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  C-RAN

  C-RAN (Cloud-RAN), also referred to as Centralized-RAN, is an architecture for cellular networks. C-RAN is a centralized, cloud computing-based architecture for radio access networks that supports 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and future wireless communication standards. Its name comes from the four 'C's in the main characteristics of C-RAN system, "Clean, Centralized processing, Collaborative radio, and a real-time Cloud Radio Access Network". == Background == Traditional cellular, or Radio Access Networks (RAN), consist of many stand-alone base stations (BTS). Each BTS covers a small area, whereas a group BTS provides coverage over a continuous area. Each BTS processes and transmits its own signal to and from the mobile terminal, and forwards the data payload to and from the mobile terminal and out to the core network via the backhaul. Each BTS has its own cooling, back haul transportation, backup battery, monitoring system, and so on. Because of limited spectral resources, network operators 'reuse' the frequency among different base stations, which can cause interference between neighboring cells. There are several limitations in the traditional cellular architecture. First, each BTS is costly to build and operate. Moore's law helps reduce the size and power of an electrical system, but the supporting facilities of the BTS are not improved quite as well. Second, when more BTS are added to a system to improve its capacity, interference among BTS is more severe as BTS are closer to each other and more of them are using the same frequency. Third, because users are mobile, the traffic of each BTS fluctuates (called 'tide effect'), and as a result, the average utilization rate of individual BTS is pretty low. However, these processing resources cannot be shared with other BTS. Therefore, all BTS are designed to handle the maximum traffic, not average traffic, resulting in a waste of processing resources and power at idle times. == Evolution of base station architecture == === All-in-one macro base station === In the 1G and 2G cellular networks, base stations had an all-in-one architecture. Analog, digital, and power functions were housed in a single cabinet as large as a refrigerator. Usually the base station cabinet was placed in a dedicated room along with all necessary supporting facilitates such as power, backup battery, air conditioning, environment surveillance, and backhaul transmission equipment. The RF signal is generated by the base station RF unit and propagates through pairs of RF cables up to the antennas on the top of a base station tower or other mounting points. This all-in-one architecture was mostly found in macro cell deployments. === Distributed base station === For 3G, a distributed base station architecture was introduced by Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, and other leading telecom equipment vendors. In this architecture the radio function unit, also known as the remote radio head (RRH), is separated from the digital function unit, or baseband unit (BBU) by fiber. Digital baseband signals are carried over fiber, using the Open Base Station Architecture Initiative (OBSAI) or Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) standard. The RRH can be installed on the top of tower close to the antenna, reducing the loss compared to the traditional base station where the RF signal has to travel through a long cable from the base station cabinet to the antenna at the top of the tower. The fiber link between RRH and BBU also allows more flexibility in network planning and deployment as they can be placed a few hundred meters or a few kilometers away. Most modern base stations now use this decoupled architecture. === C-RAN/Cloud-RAN === C-RAN may be viewed as an architectural evolution of the above distributed base station system. It takes advantage of many technological advances in wireless, optical and IT communications systems. For example, it uses the latest CPRI standard, low cost Coarse or Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM/ DWDM) technology, and mmWave to allow transmission of baseband signal over long distance thus achieving large scale centralised base station deployment. It applies recent Data Centre Network technology to allow a low cost, high reliability, low latency and high bandwidth interconnect network in the BBU pool. It utilizes open platforms and real-time virtualization technology rooted in cloud computing to achieve dynamic shared resource allocation and support multi-vendor, multi-technology environments. == Architecture overview == C-RAN architecture has the following characteristics that are distinct from other cellular architectures: Large scale centralized deployment: Allows many RRHs to connect to a centralized BBU pool. The maximum distance can be 20km in fiber link for 4G (LTE/LTE-A) systems, and even longer distances (40~80km) for 3G (WCDMA/TD-SCDMA) and 2G (GSM/CDMA) systems. Native support to Collaborative Radio technologies: Any BBU can talk with any other BBU within the BBU pool with very high bandwidth (10 Gbit/s and above) and low latency (10 μs level). This is enabled by the interconnection of BBUs in the pool. This is one major difference from BBU Hotelling, or base station Hotelling; in the latter case, the BBUs of different base stations are simply stacked together and have no direct link between them to allow physical layer co-ordination. Real-time virtualization capability based on open platform: This is different from traditional base stations built on proprietary hardware, where the software and hardware are close-sourced and provided by single vendors. In contrast, a C-RAN BBU pool is built on open hardware, like x86/ARM CPU based servers, and interface cards that handle fiber links to RRHs and inter-connections in the pool. Real-time virtualization ensures that resources in the pool can be allocated dynamically to base station software stacks, say 4G/3G/2G function modules from different vendors, according to network load. However, to satisfy the strict timing requirements of wireless communication systems, the real-time performance for C-RAN is at the level of tens of microseconds, which is two orders of magnitude better than the millisecond level 'real-time' performance usually seen in Cloud Computing environments. == Similar architecture and systems == KT, a telecom operator in the Republic of Korea, introduced a Cloud Computing Center (CCC) system in their 3G (WCDMA/HSPA) and 4G (LTE/LTE-A) network in 2011 and 2012. The concept of CCC is basically the same as C-RAN. SK Telecom has also deployed Smart Cloud Access Network (SCAN) and Advanced-SCAN in their 4G (LTE/LTE-A) network in Korea no later than 2012. In 2014, Airvana (now CommScope) introduced OneCell, a C-RAN-based small cell system designed for enterprises and public spaces. == Competing architectures in cellular network evolution == === All-in-one BTS === One major alternative solution that is addressing similar challenges of RAN, is the small size, all-in-one outdoor BTS. Thanks to the achievements in the semiconductor industry, all the functionality of a BTS, including RF, baseband processing, MAC processing and package level processing, can now be implemented in a volume of <50 liters. This makes the system small and weatherproof, reduces the difficulty of BTS site choice and construction, eliminates the air conditioning requirement, and thus reduces operational costs. However, because each BTS is still working on its own, it cannot readily make use of the collaboration algorithms to reduce the interference between neighboring BTSs. It is also relatively hard to upgrade or repair because the all-in-one BTS units are usually mounted near the antenna. More processing units in less-protected environments also implies a higher failure rate compared to C-RAN, which only has the RRU deployed outdoors. The advantage of Cloud RAN lies in its ability to implement LTE-Advanced features such as Coordinated MultiPoint (CoMP) with very low latency between multiple radio heads. However, the economic benefit of improvements such as CoMP can be negated by the higher backhaul costs for some operators. === Small cell === The main competition between small cell and C-RAN occurs in two deployment scenarios: outdoor hotspot coverage and indoor coverage. == Academic research and publications == As one of the promising evolution paths for future cellular network architecture, C-RAN has attracted high academic research interest. Meanwhile, because the native support of cooperative radio capability built into the C-RAN architecture, it also enables many advanced algorithms that were hard to implement in cellular networks, including Cooperative Multi-Point Transmission/Receiving, Network Coding, etc. In October 2011, Wireless World Research Forum 27 was hosted in Germany, when China Mobile was invited to give a C-RAN presentation. In August 2012, IEEE C-RAN 2012 workshop was hosted in Kunming, China. CRC Press published a book, "Green Communications: Theore

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  NewSQL

  NewSQL is a class of relational database management systems that seek to provide the scalability of NoSQL systems for online transaction processing (OLTP) workloads while maintaining the ACID guarantees of a traditional database system. Many enterprise systems that handle high-profile data (e.g., financial and order processing systems) are too large for conventional relational databases, but have transactional and consistency requirements that are not practical for NoSQL systems. The only options previously available for these organizations were to either purchase more powerful computers or to develop custom middleware that distributes requests over conventional DBMS. Both approaches feature high infrastructure costs and/or development costs. NewSQL systems attempt to reconcile the conflicts. == History == The term was first used by 451 Group analyst Matthew Aslett in a 2011 research paper discussing the rise of a new generation of database management systems. One of the first NewSQL systems was the H-Store parallel database system. == Applications == Typical applications are characterized by heavy OLTP transaction volumes. OLTP transactions; are short-lived (i.e., no user stalls) touch small amounts of data per transaction use indexed lookups (no table scans) have a small number of forms (a small number of queries with different arguments). However, some support hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP) applications. Such systems improve performance and scalability by omitting heavyweight recovery or concurrency control. == List of NewSQL-databases == Apache Trafodion Clustrix CockroachDB Couchbase CrateDB Google Spanner MySQL Cluster NuoDB OceanBase Pivotal GemFire XD SequoiaDB SingleStore was formerly known as MemSQL. TIBCO Active Spaces TiDB TokuDB TransLattice Elastic Database VoltDB YDB YugabyteDB == Features == The two common distinguishing features of NewSQL database solutions are that they support online scalability of NoSQL databases and the relational data model (including ACID consistency) using SQL as their primary interface. NewSQL systems can be loosely grouped into three categories: === New architectures === NewSQL systems adopt various internal architectures. Some systems employ a cluster of shared-nothing nodes, in which each node manages a subset of the data. They include components such as distributed concurrency control, flow control, and distributed query processing. === SQL engines === The second category are optimized storage engines for SQL. These systems provide the same programming interface as SQL, but scale better than built-in engines. === Transparent sharding === These systems automatically split databases across multiple nodes using Raft or Paxos consensus algorithm.

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  Computer and information science

  Computer and information science (CIS; also known as information and computer science) is a field that emphasizes both computing and informatics, upholding the strong association between the fields of information sciences and computer sciences and treating computers as a tool rather than a field. Information science is one with a long history, unlike the relatively very young field of computer science, and is primarily concerned with gathering, storing, disseminating, sharing and protecting any and all forms of information. It is a broad field, covering a myriad of different areas but is often referenced alongside computer science because of the incredibly useful nature of computers and computer programs in helping those studying and doing research in the field – particularly in helping to analyse data and in spotting patterns too broad for a human to intuitively perceive. While information science is sometimes confused with information theory, the two have vastly different subject matter. Information theory focuses on one particular mathematical concept of information while information science is focused on all aspects of the processes and techniques of information. Computer science, in contrast, is less focused on information and its different states, but more, in a very broad sense, on the use of computers – both in theory and practice – to design and implement algorithms in order to aid the processing of information during the different states described above. It has strong foundations in the field of mathematics, as the very first recognised practitioners of the field were renowned mathematicians such as Alan Turing. Information science and computing began to converge in the 1950s and 1960s, as information scientists started to realize the many ways computers would improve information storage and retrieval. == Terminology == Due to the distinction between computers and computing, some of the research groups refer to computing or datalogy. The French refer to computer science as the term informatique. The term information and communications technology (ICT), refers to how humans communicate with using machines and computers, making a distinction from information and computer science, which is how computers use and gain information. Informatics is also distinct from computer science, which encompasses the study of logic and low-level computing issues. == Education == Universities may confer degrees with a major in computer and information science, not to be confused with a more specific Bachelor of Computer Science or respective graduate computer science degrees. The QS World University Rankings is one of the most widely recognised and distinguished university comparisons. They ranked the top 10 universities for computer science and information systems in 2015. They are: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Stanford University University of Oxford Carnegie Mellon University Harvard University University of California, Berkeley (UCB) University of Cambridge The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) Princeton University A Computer Information Science degree gives students both network and computing knowledge which is needed to design, develop, and assist information systems which helps to solve business problems and to support business problems and to support business operations and decision making at a managerial level also. == Areas of information and computer science == Due to the nature of this field, many topics are also shared with computer science and information systems. The discipline of Information and Computer Science spans a vast range of areas from basic computer science theory (algorithms and computational logic) to in depth analysis of data manipulation and use within technology. === Programming theory === The process of taking a given algorithm and encoding it into a language that can be understood and executed by a computer. There are many different types of programming languages and various different types of computers, however, they all have the same goal: to turn algorithms into machine code. Popular programming languages used within the academic study of CIS include, but are not limited to: Java, Python, C#, C++, Perl, Ruby, Pascal, Swift, Visual Basic. === Information and information systems === The academic study of software and hardware systems that process large quantities and data, support large scale data management and how data can be used. This is where the field is unique from the standard study of computer science. The area of information systems focuses on the networks of hardware and software that are required to process, manipulate and distribute such data. === Computer systems and organisations === The process of analysing computer architecture and various logic circuits. This involves looking at low level computer processes at bit level computation. This is an in-depth look into the hardware processing of a computational system, involving looking at the basic structure of a computer and designing such systems. This can also involve evaluating complex circuit diagrams, and being able to construct these to solve a main problem. The main purpose behind this area of study is to achieve an understanding of how computers function on a basic level, often through tracing machine operations. === Machines, languages, and computation === This is the study into fundamental computer algorithms, which are the basis to computer programs. Without algorithms, no computer programs would exist. This also involves the process of looking into various mathematical functions behind computational algorithms, basic theory and functional (low level) programming. In an academic setting, this area would introduce the fundamental mathematical theorems and functions behind theoretical computer science which are the building blocks for other areas in the field. Complex topics such as; proofs, algebraic functions and sets will be introduced during studies of CIS. == Developments == Information and computer science is a field that is rapidly developing with job prospects for students being extremely promising with 75.7% of graduates gaining employment. Also the IT industry employs one in twenty of the workforce with it predicted to increase nearly five times faster than the average of the UK and between 2012 and 2017 more than half a million people will be needed within the industry and the fact that nine out of ten tech firms are suffering from candidate shortages which is having a negative impact on their business as it delays the creation and development of new products, and it's predicted in the US that in the next decade there will be more than one million jobs in the technology sector than computer science graduates to fill them. Because of this programming is now being taught at an earlier age with an aim to interest students from a young age into computer and information science hopefully leading more children to study this at a higher level. For example, children in England will now be exposed to computer programming at the age of 5 due to an updated national curriculum. == Employment == Due to the wide variety of jobs that now involve computer and information science related tasks, it is difficult to provide a comprehensive list of possible jobs in this area, but some of the key areas are artificial intelligence, software engineering and computer networking and communication. Work in this area also tends to require sufficient understanding of mathematics and science. Moreover, jobs that having a CIS degree can lead to, include: systems analyst, network administrator, system architect, information systems developer, web programmer, or software developer. The earning potential for CIS graduates is quite promising. A 2013 survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that the average starting salary for graduates who earned a degree in a computer related field was $59,977, up 4.3% from the prior year. This is higher than other popular degrees such as business ($54,234), education ($40,480) and math and sciences ($42,724). Furthermore, Payscale ranked 129 college degrees based on their graduates earning potential with engineering, math, science, and technology fields dominating the ranking. With eight computer related degrees appearing among the top 30. With the lowest starting salary for these jobs being $49,900. A Rasmussen College article describes various jobs CIS graduates may obtain with software applications developers at the top making a median income of $98,260. According to the National Careers Service an Information Scientist can expect to earn £24,000+ per year as a starting salary.

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  Pointer algorithm

  In computer science, a pointer algorithm (sometimes called a pointer machine, or a reference machine; see the article Pointer machine for a close but non-identical concept) is a type of algorithm that manages a linked data structure. This concept is used as a model for lower-bound proofs and specific restrictions on the linked data structure and on the algorithm's access to the structure vary. This model has been used extensively with problems related to the disjoint-set data structure. Thus, Tarjan and La Poutré used this model to prove lower bounds on the amortized complexity of a disjoint-set data structure (La Poutré also addressed the interval split-find problem). Blum used this model to prove a lower bound on the single operation worst-case time of disjoint set data structure. Blum and Rochow proved a worst-case lower bound for the interval union-find problem. == Example == In Tarjan's lower bound for the disjoint set union problem, the assumptions on the algorithm are: The algorithm maintains a linked structure of nodes. Each element of the problem is associated with a node. Each set is represented by a node. The nodes of each set constitute a distinct connected component in the structure (this property is called separability). The find operation is performed by following links from the element node to the set node. Under these assumptions, the lower bound of Ω ( m α ( m , n ) ) {\displaystyle \Omega (m\alpha (m,n))} on the cost of a sequence of m operations is proven.

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  Read the Docs

  Read the Docs is an open-sourced free software documentation hosting platform. It generates documentation written with the Sphinx documentation generator, MkDocs, or Jupyter Book. == History == The site was created in 2010 by Eric Holscher, Bobby Grace, and Charles Leifer. On March 9, 2011, the Python Software Foundation Board awarded a grant of US$840 to the Read the Docs project for one year of hosting fees. On November 13, 2017, the Linux Mint project announced that they were moving their documentation to Read the Docs. In 2020, Read the Docs received a $200,000 grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. For 2021, Read the Docs reported 700 million page views and 196 million unique visitors. In 2013, a "Write the Docs" conference for Read the Docs users was launched, which has since turned into a generic software-documentation community. As of 2024, it continues to hold annual global conferences, organize local meetups, and maintain a Slack channel for "people who care about documentation."

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  Library and information scientist

  A library and information scientist, also known as a library scholar, is a researcher or academic who specializes in the field of library and information science and often participates in scholarly writing about and related to library and information science. A library and information scientist is neither limited to any one subfield of library and information science nor any one particular type of library. These scientists come from all information-related sectors including library and book history. == University of Chicago Graduate Library School == The University of Chicago Graduate Library School was established in 1928 to grant a graduate degree in librarianship with an emphasis on research. The program expanded the concept of librarianship, focused on scientific inquiry and established it as a domain for scientific study. In The Spirit of Inquiry: The Graduate Library School at Chicago, 1921-51 Richardson reviewed the history of the School and its impact on the discipline. == Bibliometric mappings == Bibliometric methods have been used to create maps of library and information science, thus identifying the most important researchers as well as their relative connections (or distances) and identifying emerging trends related to LIS publications within the field. White and McCain (1998) made a map of information science and Åström (2002), Chen, Ibekwe-SanJuan, and Hou (2010), Janssens, Leta, Glanzel, and De Moor (2006), and Zhao and Strotmann (2008) constructed some later maps of library and information science. Jabeen, Yun, Rafiq, and Jabeen (2015) mapped the growth and trends of LIS publications. == Notable library and information scientists == See also Beta Phi Mu Award, Award of Merit - Association for Information Science and Technology, Justin Winsor Prize (library)

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  Algorithm engineering

  Algorithm engineering focuses on the design, analysis, implementation, optimization, profiling and experimental evaluation of computer algorithms, bridging the gap between algorithmics theory and practical applications of algorithms in software engineering. It is a general methodology for algorithmic research. == Origins == In 1995, a report from an NSF-sponsored workshop "with the purpose of assessing the current goals and directions of the Theory of Computing (TOC) community" identified the slow speed of adoption of theoretical insights by practitioners as an important issue and suggested measures to reduce the uncertainty by practitioners whether a certain theoretical breakthrough will translate into practical gains in their field of work, and tackle the lack of ready-to-use algorithm libraries, which provide stable, bug-free and well-tested implementations for algorithmic problems and expose an easy-to-use interface for library consumers. But also, promising algorithmic approaches have been neglected due to difficulties in mathematical analysis. The term "algorithm engineering" was first used with specificity in 1997, with the first Workshop on Algorithm Engineering (WAE97), organized by Giuseppe F. Italiano. == Difference from algorithm theory == Algorithm engineering does not intend to replace or compete with algorithm theory, but tries to enrich, refine and reinforce its formal approaches with experimental algorithmics (also called empirical algorithmics). This way it can provide new insights into the efficiency and performance of algorithms in cases where the algorithm at hand is less amenable to algorithm theoretic analysis, formal analysis pessimistically suggests bounds which are unlikely to appear on inputs of practical interest, the algorithm relies on the intricacies of modern hardware architectures like data locality, branch prediction, instruction stalls, instruction latencies which the machine model used in Algorithm Theory is unable to capture in the required detail, the crossover between competing algorithms with different constant costs and asymptotic behaviors needs to be determined. == Methodology == Some researchers describe algorithm engineering's methodology as a cycle consisting of algorithm design, analysis, implementation and experimental evaluation, joined by further aspects like machine models or realistic inputs. They argue that equating algorithm engineering with experimental algorithmics is too limited, because viewing design and analysis, implementation and experimentation as separate activities ignores the crucial feedback loop between those elements of algorithm engineering. === Realistic models and real inputs === While specific applications are outside the methodology of algorithm engineering, they play an important role in shaping realistic models of the problem and the underlying machine, and supply real inputs and other design parameters for experiments. === Design === Compared to algorithm theory, which usually focuses on the asymptotic behavior of algorithms, algorithm engineers need to keep further requirements in mind: Simplicity of the algorithm, implementability in programming languages on real hardware, and allowing code reuse. Additionally, constant factors of algorithms have such a considerable impact on real-world inputs that sometimes an algorithm with worse asymptotic behavior performs better in practice due to lower constant factors. === Analysis === Some problems can be solved with heuristics and randomized algorithms in a simpler and more efficient fashion than with deterministic algorithms. Unfortunately, this makes even simple randomized algorithms difficult to analyze because there are subtle dependencies to be taken into account. === Implementation === Huge semantic gaps between theoretical insights, formulated algorithms, programming languages and hardware pose a challenge to efficient implementations of even simple algorithms, because small implementation details can have rippling effects on execution behavior. The only reliable way to compare several implementations of an algorithm is to spend an considerable amount of time on tuning and profiling, running those algorithms on multiple architectures, and looking at the generated machine code. === Experiments === See: Experimental algorithmics === Application engineering === Implementations of algorithms used for experiments differ in significant ways from code usable in applications. While the former prioritizes fast prototyping, performance and instrumentation for measurements during experiments, the latter requires thorough testing, maintainability, simplicity, and tuning for particular classes of inputs. === Algorithm libraries === Stable, well-tested algorithm libraries like LEDA play an important role in technology transfer by speeding up the adoption of new algorithms in applications. Such libraries reduce the required investment and risk for practitioners, because it removes the burden of understanding and implementing the results of academic research. == Conferences == Two main conferences on Algorithm Engineering are organized annually, namely: Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA), established in 1997 (formerly known as WEA). SIAM Meeting on Algorithm Engineering and Experiments (ALENEX), established in 1999. The 1997 Workshop on Algorithm Engineering (WAE'97) was held in Venice (Italy) on September 11–13, 1997. The Third International Workshop on Algorithm Engineering (WAE'99) was held in London, UK in July 1999. The first Workshop on Algorithm Engineering and Experimentation (ALENEX99) was held in Baltimore, Maryland on January 15–16, 1999. It was sponsored by DIMACS, the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (at Rutgers University), with additional support from SIGACT, the ACM Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory, and SIAM, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

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  Metadata management

  Metadata management involves managing metadata about other data, whereby this "other data" is generally referred to as content data. The term is used most often in relation to digital media, but older forms of metadata are catalogs, dictionaries, and taxonomies. For example, the Dewey Decimal Classification is a metadata management system developed in 1876 for libraries. == Metadata schema == Metadata management goes by the end-to-end process and governance framework for creating, controlling, enhancing, attributing, defining and managing a metadata schema, model or other structured aggregation system, either independently or within a repository and the associated supporting processes (often to enable the management of content). For web-based systems, URLs, images, video etc. may be referenced from a triples table of object, attribute and value. == Scope == With specific knowledge domains, the boundaries of the metadata for each must be managed, since a general ontology is not useful to experts in one field whose language is knowledge-domain specific. == Metadata Manager == In the process of developing a knowledge management solution, creating a metadata schema, and a system in which metadata is managed, a dedicated resource may be appointed to maintain adherence to metadata standards as defined by data owners as well as general best practice. This person is responsible for curation of the business and technical layers of the metadata schema, and commonly involved with strategy and implementation. A metadata manager is not required to master all aspects, or be involved with everything concerning the solution, but an understanding of as much of the process as possible to ensure a relevant schema is developed. == Metadata management over time == Managing the metadata in a knowledge management solution is an important step in a metadata strategy. It is part of the strategy to make sure that the metadata are complete, current and correct at any given time. Managing a metadata project is also about making sure that users of the system are aware of the possibilities allowed by a well-designed metadata system and how to maximize the benefits of metadata. Regularly monitoring the metadata to ensure that the schema remains relevant is advised. === Wikipedia metadata === Wikipedia is a project that actively manages metadata for its articles and files. For example, volunteer editors carefully curate new biographical articles based on the notability (claim to fame), name, birth, and/or death dates. Similarly, volunteer editors carefully curate new architectural articles based on name, municipality, or geo coordinates. When new articles with a valid alternate spelling are added to Wikipedia that match up to existing articles based on metadata, these are then manually checked and if needed, tagged for merging. When new articles are added that are considered out of scope or otherwise unfit for Wikipedia, these are nominated for deletion. To help keep track of metadata on Wikipedia, the new Wikimedia project Wikidata was established in 2012. Click on the pictures to view more metadata about these images:

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  Pixel-art scaling algorithms

  Pixel art scaling algorithms are graphical filters that attempt to enhance the appearance of hand-drawn 2D pixel art graphics. These algorithms are a form of automatic image enhancement. Pixel art scaling algorithms employ methods significantly different than the common methods of image rescaling, which have the goal of preserving the appearance of images. As pixel art graphics are commonly used at very low resolutions, they employ careful coloring of individual pixels. This results in graphics that rely on a high amount of stylized visual cues to define complex shapes. Several specialized algorithms have been developed to handle re-scaling of such graphics. These specialized algorithms can improve the appearance of pixel-art graphics, but in doing so they introduce changes. Such changes may be undesirable, especially if the goal is to faithfully reproduce the original appearance. Since a typical application of this technology is improving the appearance of fourth-generation and earlier video games on arcade and console emulators, many pixel art scaling algorithms are designed to run in real-time for sufficiently small input images at 60-frames per second. This places constraints on the type of programming techniques that can be used for this sort of real-time processing. Many work only on specific scale factors. 2× is the most common scale factor, while 3×, 4×, 5×, and 6× exist but are less used. == Algorithms == === SAA5050 'Diagonal Smoothing' === The Mullard SAA5050 Teletext character generator chip (1980) used a primitive pixel scaling algorithm to generate higher-resolution characters on the screen from a lower-resolution representation from its internal ROM. Internally, each character shape was defined on a 5 × 9 pixel grid, which was then interpolated by smoothing diagonals to give a 10 × 18 pixel character, with a characteristically angular shape, surrounded to the top and the left by two pixels of blank space. The algorithm only works on monochrome source data, and assumes the source pixels will be logically true or false depending on whether they are 'on' or 'off'. Pixels 'outside the grid pattern' are assumed to be off. The algorithm works as follows: A B C --\ 1 2 D E F --/ 3 4 1 = B | (A & E & !B & !D) 2 = B | (C & E & !B & !F) 3 = E | (!A & !E & B & D) 4 = E | (!C & !E & B & F) Note that this algorithm, like the Eagle algorithm below, has a flaw: If a pattern of 4 pixels in a hollow diamond shape appears, the hollow will be obliterated by the expansion. The SAA5050's internal character ROM carefully avoids ever using this pattern. The degenerate case: becomes: === EPX/Scale2×/AdvMAME2× === Eric's Pixel Expansion (EPX) is an algorithm developed by Eric Johnston at LucasArts around 1992, when porting the SCUMM engine games from the IBM PC (which ran at 320 × 200 × 256 colors) to the early color Macintosh computers, which ran at more or less double that resolution. The algorithm works as follows, expanding P into 4 new pixels based on P's surroundings: 1=P; 2=P; 3=P; 4=P; IF C==A => 1=A IF A==B => 2=B IF D==C => 3=C IF B==D => 4=D IF of A, B, C, D, three or more are identical: 1=2=3=4=P Later implementations of this same algorithm (as AdvMAME2× and Scale2×, developed around 2001) are slightly more efficient but functionally identical: 1=P; 2=P; 3=P; 4=P; IF C==A AND C!=D AND A!=B => 1=A IF A==B AND A!=C AND B!=D => 2=B IF D==C AND D!=B AND C!=A => 3=C IF B==D AND B!=A AND D!=C => 4=D AdvMAME2× is available in DOSBox via the scaler=advmame2x dosbox.conf option. The AdvMAME4×/Scale4× algorithm is just EPX applied twice to get 4× resolution. ==== Scale3×/AdvMAME3× and ScaleFX ==== The AdvMAME3×/Scale3× algorithm (available in DOSBox via the scaler=advmame3x dosbox.conf option) can be thought of as a generalization of EPX to the 3× case. The corner pixels are calculated identically to EPX. 1=E; 2=E; 3=E; 4=E; 5=E; 6=E; 7=E; 8=E; 9=E; IF D==B AND D!=H AND B!=F => 1=D IF (D==B AND D!=H AND B!=F AND E!=C) OR (B==F AND B!=D AND F!=H AND E!=A) => 2=B IF B==F AND B!=D AND F!=H => 3=F IF (H==D AND H!=F AND D!=B AND E!=A) OR (D==B AND D!=H AND B!=F AND E!=G) => 4=D 5=E IF (B==F AND B!=D AND F!=H AND E!=I) OR (F==H AND F!=B AND H!=D AND E!=C) => 6=F IF H==D AND H!=F AND D!=B => 7=D IF (F==H AND F!=B AND H!=D AND E!=G) OR (H==D AND H!=F AND D!=B AND E!=I) => 8=H IF F==H AND F!=B AND H!=D => 9=F There is also a variant improved over Scale3× called ScaleFX, developed by Sp00kyFox, and a version combined with Reverse-AA called ScaleFX-Hybrid. === Eagle === Eagle works as follows: for every in pixel, we will generate 4 out pixels. First, set all 4 to the color of the pixel we are currently scaling (as nearest-neighbor). Next look at the three pixels above, to the left, and diagonally above left: if all three are the same color as each other, set the top left pixel of our output square to that color in preference to the nearest-neighbor color. Work similarly for all four pixels, and then move to the next one. Assume an input matrix of 3 × 3 pixels where the centermost pixel is the pixel to be scaled, and an output matrix of 2 × 2 pixels (i.e., the scaled pixel) first: |Then . . . --\ CC |S T U --\ 1 2 . C . --/ CC |V C W --/ 3 4 . . . |X Y Z | IF V==S==T => 1=S | IF T==U==W => 2=U | IF V==X==Y => 3=X | IF W==Z==Y => 4=Z Thus if we have a single black pixel on a white background it will vanish. This is a bug in the Eagle algorithm but is solved by other algorithms such as EPX, 2xSaI, and HQ2x. === 2×SaI === 2×SaI, short for 2× Scale and Interpolation engine, was inspired by Eagle. It was designed by Derek Liauw Kie Fa, also known as Kreed, primarily for use in console and computer emulators, and it has remained fairly popular in this niche. Many of the most popular emulators, including ZSNES and VisualBoyAdvance, offer this scaling algorithm as a feature. Several slightly different versions of the scaling algorithm are available, and these are often referred to as Super 2×SaI and Super Eagle. The 2xSaI family works on a 4 × 4 matrix of pixels where the pixel marked A below is scaled: I E F J G A B K --\ W X H C D L --/ Y Z M N O P For 16-bit pixels, they use pixel masks which change based on whether the 16-bit pixel format is 565 or 555. The constants colorMask, lowPixelMask, qColorMask, qLowPixelMask, redBlueMask, and greenMask are 16-bit masks. The lower 8 bits are identical in either pixel format. Two interpolation functions are described: INTERPOLATE(uint32 A, UINT32 B). -- linear midpoint of A and B if (A == B) return A; return ( ((A & colorMask) >> 1) + ((B & colorMask) >> 1) + (A & B & lowPixelMask) ); Q_INTERPOLATE(uint32 A, uint32 B, uint32 C, uint32 D) -- bilinear interpolation; A, B, C, and D's average x = ((A & qColorMask) >> 2) + ((B & qColorMask) >> 2) + ((C & qColorMask) >> 2) + ((D & qColorMask) >> 2); y = (A & qLowPixelMask) + (B & qLowPixelMask) + (C & qLowPixelMask) + (D & qLowPixelMask); y = (y >> 2) & qLowPixelMask; return x + y; The algorithm checks A, B, C, and D for a diagonal match such that A==D and B!=C, or the other way around, or if they are both diagonals or if there is no diagonal match. Within these, it checks for three or four identical pixels. Based on these conditions, the algorithm decides whether to use one of A, B, C, or D, or an interpolation among only these four, for each output pixel. The 2xSaI arbitrary scaler can enlarge any image to any resolution and uses bilinear filtering to interpolate pixels. Since Kreed released the source code under the GNU General Public License, it is freely available to anyone wishing to utilize it in a project released under that license. Developers wishing to use it in a non-GPL project would be required to rewrite the algorithm without using any of Kreed's existing code. It is available in DOSBox via scaler=2xsai option. === hqnx family === Maxim Stepin's hq2x, hq3x, and hq4x are for scale factors of 2:1, 3:1, and 4:1 respectively. Each work by comparing the color value of each pixel to those of its eight immediate neighbors, marking the neighbors as close or distant, and using a pre-generated lookup table to find the proper proportion of input pixels' values for each of the 4, 9 or 16 corresponding output pixels. The hq3x family will perfectly smooth any diagonal line whose slope is ±0.5, ±1, or ±2 and which is not anti-aliased in the input; one with any other slope will alternate between two slopes in the output. It will also smooth very tight curves. Unlike 2xSaI, it anti-aliases the output. hqnx was initially created for the Super NES emulator ZSNES. The author of bsnes has released a space-efficient implementation of hq2x to the public domain. A port to shaders, which has comparable quality to the early versions of xBR, is available. Before the port, a shader called "scalehq" has often been confused for hqx. === xBR family === There are 6 filters in this family: xBR , xBRZ, xBR-Hybrid, Super xBR, xBR+3D and Super xBR+3D. xBR ("scale by rules"), cre

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  Hybrid algorithm

  A hybrid algorithm is an algorithm that combines two or more other algorithms that solve the same problem, either choosing one based on some characteristic of the data, or switching between them over the course of the algorithm. This is generally done to combine desired features of each, so that the overall algorithm is better than the individual components. "Hybrid algorithm" does not refer to simply combining multiple algorithms to solve a different problem – many algorithms can be considered as combinations of simpler pieces – but only to combining algorithms that solve the same problem, but differ in other characteristics, notably performance. == Examples == In computer science, hybrid algorithms are very common in optimized real-world implementations of recursive algorithms, particularly implementations of divide-and-conquer or decrease-and-conquer algorithms, where the size of the data decreases as one moves deeper in the recursion. In this case, one algorithm is used for the overall approach (on large data), but deep in the recursion, it switches to a different algorithm, which is more efficient on small data. A common example is in sorting algorithms, where the insertion sort, which is inefficient on large data, but very efficient on small data (say, five to ten elements), is used as the final step, after primarily applying another algorithm, such as merge sort or quicksort. Merge sort and quicksort are asymptotically optimal on large data, but the overhead becomes significant if applying them to small data, hence the use of a different algorithm at the end of the recursion. A highly optimized hybrid sorting algorithm is Timsort, which combines merge sort, insertion sort, together with additional logic (including binary search) in the merging logic. A general procedure for a simple hybrid recursive algorithm is short-circuiting the base case, also known as arm's-length recursion. In this case whether the next step will result in the base case is checked before the function call, avoiding an unnecessary function call. For example, in a tree, rather than recursing to a child node and then checking if it is null, checking null before recursing. This is useful for efficiency when the algorithm usually encounters the base case many times, as in many tree algorithms, but is otherwise considered poor style, particularly in academia, due to the added complexity. Another example of hybrid algorithms for performance reasons are introsort and introselect, which combine one algorithm for fast average performance, falling back on another algorithm to ensure (asymptotically) optimal worst-case performance. Introsort begins with a quicksort, but switches to a heap sort if quicksort is not progressing well; analogously introselect begins with quickselect, but switches to median of medians if quickselect is not progressing well. Centralized distributed algorithms can often be considered as hybrid algorithms, consisting of an individual algorithm (run on each distributed processor), and a combining algorithm (run on a centralized distributor) – these correspond respectively to running the entire algorithm on one processor, or running the entire computation on the distributor, combining trivial results (a one-element data set from each processor). A basic example of these algorithms are distribution sorts, particularly used for external sorting, which divide the data into separate subsets, sort the subsets, and then combine the subsets into totally sorted data; examples include bucket sort and flashsort. However, in general distributed algorithms need not be hybrid algorithms, as individual algorithms or combining or communication algorithms may be solving different problems. For example, in models such as MapReduce, the Map and Reduce step solve different problems, and are combined to solve a different, third problem.

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  Research data archiving

  Research data archiving is the long-term storage of scholarly research data, including the natural sciences, social sciences, and life sciences. The various academic journals have differing policies regarding how much of their data and methods researchers are required to store in a public archive, and what is actually archived varies widely between different disciplines. Similarly, the major grant-giving institutions have varying attitudes towards public archiving of data. In general, the tradition of science has been for publications to contain sufficient information to allow fellow researchers to replicate and therefore test the research. In recent years this approach has become increasingly strained as research in some areas depends on large datasets which cannot easily be replicated independently. Data archiving is more important in some fields than others. In a few fields, all of the data necessary to replicate the work is already available in the journal article. In drug development, a great deal of data is generated and must be archived so researchers can verify that the reports the drug companies publish accurately reflect the data. Often used interchangeably, Data preservation and data archiving are both about protecting data for the long term, but they serve different purposes. Data preservation focuses on preventing data from being lost, damaged, or destroyed by creating backups, storing data in secure locations, and ensuring it remains accessible when needed. Data archiving, on the other hand, involves moving data that is no longer actively used to a separate storage location for long-term keeping. Archived data is often combined and compressed, and while it can still be accessed, it is not intended for regular use or frequent updates. The requirement of data archiving is a recent development in the history of science. It was made possible by advances in information technology allowing large amounts of data to be stored and accessed from central locations. For example, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) adopted their first policy on data archiving in 1993, about three years after the beginning of the WWW. This policy mandates that datasets cited in AGU papers must be archived by a recognised data center; it permits the creation of "data papers"; and it establishes AGU's role in maintaining data archives. But it makes no requirements on paper authors to archive their data. Prior to organized data archiving, researchers wanting to evaluate or replicate a paper would have to request data and methods information from the author. The academic community expects authors to share supplemental data. This process was recognized as wasteful of time and energy and obtained mixed results. Information could become lost or corrupted over the years. In some cases, authors simply refuse to provide the information. The need for data archiving and due diligence is greatly increased when the research deals with health issues or public policy formation. == Selected policies by journals == === Biotropica === Biotropica requires, as a condition for publication, that the data supporting the results in the paper and metadata describing them must be archived in an appropriate public archive such as Dryad, Figshare, GenBank, TreeBASE, or NCBI. Authors may elect to make the data publicly available as soon as the article is published or, if the technology of the archive allows, embargo access to the data up to three years after article publication. A statement describing Data Availability will be included in the manuscript as described in the instructions to authors. Exceptions to the required archiving of data may be granted at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief for studies that include sensitive information (e.g., the location of endangered species). Our Editorial explaining the motivation for this policy can be found here. A more comprehensive list of data repositories is available here. Promoting a culture of collaboration with researchers who collect and archive data: The data collected by tropical biologists are often long-term, complex, and expensive to collect. The Board of Editors of Biotropica strongly encourages authors who re-use data archives archived data sets to include as fully engaged collaborators the scientists who originally collected them. We feel this will greatly enhance the quality and impact of the resulting research by drawing on the data collector’s profound insights into the natural history of the study system, reducing the risk of errors in novel analyses, and stimulating the cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration and training for which the ATBC and Biotropica are widely recognized. NB: Biotropica is one of only two journals that pays the fees for authors depositing data at Dryad. === The American Naturalist === The American Naturalist requires authors to deposit the data associated with accepted papers in a public archive. For gene sequence data and phylogenetic trees, deposition in GenBank or TreeBASE, respectively, is required. There are many possible archives that may suit a particular data set, including the Dryad repository for ecological and evolutionary biology data. All accession numbers for GenBank, TreeBASE, and Dryad must be included in accepted manuscripts before they go to Production. If the data is deposited somewhere else, please provide a link. If the data is culled from published literature, please deposit the collated data in Dryad for the convenience of your readers. Any impediments to data sharing should be brought to the attention of the editors at the time of submission so that appropriate arrangements can be worked out. === Journal of Heredity === The primary data underlying the conclusions of an article are critical to the verifiability and transparency of the scientific enterprise, and should be preserved in usable form for decades in the future. For this reason, Journal of Heredity requires that newly reported nucleotide or amino acid sequences, and structural coordinates, be submitted to appropriate public databases (e.g., GenBank; the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database; DNA Database of Japan; the Protein Data Bank; and Swiss-Prot). Accession numbers must be included in the final version of the manuscript. For other forms of data (e.g., microsatellite genotypes, linkage maps, images), the Journal endorses the principles of the Joint Data Archiving Policy (JDAP) in encouraging all authors to archive primary datasets in an appropriate public archive, such as Dryad, TreeBASE, or the Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity. Authors are encouraged to make data publicly available at time of publication or, if the technology of the archive allows, opt to embargo access to the data for a period up to a year after publication. The American Genetic Association also recognizes the vast investment of individual researchers in generating and curating large datasets. Consequently, we recommend that this investment be respected in secondary analyses or meta-analyses in a gracious collaborative spirit. === Molecular Ecology === Molecular Ecology expects that data supporting the results in the paper should be archived in an appropriate public archive, such as GenBank, Gene Expression Omnibus, TreeBASE, Dryad, the Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity, your own institutional or funder repository, or as Supporting Information on the Molecular Ecology web site. Data are important products of the scientific enterprise, and they should be preserved and usable for decades in the future. Authors may elect to have the data publicly available at time of publication, or, if the technology of the archive allows, may opt to embargo access to the data for a period up to a year after publication. Exceptions may be granted at the discretion of the editor, especially for sensitive information such as human subject data or the location of endangered species. === Nature === Such material must be hosted on an accredited independent site (URL and accession numbers to be provided by the author), or sent to the Nature journal at submission, either uploaded via the journal's online submission service, or if the files are too large or in an unsuitable format for this purpose, on CD/DVD (five copies). Such material cannot solely be hosted on an author's personal or institutional web site. Nature requires the reviewer to determine if all of the supplementary data and methods have been archived. The policy advises reviewers to consider several questions, including: "Should the authors be asked to provide supplementary methods or data to accompany the paper online? (Such data might include source code for modelling studies, detailed experimental protocols or mathematical derivations.) === Science === Science supports the efforts of databases that aggregate published data for the use of the scientific community. Therefore, before publication, large data sets (including microarray data, protein or DNA sequences, and atomic c

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  Emotion Markup Language

  An Emotion Markup Language (EML or EmotionML) has first been defined by the W3C Emotion Incubator Group (EmoXG) as a general-purpose emotion annotation and representation language, which should be usable in a large variety of technological contexts where emotions need to be represented. Emotion-oriented computing (or "affective computing") is gaining importance as interactive technological systems become more sophisticated. Representing the emotional states of a user or the emotional states to be simulated by a user interface requires a suitable representation format; in this case a markup language is used. EmotionML version 1.0 was published by the group in May 2014. == Example == Here is an example of an EmotionML document describing emotions expressed in a video recording of the interaction between a teacher, Alice, and a student, Bob. == History == In 2006, a first W3C Incubator Group, the Emotion Incubator Group (EmoXG), was set up "to investigate a language to represent the emotional states of users and the emotional states simulated by user interfaces" with the final Report published on 10 July 2007. In 2007, the Emotion Markup Language Incubator Group (EmotionML XG) was set up as a follow-up to the Emotion Incubator Group, "to propose a specification draft for an Emotion Markup Language, to document it in a way accessible to non-experts, and to illustrate its use in conjunction with a number of existing markups." The final report of the Emotion Markup Language Incubator Group, Elements of an EmotionML 1.0, was published on 20 November 2008. The work then was continued in 2009 in the frame of the W3C's Multimodal Interaction Activity, with the First Public Working Draft of "Emotion Markup Language (EmotionML) 1.0" being published on 29 October 2009. The Last Call Working Draft of "Emotion Markup Language 1.0", was published on 7 April 2011. The Last Call Working Draft addressed all open issues that arose from feedback of the community on the First Call Working Draft as well as results of a workshop held in Paris in October 2010. Along with the Last Call Working Draft, a list of vocabularies for EmotionML has been published to aid developers using common vocabularies for annotating or representing emotions. Annual draft updates were published until the 1.0 version was finished in 2014. == Reasons for defining an emotion markup language == A standard for an emotion markup language would be useful for the following purposes: To enhance computer-mediated human-human or human-machine communication. Emotions are a basic part of human communication and should therefore be taken into account, e.g. in emotional Chat systems or emphatic voice boxes. This involves specification, analysis and display of emotion related states. To enhance systems' processing efficiency. Emotion and intelligence are strongly interconnected. The modeling of human emotions in computer processing can help to build more efficient systems, e.g. using emotional models for time-critical decision enforcement. To allow the analysis of non-verbal behavior, emotion, mental states that can be provided using web services to enable data collection, analysis, and reporting. Concrete examples of existing technology that could apply EmotionML include: Opinion mining / sentiment analysis in Web 2.0, to automatically track customer's attitude regarding a product across blogs; Affective monitoring, such as ambient assisted living applications, fear detection for surveillance purposes, or using wearable sensors to test customer satisfaction; Wellness technologies that provide assistance according to a person's emotional state with the goal to improve the person's well-being; Character design and control for games and virtual worlds; Building web services to capture, analysis, and report data of non-verbal behavior, emotion and mental states of an individual or group across the internet using standard web technologies such as HTML5 and JSON. Social robots, such as guide robots engaging with visitors; Expressive speech synthesis, generating synthetic speech with different emotions, such as happy or sad, friendly or apologetic; expressive synthetic speech would for example make more information available to blind and partially sighted people, and enrich their experience of the content; Emotion recognition (e.g., for spotting angry customers in speech dialog systems, to improve computer games or e-Learning applications); Support for people with disabilities, such as educational programs for people with autism. EmotionML can be used to make the emotional intent of content explicit. This would enable people with learning disabilities (such as Asperger syndrome) to realise the emotional context of the content; EmotionML can be used for media transcripts and captions. Where emotions are marked up to help deaf or hearing impaired people who cannot hear the soundtrack, more information is made available to enrich their experience of the content. The Emotion Incubator Group has listed 39 individual use cases for an Emotion markup language. A standardised way to mark up the data needed by such "emotion-oriented systems" has the potential to boost development primarily because data that was annotated in a standardised way can be interchanged between systems more easily, thereby simplifying a market for emotional databases, and the standard can be used to ease a market of providers for sub-modules of emotion processing systems, e.g. a web service for the recognition of emotion from text, speech or multi-modal input. == The challenge of defining a generally usable emotion markup language == Any attempt to standardize the description of emotions using a finite set of fixed descriptors is doomed to failure, as there is no consensus on the number of relevant emotions, on the names that should be given to them or how else best to describe them. For example, the difference between ":)" and "(:" is small, but using a standardized markup it would make one invalid. Even more basically, the list of emotion-related states that should be distinguished varies depending on the application domain and the aspect of emotions to be focused. Basically, the vocabulary needed depends on the context of use. On the other hand, the basic structure of concepts is less controversial: it is generally agreed that emotions involve triggers, appraisals, feelings, expressive behavior including physiological changes, and action tendencies; emotions in their entirety can be described in terms of categories or a small number of dimensions; emotions have an intensity, and so on. For details, see the Scientific Descriptions of Emotions in the Final Report of the Emotion Incubator Group. Given this lack of agreement on descriptors in the field, the only practical way of defining an emotion markup language is the definition of possible structural elements and to allow users to "plug in" vocabularies that they consider appropriate for their work. An additional challenge lies in the aim to provide a markup language that is generally usable. The requirements that arise from different use cases are rather different. Whereas manual annotation tends to require all the fine-grained distinctions considered in the scientific literature, automatic recognition systems can usually distinguish only a very small number of different states and affective avatars need yet another level of detail for expressing emotions in an appropriate way. For the reasons outlined here, it is clear that there is an inevitable tension between flexibility and interoperability, which need to be weighed in the formulation of an EmotionML. The guiding principle in the following specification has been to provide a choice only where it is needed, and to propose reasonable default options for every choice. == Applications and web services benefiting from an emotion markup language == There are a range of existing projects and applications to which an emotion markup language will enable the building of webservices to measure capture data of individuals non-verbal behavior, mental states, and emotions and allowing results to be reported and rendered in a standardized format using standard web technologies such as JSON and HTML5. One such project is measuring affect data across the Internet using EyesWeb.

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  Comparison of vector graphics editors

  A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make comparisons based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the software license, the feature set, the merits of the user interface (UI) and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable for artistic work while others are better for technical drawings. Another important factor is the application's support of various vector and bitmap image formats for import and export. The tables in this article compare general and technical information for a number of vector graphics editors. See the article on each editor for further information. This article is neither all-inclusive nor necessarily up-to-date. == Some editors in detail == Adobe Fireworks (formerly Macromedia Fireworks) is a vector editor with bitmap editing capabilities with its main purpose being the creation of graphics for Web and screen. Fireworks supports RGB color scheme and has no CMYK support. This means it is mostly used for screen design. The native Fireworks file format is editable PNG (FWPNG or PNG). Adobe Fireworks has a competitive price, but its features can seem limited in comparison with other products. It is easier to learn than other products and can produce complex vector artwork. The Fireworks editable PNG file format is not supported by other Adobe products. Fireworks can manage the PSD and AI file formats which enables it to be integrated with other Adobe apps. Fireworks can also open FWPNG/PNG, PSD, AI, EPS, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF file formats, and save/export to FWPNG/PNG, PSD, AI (v.8), FXG (v.2.0), JPG, GIF, PDF, SWF and some others. Some support for exporting to SVG is available via a free Export extension. On May 6, 2013, Adobe announced that Fireworks would be phased out. Adobe Flash (formerly a Macromedia product) has straightforward vector editing tools that make it easier for designers and illustrators to use. The most important of these tools are vector lines and fills with bitmap-like selectable areas, simple modification of curves via the "selection" or the control points/handles through "direct selection" tools. Flash uses Actionscript for OOP, and has full XML functionality through E4X support. Adobe FreeHand (formerly Macromedia Freehand and Aldus Freehand) is mainly used by professional graphic designers. The functionality of FreeHand includes the flexibility of the application in the wide design environment, catering to the output needs of both traditional image reproduction methods and to contemporary print and digital media with its page-layout capabilities and text attribute controls. Specific functions of FreeHand include a superior image-tracing operation for vector editing, page layout features within multiple-page documents, and embedding custom print-settings (such as variable halftone-screen specifications within a single graphic, etc.) to each document independent of auxiliary printer-drivers. User-operation is considered to be more suited for designers with an artistic background compared to designers with a technical background. When being marketed, FreeHand lacked the promotional backing, development and PR support in comparison to other similar products. FreeHand was transferred to the classic print group after Macromedia was purchased by Adobe in 2005. On May 16, 2007, Adobe announced that no further updates to Freehand would be developed but continues to sell FreeHand MX as a Macromedia product. FreeHand continues to run on Mac OS X Snow Leopard (using an Adobe fix) and on Windows 7. For macOS, Affinity Designer is able to open version 10 & MX Freehand files. Adobe Illustrator is a commonly used editor because of Adobe's market dominance, but is more expensive than other similar products. It is primarily developed consistently in line with other Adobe products and is best integrated with Adobe's Creative Suite packages. The ai file format is proprietary, but some vector editors can open and save in that format. Illustrator imports over two dozen formats, including PSD, PDF and SVG, and exports AI, PDF, SVG, SVGZ, GIF, JPG, PNG, WBMP, and SWF. However, the user must be aware of unchecking the "Preserve Illustrator Editing Capabilities" option if generating interoperable SVG files is desired. Affinity Designer by Serif Europe (the successor to their previous product, DrawPlus) is non-subscription-based software that is often described as an alternative to Adobe Illustrator. The application can open Portable Document Format (PDF), Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator files, as well as export to those formats and to the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) and Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) formats. It also supports import from some Adobe Freehand files (specifically versions 10 & MX). Apache OpenOffice Draw is the vector graphics editor of the Apache OpenOffice open source office suite. It supports many import and export file formats and is available for multiple desktop operating systems. Boxy SVG is a chromium-based vector graphics editor for creating illustrations, as well as logos, icons, and other elements of graphic design. It is primarily focused on editing drawings in the SVG file format. The program is available as both a web app and a desktop application for Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and Linux-based operating systems. Collabora Online Draw is the vector graphics editor of the Collabora Online open source office suite. It supports many import and export file formats and is accessible via any modern web browser, it also supports desktop editing features, Collabora Office is available for desktop and mobile operating systems, it is the enterprise ready version of LibreOffice. ConceptDraw PRO is a business diagramming tool and vector graphics editor available for both Windows and macOS. It supports multi-page documents, and includes an integrated presentation mode. ConceptDraw PRO supports imports and exports several formats, including Microsoft Visio and Microsoft PowerPoint. Corel Designer (originally Micrografx Designer) is one of the earliest vector-based graphics editors for the Microsoft Windows platform. The product is mainly used for the creation of engineering drawings and is shipped with extensive libraries for the needs of engineers. It is also flexible enough for most vector graphics design applications. CorelDRAW is an editor used in the graphic design, sign making and fashion design industries. CorelDRAW is capable of limited interoperation by reading file formats from Adobe Illustrator. CorelDRAW has over 50 import and export filters, on-screen and dialog box editing and the ability to create multi-page documents. It can also generate TrueType and Type 1 fonts, although refined typographic control is better suited to a more specific application. Some other features of CorelDRAW include the creation and execution of VBA macros, viewing of colour separations in print preview mode and integrated professional imposing options. Dia is a free and open-source diagramming and vector graphics editor available for Windows, Linux and other Unix-based computer operating systems. Dia has a modular design and several shape packages for flowcharting, network diagrams and circuit diagrams. Its design was inspired by Microsoft Visio, although it uses a Single Document Interface similar to other GNOME software (such as GIMP). DrawPlus, first built for the Windows platform in 1993, has matured into a full featured vector graphics editor for home and professional users. Also available as a feature-limited free 'starter edition': DrawPlus SE. DrawPlus developers, Serif Europe, have now ceased its development in order to focus on its successor, Affinity Designer. Edraw Max is a cross-platform diagram software and vector graphics editor available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It supports kinds of diagram types. It supports imports and exports SVG, PDF, HTML, Multiple page TIFF, Microsoft Visio and Microsoft PowerPoint. Embroidermodder is a free machine embroidery software tool that supports a variety of formats and allows the user to add custom modifications to their embroidery designs. Fatpaint is a free, light-weight, browser-based graphic design application with built-in vector drawing tools. It can be accessed through any browser with Flash 9 installed. Its integration with Zazzle makes it particularly suitable for people who want to create graphics for custom printed products such as T-shirts, mugs, iPhone cases, flyers and other promotional products. Figma is a collaborative web-based online vector graphics editor, used primarily for UX design and prototyping. GIMP, which works mainly with raster images, offers a limited set of features to create and record SVG files. It can also load and handle SVG files created with other software like Inkscape. Inkscape is a free and open-source vector editor with the primary native format being SVG. Inkscape is available for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, and

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  Recording format

  A recording format is a format for encoding data for storage on a storage medium. The format can be container information such as sectors on a disk, or user/audience information (content) such as analog stereo audio. Multiple levels of encoding may be achieved in one format. For example, a text encoded page may contain HTML and XML encoding, combined in a plain text file format, using either EBCDIC or ASCII character encoding, on a UDF digitally formatted disk. In electronic media, the primary format is the encoding that requires hardware to interpret (decode) data; while secondary encoding is interpreted by secondary signal processing methods, usually computer software. == Recording container formats == A container format is a system for dividing physical storage space or virtual space for data. Data space can be divided evenly by a system of measurement, or divided unevenly with meta data. A grid may divide physical or virtual space with physical or virtual (dividers) borders, evenly or unevenly. Just as a physical container (such as a file cabinet) is divided by physical borders (such as drawers and file folders), data space is divided by virtual borders. Meta data such as a unit of measurement, address, or meta tags act as virtual borders in a container format. A template may be considered an abstract format for containing a solution as well as the content itself. Systems of measurement Metric system Geographic coordinate system Page grid Film formats Audio data format Video tape format Disk format File format Meta data Text formatting Template Data structure == Raw content formats == A raw content format is a system of converting data to displayable information. Raw content formats may either be recorded in secondary signal processing methods such as a software container format (e.g. digital audio, digital video) or recorded in the primary format. A primary raw content format may be directly observable (e.g. image, sound, motion, smell, sensation) or physical data which only requires hardware to display it, such as a phonographic needle and diaphragm or a projector lamp and magnifying glass.

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  Affectiva

  Affectiva is an artificial intelligence software development company. In 2021, the company was acquired by SmartEye. The company claimed its AI understood human emotions, cognitive states, activities and the objects people use, by analyzing facial and vocal expressions. The offshoot of MIT Media Lab, Affectiva created a new technological category of artificial emotional intelligence, namely, Emotion AI. == History == Affectiva was co-founded by Rana el Kaliouby, who became chief executive officer as of May 25, 2016, and Rosalind W. Picard, who worked as chairman and Chief Scientist until 2013. Both of Affectiva's early products grew out of collaborative research at the MIT's Media Lab to help people on the autism spectrum. Affectiva was acquired for a mostly-stock deal of $73.5m by Swedish SmartEye, a former competitor. == Technology == The company has expanded its Emotion AI technology to detect more than facial expressions, reactions and emotions. Affectiva's software detects complex and nuanced emotions, cognitive states, such as drowsiness and distraction, certain activities and the objects people use. It does that by analyzing the human face, vocal intonations and body posture. Affectiva's AI is built with deep learning, computer vision, and large amounts of data that has been collected in real-world scenarios. The AI uses an optical sensor like a webcam or smartphone camera to identify a human face in real-time. Then, computer vision algorithms identify key features on the face, which are analyzed by deep learning algorithms to classify facial expressions. These facial expressions are then mapped back to emotions. One journal paper found the Affectiva iMotions Facial Expression Analysis Software results are comparable to results using facial Electromyography. Affectiva also uses computer vision to detect objects like a cellphone and car seat, as well as body key points, which track body joints to determine movement and location. Affectiva has collected massive amounts of data that are used to train and test the company's deep learning algorithms, and provide insight into human emotional reactions and engagement. The company has analyzed more than 10 million face videos from 90 countries, making it one of the largest data repositories of its kind. Affectiva has also collected more than 19,000 hours of automotive in-cabin data from 4,000 unique individuals. This automotive data is used to adapt its algorithms to varying camera angles, lighting and other environmental conditions in a vehicle. === Applications === Affectiva's AI had many applications, but the company's primary focus is on Media Analytics. Other uses of Affectiva's AI includes applications in automotive, healthcare and mental health, robotics, conversational interfaces, education, gaming, and more. ==== Media analytics ==== Affectiva's technology was first deployed in media analytics, for market research purposes. The company had since then tested more than 53,000 ads in 90 countries. Brands, advertising agencies and insights firms used the company's Emotion AI to measure the unfiltered and unbiased emotional responses consumers have when viewing video ads and movie trailers. These insights helped improve brand and media content, and predict key metrics in advertising such as sales lift, purchase intent and virality. Affectiva's technology was also used in qualitative research. Affectiva had partnered with leading insights firms such as Kantar, LRW, Added Value and Unruly. Through these collaborations, 28 percent of the Fortune Global 500 companies, and 70 percent of the world's largest advertisers, used Affectiva's Emotion AI. On September 5, 2019, Affectiva announced the appointment of Graham Page, a seasoned Kantar executive, as Global Managing Director of Media Analytics to expand on the company's existing footprint in the media analytics space. ==== Automotive ==== On March 21, 2018, Affectiva launched Affectiva Automotive AI, the first multi-modal in-cabin sensing solution to understand what is happening with people in a vehicle. It used cameras in the car to measure in real time, the state of the driver, the state of the occupants and the state of the vehicle interior (i.e. cabin). This insight helped car manufacturers, fleet management companies and rideshare providers improve road safety and build better driver monitoring systems, by understanding dangerous driver behavior such as drowsiness, distraction and anger. It was also used to create more comfortable and enjoyable transportation experiences, by understanding how passengers react to the environment, such as content they can consume in the back of the car. In addition to understanding driver and occupant emotional and cognitive states, Affectiva Automotive AI could also detect contextual cabin information such as the number of passengers, where they are sitting and if an object is present. Affectiva worked with a number of leading car manufacturers and transportation technology companies, including Aptiv, Cerence, Hyundai Kia, Faurecia, Porsche, BMW, GreenRoad Technologies, and Veoneer. == Acquisition == In June 2021 Smart Eye acquired Affectiva.

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