Special Topics

in Computer
Science
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

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 2011 Gartner “IT Hype Cycle” for Emerging Technologies
2010

2009 2011

2008

2007

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Introduction: A Golden Era in
Computing
Powerful multi-
core processors
General
Explosion of
purpose
domain
graphic
applications
processors

Proliferation of Superior software

devices methodologies

Virtualization
Wider bandwidth for leveraging the
communication powerful
hardware
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 Interactions among 4 technical challenges :
Data Deluge, Cloud Technology, eScience,
and Multicore/ Parallel Computing in Advanced CS

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Data Deluge
The "Data Deluge" refers to the exponential growth of data generated
by various sources such as social media, sensors, internet activities, and
scientific research.
This influx of data presents both opportunities and challenges for
advanced computer science.
Below are detailed notes on the influence of the Data Deluge on
advanced computer science, along with examples and illustrations:

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1. Big Data Analytics:

Big Data analytics involves extracting valuable insights and

patterns from large volumes of data that traditional data
processing techniques cannot handle efficiently.
Example: Netflix uses Big Data analytics to analyze user
preferences and viewing patterns to recommend
personalized content.

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2. Machine Learning
and AI:

The availability of massive datasets enables machine

learning algorithms to learn complex patterns and
relationships, leading to more accurate predictions and
decision-making.
Example: Google's DeepMind uses large datasets to train AI
systems for tasks like natural language understanding and
game playing.

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3. Data Mining:

Data mining involves discovering hidden patterns,

correlations, and trends within large datasets to
extract valuable knowledge.
Example: Retailers analyze customer purchase
histories to identify buying patterns and trends for
targeted marketing campaigns.

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4. IoT and Sensor
Networks:

The proliferation of IoT devices and sensor networks

generates enormous amounts of data, providing insights
into various aspects of the physical world.
Example: Smart cities use IoT sensors to collect data on
traffic flow, air quality, and energy consumption for
optimizing urban infrastructure.

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5. Data Privacy and Security:

The Data Deluge raises concerns about data privacy and

security, as massive amounts of personal and sensitive
information are collected and stored.
Example: Data breaches in large organizations compromise
sensitive customer data, leading to privacy violations and
financial losses.

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6. Data Visualization:

Data visualization techniques help make sense of complex

datasets by presenting information in a visually
comprehensible manner.
Example: Interactive dashboards and visual analytics tools
enable users to explore and understand trends in financial
markets or healthcare data.

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7. Data-driven Decision
Making:

Organizations leverage data-driven decision-making

processes to gain competitive advantages and optimize
business operations.
Example: E-commerce platforms use customer data to
optimize pricing strategies, inventory management, and
product recommendations.

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Cloud technology
Cloud technology has revolutionized the landscape of
advanced computer science, offering unprecedented
scalability, flexibility, and accessibility to computing
resources.
Below are detailed notes on the influence of cloud
technology in advanced computer science, along with
examples and illustrations:

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1. Scalability and
Elasticity:

Cloud platforms provide on-demand access to a vast pool of

computing resources, allowing users to scale their
applications dynamically in response to changing workloads.
Example: Online retailers experience spikes in website
traffic during holiday seasons and can seamlessly scale their
infrastructure on cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services
(AWS) or Microsoft Azure to handle increased demand.

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2. Resource
Virtualization:

Cloud technology abstracts underlying hardware resources

and provides virtualized environments where users can
deploy and manage applications without worrying about
hardware configurations.
Example: Virtual machines and containers allow developers
to encapsulate applications and dependencies, making it
easier to deploy and migrate software across different cloud
environments.

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3. Pay-as-You-Go
Model:

Cloud computing follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model

where users only pay for the resources they consume,
eliminating the need for upfront infrastructure investments
and reducing operational costs.
Example: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers offer
subscription-based pricing models for applications like
Salesforce or Microsoft Office 365, allowing customers to
pay only for the features they use.

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4. Global Availability and
Accessibility:

Cloud providers operate data centers in multiple regions

worldwide, enabling users to deploy applications closer to
their target audience for improved performance and
reliability.
Example: Content delivery networks (CDNs) leverage cloud
infrastructure to distribute web content across
geographically dispersed edge locations, reducing latency
and improving user experience.

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5. Disaster Recovery and High
Availability:

Cloud platforms offer built-in features for data replication,

backup, and failover, ensuring business continuity and
disaster recovery capabilities for mission-critical
applications.
Example: Organizations replicate their data and applications
across multiple availability zones or regions on cloud
platforms to mitigate the risk of data loss and service
downtime.

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6. DevOps and Continuous
Integration/Continuous Deployment
(CI/CD):

Cloud technology facilitates collaborative software

development practices by providing integrated tools and
services for automated testing, deployment, and
monitoring.
Example: DevOps teams leverage cloud-native services like
AWS CodePipeline or Azure DevOps to automate the build,
test, and deployment workflows of applications.

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7. Artificial Intelligence and
Machine Learning:

Cloud providers offer scalable infrastructure and specialized services for

training and deploying machine learning models, democratizing access
to AI capabilities for developers and data scientists.
Example: Organizations use cloud-based machine learning platforms like
Google Cloud AI or Amazon SageMaker to develop and deploy
predictive analytics solutions for various use cases, such as image
recognition, natural language processing, and recommendation
systems.

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eScience
eScience, short for "electronic science," refers to the integration of
advanced computing and information technologies into scientific
research and discovery processes.
It encompasses various disciplines and methodologies that leverage
computational resources, data analysis techniques, and collaboration
platforms to address complex scientific challenges.
Below are detailed notes on the influence of eScience in advanced
computer science, along with examples and illustrations:

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1. High-Performance
Computing (HPC):

eScience relies heavily on high-performance computing

clusters and supercomputers to perform computationally
intensive simulations, modeling, and data analysis tasks.
Example: Climate scientists use HPC resources to simulate
complex climate models, predict weather patterns, and
study the impact of environmental changes.

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2. Big Data Analytics and Data
Science:

eScience generates vast amounts of data from experiments,

observations, simulations, and sensor networks, driving the
need for advanced data analytics and machine learning
techniques.
Example: Genomic researchers analyze large genomic
datasets to identify genetic variations associated with
diseases and develop personalized medicine approaches.

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3. Distributed Computing and
Grid Computing:

eScience often involves distributed computing infrastructures and grid

computing frameworks that harness computational resources from
diverse geographical locations to tackle large-scale scientific problems.
Example: Particle physicists use distributed computing grids like the
Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) to process and analyze
petabytes of data generated by experiments at the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC).

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4. Collaborative Research
Environments:

eScience platforms provide collaborative research

environments that enable scientists from different
disciplines and institutions to share data, tools, and
computational resources.
Example: Astrophysicists collaborate on projects like the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to analyze astronomical data
and study the structure and evolution of the universe.

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5. Scientific Workflows and
Automation:

eScience leverages workflow management systems and

automation tools to orchestrate complex scientific
workflows, streamline data processing pipelines, and
facilitate reproducible research.
Example: Bioinformaticians use workflow platforms like
Galaxy to automate sequence analysis tasks, annotate
genomic datasets, and visualize molecular structures.

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6. Data Visualization and
Interactive Exploration:

eScience employs advanced visualization techniques and

interactive visualization tools to represent complex scientific
data, explore multidimensional relationships, and
communicate research findings effectively.
Example: Climate scientists visualize climate models using
3D visualization software to understand atmospheric
dynamics, ocean currents, and climate patterns.

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7. Open Science and Data
Sharing:

eScience promotes principles of open science and data

sharing, encouraging researchers to publish data, methods,
and findings openly to foster collaboration, transparency,
and reproducibility.
Example: Data repositories like the GenBank archive provide
public access to genomic sequences, metadata, and
annotations, enabling researchers worldwide to explore and
analyze genetic data.

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Parallel and concurrent
computing
Parallel and concurrent computing are foundational
concepts in advanced computer science, enabling the
efficient utilization of computing resources and the
execution of multiple tasks simultaneously.
Below are detailed notes on the influence of parallel and
concurrent computing in advanced computer science, along
with examples and illustrations:

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1. Parallel
Computing:

Parallel computing involves the simultaneous execution of multiple

tasks or processes to achieve faster computation and improved
performance.
Examples:
◦ Matrix multiplication: Large matrices can be divided into smaller
submatrices, and each submatrix can be multiplied in parallel by different
processor cores or threads.
◦ Image processing: Parallel algorithms can be used to apply filters or
transformations to different regions of an image simultaneously, speeding up
processing times.

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2. Concurrent
Computing:

Concurrent computing focuses on managing and coordinating multiple

tasks that run independently but may interact with each other, often in
shared environments.
Examples:
◦ Web servers: Concurrent programming allows web servers to handle
multiple client requests simultaneously, serving content to users
concurrently without blocking.
◦ Operating systems: Concurrent processes manage tasks such as input/output
operations, user interactions, and background services concurrently to
maintain system responsiveness.

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3. Multi-core
Processors:

Modern computing architectures incorporate multi-core processors,

which contain multiple processing units (cores) on a single chip,
enabling parallel execution of tasks.
Examples:
◦ CPUs: Multi-core processors allow different cores to execute instructions
concurrently, improving overall system throughput and responsiveness.
◦ Graphics processing units (GPUs): GPUs consist of thousands of smaller
processing cores optimized for parallel computation, making them ideal for
tasks like graphics rendering, scientific simulations, and machine learning.

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4. Distributed
Computing:

Distributed computing involves coordinating computations across

multiple interconnected nodes or systems, enabling scalability, fault
tolerance, and resource sharing.
Examples:
◦ MapReduce: Distributed frameworks like Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark
use parallel processing and data distribution across clusters of nodes to
perform large-scale data processing tasks.
◦ Blockchain: Distributed ledgers like Bitcoin and Ethereum rely on consensus
algorithms and distributed computing to validate and record transactions
across a network of decentralized nodes.

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5. High-Performance
Computing (HPC):

High-performance computing focuses on maximizing computational

power and efficiency for demanding scientific, engineering, and data-
intensive applications.
Examples:
◦ Computational fluid dynamics (CFD): HPC clusters are used to simulate fluid
flow, heat transfer, and aerodynamics for designing aircraft, automobiles,
and weather forecasting models.
◦ Molecular dynamics simulations: HPC systems enable researchers to model
the behavior and interactions of atoms and molecules in biological systems,
materials science, and drug discovery.

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