A004PCALIFORNIA INSTITUTE
Annual Conference 2006
XML: eXtensible Markup Language
• Just like a flat file, XML is a text file with a specific format
• Uses tags to surround data elements– <FirstName>Tim</FirstName>
• Tags are heirarchical– <Student>
<Name> <FirstName>Tim</FirstName> </Name> <Address/></Student>
Annual Conference 2006
XML Schema
• Allows us to know what an XML document must look like– Name and order of tags– Data types (words or numbers or dates)– Allowable values
Annual Conference 2006
XML Schema (cont)
• Why this matters:– If a document contains wrong data then it
will usually be rejected by the recipient.– The whole document will be rejected, not
just the records with problems. All or nothing.
Annual Conference 2006
XML Namespace
• A “person” who receives student aid• A “person” on the FBI’s most
wanted list– May share some common tags
(name, address)– Many different tags (award amount
vs. crime)
Annual Conference 2006
Web Services
“Web Services” is a generic term for ways that computers use XML to talk with each other
• SOAP – Simple Object Access Protocol– SOAP defines what the XML will look like
• WSDL – Web Services Description Language– Contains every piece of technical
information necessary for a Web Service to work
• WS-*– Collection of Web Services standards for
addressing, reliable messaging, and many others
Annual Conference 2006
Service Oriented Architecture
• Architectural style of building software out of reusable components
• A service is a reusable component that can be used as a building block to form larger more complex business application functionality
• A service may be as simple as “get me some person data” or as complex as “process a disbursement”
Annual Conference 2006
Blog or Web Log
• Online journal• Anyone can create a blog on his/her
own site or on large free sites like blogger.com
• Anyone can become an instant journalist
• Potentially replacing mainstream media as a source of information
Annual Conference 2006
Wiki
• Web site where anyone can edit the content of every page
• http://www.wikipedia.org– Free encyclopedia that anyone in the world
can edit and add entries
Annual Conference 2006
Annual Conference 2006
RSS – Really Simple Syndicate
• XML format for blogs and news sites to list recent content
• Read with an RSS reader– As a separate program or within a
browser– Can get updates on a schedule
• Allow someone to quickly scan many sites for updated news or content
Annual Conference 2006
Annual Conference 2006
Security
• Authentication – Knowing who is making the request
• Authorization – What the user can do.• Encryption – Converting data with a
mathematical formula to something that cannot be read by anyone else
• Single Sign on
Annual Conference 2006
eAuthentication
• Also called– Federated Identity– Transitive Trust
• What is it?– Distributed authentication system
that allows individuals to use the same credentials (user name and password) at multiple places
• Examples– Shibboleth– IBM Tivoli Federated Identity
Manager
Annual Conference 2006
•eAuthentication (cont)
• Why is it necessary?– Because we all have too many passwords
to remember!
Annual Conference 2006
Programming Languages
• Java– J2EE
• Microsoft .Net– C#
• Lots of others– PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby
Annual Conference 2006
Architecture
Application Architecture
• Create applications• Object-oriented
models• Use cases• Sequence
diagrams
Data Architecture• Create databases• Logical data models• Physical data
models• Entity relationship
diagram
Architects are fancy titles for experienced personnel Usually requires more than 5 years of experience creating real systems
Annual Conference 2006
Application Architecture
• UML – Universal Modeling Language– Collection of processes and diagrams
to design applications
• Use Case– Document written in business
language that describes one specific use or flow in a system
Annual Conference 2006
Application Architecture (cont)
• Sequence Diagram– Picture that shows the same flow but with
the technical pieces
Annual Conference 2006
Sequence Diagram
Annual Conference 2006
Data Architecture
• Logical Data Model– Creating databases that reflect the
business need
• Physical Data Model– Transforming the logical data model so it is
efficient for a computer to use
Annual Conference 2006
Data Architecture
• Entity Relationship Diagram– Specific convention to represent the
models
– Way to draw pictures that other data architects can understand
Annual Conference 2006
Entity Relationship Diagram
