Java Reference
In-Depth Information
Technology
Description
Cloud
computing
SaaS and PaaS are examples of
cloud computing
. You can use software and
data stored in the “cloud”—i.e., accessed on remote computers (or servers)
via the Internet and available on demand—rather than having it stored on
your desktop, notebook computer or mobile device. This allows you to
increase or decrease computing resources to meet your needs at any given
time, which is more cost effective than purchasing hardware to provide
enough storage and processing power to meet occasional peak demands.
Cloud computing also saves money by shifting the burden of managing these
apps to the service provider.
Software
Development
Kit (SDK)
Software Development Kits (SDKs)
include the tools and documentation
developers use to program applications. For example, you'll use the Java
Development Kit (JDK) to build and run Java applications.
Fig. 1.18
|
Software technologies. (Part 2 of 2.)
Software is complex. Large, real-world software applications can take many months
or even years to design and implement. When large software products are under develop-
ment, they typically are made available to the user communities as a series of releases, each
more complete and polished than the last (Fig. 1.19).
Version
Description
Alpha
Alpha
software is the earliest release of a software product that's still under
active development. Alpha versions are often buggy, incomplete and unstable
and are released to a relatively small number of developers for testing new
features, getting early feedback, etc.
Beta
Beta
versions are released to a larger number of developers later in the devel-
opment process after most major bugs have been fixed and new features are
nearly complete. Beta software is more stable, but still subject to change.
Release
candidates
Release candidates
are generally
feature complete
, (mostly) bug free and ready
for use by the community, which provides a diverse testing environment—
the software is used on different systems, with varying constraints and for a
variety of purposes.
Final release
Any bugs that appear in the release candidate are corrected, and eventually
the final product is released to the general public. Software companies often
distribute incremental updates over the Internet.
Continuous
beta
Software that's developed using this approach (for example, Google search or
Gmail) generally does not have version numbers. It's hosted in the
cloud
(not
installed on your computer) and is constantly evolving so that users always
have the latest version.
Fig. 1.19
|
Software product-release terminology.
