Modern software technology

Author: Feng Yulin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-04-01
Features: The term "software" originates from "program." Since the world's first stored-program computer was invented, computer programs have existed. It wasn't until the early 1960s, when people gradually recognized the importance of programs and their related documentation, that the term "software" emerged. In Chinese, the term "software" was first translated by Xu Kongshi (former director of the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences) and has been used ever since. To use a computer, one must have computer software. As computer applications have permeated all aspects of economic and social life, the concept of computer software is now well-known. However, the rich of software is not fully understood or clearly explained by everyone. Due to the inherent of software products, many people feel that software is both familiar and unfamiliar, mysterious, and even beginners in programming may share this sentiment. The 21st century is the age of informatization, and informatization cannot be separated from software. As the number of Internet users worldwide grows by millions daily and as people in their busy work and lives are surrounded by ubiquitous computers, many are undoubtedly eager to learn more about software. This book aims to present a broad overview of software technology from a wide perspective, enabling readers to quickly browse and understand the content of modern software technology. The development of software technology is ever-evolving, and it is obviously unrealistic to reflect all the achievements of modern software technology in a single book. This book selects only the most fundamental and practical technologies in the software field that have been proven to be mature and reliable through practical application. The book focuses on technical and systematic analysis, and any introductions to market-popular software products only represent technical perspectives. The first part (Chapters 2–4) introduces basic system software, including high-level language compilers, operating systems, and database management systems. Since network technology is the most dynamic driving force in the development of modern software technology, the second part (Chapters 5–7) focuses on network software, including computer networks, multimedia communication, and network information security. Chinese is the language of communication for the Chinese people, and the automation of Chinese information processing is of great significance, which needs no elaboration. This book dedicates Chapter 8 as the third part to introduce human-computer interfaces and Chinese information processing. The fourth part (Chapters 9–10) introduces software engineering technology, including the software development process, software development methods, and software quality management. Finally, the fifth part (Chapter 11) introduces the development of new software technologies, selecting the most important key technologies targeted at large-scale network applications. The above sections are self-contained, with each chapter being relatively independent. Interested readers can choose the chapters that best suit their needs. Chapters 1 and 11 were written by Feng Yulin, Chapter 2 by Cheng Hu, Chapter 3 by Sun Yufang, Chapter 4 by Zhou Longxiang, Chapter 5 by Wei Donghua, Chapter 6 by Fang Guiming, Chapter 7 by Ni Xizhen, Chapter 8 by Dai Guozhong and Luan Shangmin, Chapter 9 by Huang Tao, and Chapter 10 by Wang Qing. Additionally, Zhong Hua, Fan Guichuan, and Jin Bei Hong participated in the writing of some chapters. The entire book was compiled, edited, and finalized by Feng Yulin and Zhong Hua. During the writing process, we received great assistance from Director Zhao Chen of the Science and Technology Department at the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and many colleagues at the Software Engineering Technology Center. We express our special thanks to them. Due to the relatively rushed writing process, there may be errors or inappropriate places in the book. We welcome criticism and corrections from readers.
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For tens of thousands of years, humans have been understanding, developing, and utilizing the natural world around them while continuously recognizing themselves. Science and technology have also emerged and developed alongside human survival needs from the very beginning. The history of human development fully validates Deng Xiaoping's argument that "science and technology are productive forces." The development of science and technology has promoted the progress of human civilization and society. The 21st century is the age of informatization, the age of life sciences, the age of rapid development and widespread application of new materials and advanced manufacturing technology, the age of efficient, clean, and safe use of new energy, the age of humans expanding into space, the oceans, and the Earth's interior, the age of major breakthroughs and transformative progress in natural sciences. The development of science and technology and the continuous emergence of new technologies will inevitably trigger a new industrial revolution. For developing countries like China, this presents both challenges and opportunities. The key to seizing development opportunities lies in improving the scientific and cultural literacy of the entire nation and cultivating a high-quality labor force equipped with a scientific spirit, an understanding of scientific methods, and the ability for knowledge innovation and technological innovation. Therefore, developing education, popularizing scientific knowledge, promoting the scientific spirit, and advocating scientific methods are our primary strategies to meet the challenges of the century. To this end, in August 1999, General Secretary Jiang Zemin further emphasized the importance of science popularization during his inspection tour of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences: "While strengthening scientific progress and innovation, we should vigorously enhance science popularization across society and strive to improve the scientific and cultural literacy of the entire nation. If this work is done well, it can provide a broad popular foundation for scientific progress and innovation." To popularize and promote high technologies, Chemical Industry Press organized several academicians and experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering to write the "Popular Science Series on High Technologies." The main features of this series are: introducing the principles, characteristics, important status, applications, and current and future development prospects of some high technologies in today's scientific and industrial fields; highlighting "new," introducing new technologies, theories, and methods that have been proven to be mature, reliable, and practical with application prospects; striving for simplicity and depth, with illustrations and a balance of knowledge, science, popularization, readability, and interest, fully reflecting the important role of scientific thought and spirit in innovation and entrepreneurship. The "Popular Science Series on High Technologies" covers high technologies closely related to China's economic and social sustainable development. Nine volumes include green chemistry and chemical engineering, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, efficient and environmentally friendly power generation methods—fuel cells, new separation technologies (such as supercritical fluid extraction, adsorption separation technology, membrane technology), chemical lasers, biopesticides, etc. The series will continue to organize the publication of various high-technology volumes in the future. We believe that this popular science series will play a positive role in promoting the dissemination of scientific knowledge, scientific methods, and the scientific spirit, helping people correctly understand and master science, and improving the scientific and cultural literacy of the entire nation.
(Note: The original text contains some inconsistencies and repetitions in the Chinese version, which have been preserved in the translation for accuracy. The term "" is not translated as it refers to formatting instructions.)