BCS 2001 State of the Art Reports

Internet

The Internet is probably the biggest advance in the use of technology since the advent of the computer. It has created a mass communication and information resource across the world that is easy and inexpensive to use and effective in commercial, social and personal environments.

What has ultimately established the Internet as such a major force, is its availability and accessibility to anyone with a computer, modem and phone line. It is now commonplace to have an e-mail address and Web site in much the same way as a phone and fax number. This is causing sociological changes, too.

The Internet is now at the forefront of most IT technology or is certainly it's main driving force. We are seeing organisations desperate to put "E" in front of everything in order to keep up with the competition or simply jump on the bandwagon.

Skills

For the IT professional, the Internet has now become mainstream and has spawned the need for an entire new range of skills and knowledge. However, it is also important to realise that, essentially, the Internet itself, is not a new technology. It uses well-established systems, both hardware and software, in the form of PCs, servers, networks, telecommunications, programs, and familiar operating systems such as Windows and Unix. It is the way this technology has been applied, that gives the Internet its unique place in the history of computing and in the future.

The Internet encompasses several different areas of computer technology and therefore presents a broad range of opportunities for the aspiring individual wanting to move into those areas:

• web sites
• software system design & development
• server, and other hardware, support
• networks
• operating systems
• telecommunications
• security

Weaving the Web

Software tools to help develop and construct web sites are now commonplace and evolving significantly, including:

• Web-editors e.g. Dreamweaver, Frontpage, GoLive,
• Graphic Design tools, Quark, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Freehand
• Special design tools: Shockwave, Flash

In addition we are seeing much more of a merger between traditional IT skills and design skills

Programming

• Java
• Javascript
• CGI Scripting, Vbscript, Perl

Databases & Dynamism

inking web pages to server-end databases is now becoming an important aspect of interactivity. It allows for instant up-to-date information to be displayed, users can update the databases directly, and most important, actual Web pages are themselves generated from the information held on the database, obviating the need for every page to be manually customised or maintained; only the database has to be updated. Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP) is currently the commonly used approach for this area, but others are emerging as favourites, too.

• Oracle
• Cold Fusion
• Access
• SQL
• PHP
• ASP (Active Server Pages)

The New Recruits

The mobile phone is fast opening up a whole new vista of Internet-enabled technology with Web-based information being delivered via the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), using a special variant of HTML, known as WML. This allows the text portions of Web pages to be presented on cellular phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) via wireless access.

XML, eXtensible Markup Language, is a flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, and elsewhere. XML can be used by any individual or group of individuals or companies that wants to share information in a consistent way.

The Future?

Who would have believed only a few years ago that the Internet phenomenon would happen? What we can learn from these recent experiences is that it is certain the technology will become better and cheaper. It will be a combination of elements that will affect the type of changes we will see. Everything from government legislation to faster telephone lines. However, it is always important to remember that many of the new products we see in computing technology are due as much to commercial competition as well as technological advances.

It is clear that the Internet will become more consumer-orientated with services being delivered into the home. Already we are seeing the introduction of broadband communication (ADSL) for relatively inexpensive, yet fast Internet connection speeds. In addition, video-on-demand, Internet via the TV, digital broadcasting, is a reality, plus the use of Web on mobile phones and voice calls via the Internet.

Certainly the opportunities for the BCS professional are limited only by the imagination.

A full complement of news, reviews and articles can be found on the BCS Internet Specialist Group Web site: http://www.isg.org.uk/

Howard Gerlis, MBCS, MIMIS
BCS Internet Specialist Group
June 2001
chairman@isg.org.uk

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