Table of Contents
Part One
Developers are a special category of nerds. When they are inspired enough, they scribble algorithms around and turn these complex math formulas into actual computer code that ends up providing us with utilities and hours of entertainment on our browsers and devices.
Developers are the people responsible for keeping our computers and mobile devices full of applications and other useful software. Usually, most developers work from the comfort of their computers, typically powerful ones, to create software applications for us. Within a few weeks, a developer can turn a concept or an idea into an application that you can use.
The applications that developers create are not meant for personal use only. They are also known to create applications for the government, manufacturing industry, research firms and other clients. The software they develop is specialized for certain purposes and is meant to solve a problem.
The developer is given a set of specifications to turn into features and functionalities that form the software. Software development is very important for the modern-day and age, and without it, we would still be scribbling on the ground with sticks. With the software they create, we can become aware of the data around us much quickly.
Developers also allow us to make better use of data and shape the world around us the way we want. With the software applications that they create, we can avoid going to work physically and instead work from the comfort of our home. With their powerful applications, we can conduct intensive research without printing out a bunch of data.
In short, software developers enable us to use computers and other devices that we interact with daily. The use of these devices is meant to simplify our lives in many ways. Whenever you download an application from the app store, you usually read through the description first. In the description, you get to learn what the application is about and what features and benefits it will provide you when you download it.
The work that developers do is very crucial and important for entire nations and the economy. They make the use of data and information more efficient and effective. They also improve our performance by bringing the data and information we need closer to us and accessible and available whenever we need it.
As they work on great applications and turn those amazing ideas into source code, they require some of the most advanced toolkits in their arsenal. As we come to the center of our cloud computing series of articles, let us focus on the developer who makes it possible to store files on the cloud and access them from any logged-in device no matter where you are in the world.
The developer works to create applications for you, but this does not mean that they, too, do not need the applications. The developers also need applications that other developers develop as this makes their work much easier.
For instance, a developer will need a compiler and a debugger to write and test out their computer software code. Additionally, the operating system in which the developer’s code runs has been made by another bunch of developers, which adds up to an entire ecosystem of engineers and programmers working to keep information humming smoothly and people interacting with information effectively and with much ease.
Cloud computing is one of the main trends in computer science that has been steadily taking over the scene. Although the cloud was not popular some years in the past, it is now gaining popularity. Many large internet and software companies, including IBM, VMWare and Oracle, are taking up cloud computing owing to its amazing set of features and the promise that it holds for everyone.
With the use of cloud computing, deploying applications on a large scale is now possible. Even if the target company that an application is being developed for has thousands of employees worldwide, the use of cloud computing makes it possible to deploy the application to the entire base of employees.
The cloud also makes it easier and possible to manage the users and even set the roles of the end software users. For instance, you can have several administrators who have varied levels of access to the software application. Access control is an important feature for modern companies and organizations, and with the cloud, it is much easier to implement and enforce.
With the power of the cloud, achieving the full potential for any sector of the economy is now possible. The use of the cloud makes it possible for companies and organizations to experiment with big data and achieve performance at scale with much ease.
The use of the cloud makes it easier for developers to reach a higher user base with various deployment and software distribution models. A software developer can decide to apply and distribute it to the users through the same cloud they developed the application on.
A cloud distribution model means that one will charge the end-user much less for the software license than making an individual purchase. The developer will be able to distribute the software to a greater number of end-users, and it will greatly reduce the overall maintenance costs for the software.
Secure delivery of applications and making sure that the data in the software is not tampered with or modified requires a means of delivery that you can trust. With the use of the cloud, the developer can set up applications for the end-user so that they will be able to use the software instantly.
The complete software will be much easier to use when it has been already configured on the cloud by the developer of the same application. The use of the cloud to distribute software to the end-users also means that the user of the application will easily access it from any device they are using.
The use of the internet makes it possible for the software user to access the application from anywhere globally, provided they can supply the required authentication.
The cloud makes it possible to develop more secure software. The software that has been developed on cloud infrastructure, for instance, has been thoroughly tested for all kinds of bugs, vulnerabilities and software defects.
As such, it can perform better and run on more platforms as compared to locally developed and debugged applications. When the developer has the cloud to use as their IDE, they will produce better applications. In addition, they will also be able to develop safer and more powerful features that have been thoroughly tested on infrastructure that a developer can use to simulate any target platform.
Additionally, the use of the cloud by the developer enables them to develop more powerful and flexible features into their software.
With the power of the cloud, developers can lessen the time it takes to develop features and integrate all the different features that the client had requested for. The cloud also provides a more realistic testing environment for the developer to use to determine the strength of their application.
As a result, the overall quality of the software will be greatly improved, and the developer will be able to bring out their best work when they are working on the most advanced computing infrastructure of the day. As the cloud grows and becomes better, more powerful tools are being developed for software developers.
The developer can use the power of the cloud in ways that users had never tried before. For instance, if the application is intended to work under intense stress, it can be thoroughly tested by stress testing it n the cloud.
The cloud allows the developer to test their applications at a greater scale. For instance, if the application is being designed to assist surgeons in their work or run an airport, the use of the cloud makes it possible to test the features and intricacies of the application in greater detail.
With the cloud, it will be possible to run more generations of tests on the same application. Additionally, the cloud means that the software developer will not have to spend a lot of time on development.
The quality of the software that is being developed will be keenly monitored from the beginning of the software development process, and the reports will be real-time. Developing in the cloud might sound like a dream to some people, but it is a very true and evident reality.
The use of the cloud as a testbed for new, advanced software means developers are ready to develop for the future. Developing applications that people will use in sensitive installations require a development platform to take on huge loads and massive testing.
For instance, big data applications cannot be developed and tested on the developer’s laptop and still be successful. Instead, it needs a sandbox where one can simulate massive amounts of data, and one can test the application under more realistic applications.
The good thing about the cloud is that a developer can easily SSH into a more powerful machine and run all the necessary commands to get their source code compiled and running on the cloud. With the cloud, the developer gets an extension to their local machine, making it possible for them to develop better features and develop faster.
Compiling code on the cloud will take a fraction of a second, which greatly improves the overall quality of the software. The developer will modify their source code on their local machine and push it via GIT to cloud computing, where it is compiled and executed for testing. In other words, the cloud makes developers a bit more comfortable while adding to the power that is put into the hands of the developer.
Part Two
Modern software needs to be accurate and more resilient in its performance. It requires the full focus and attention of the developer to ensure that all the code is safe and functional. The use of the cloud makes it possible for the developer to write better code which will also mean that the developed features for the end-user will be easier to operate.
The developer will also have an easier time whenever they write code if they have the cloud to continuously integrate their code and compile it when they save the source code on their local machine. The use of continuous integration has been in use for several years now and is the main tool that developers use to ensure that they can create a software application that you will use at a greater scale.
The developer will be able to write better code, but each bit of their effort gets updated into the main source code and compiled to the version of the application that is currently running on the cloud. Continuous integration is also used to ensure that developers can achieve their targets on certain features and time-sensitive applications in use today.
Software applications that are being developed for use by the government, for instance, have to be thoroughly tested for software flaws and security weaknesses. Using the cloud as a development environment makes it possible to develop applications that can run much faster and process data in more advanced ways.
Additionally, the developer can integrate algorithms capable of more advanced and complex operations when they use the cloud. With the use of the cloud, the developer can easily develop features that will shorten the time taken to process information.
For instance, machine learning algorithms are being introduced into modern applications to make them work faster and even compute better. With the use of cloud computing, it is possible to determine the effectiveness of the algorithms that the developer is using. The complexity of the algorithms that the developer uses can easily be computed on the cloud.
The cloud also makes it easier to benchmark a developer’s performance and the quality of their code. The use of the cloud means that the developer will not have to worry about their work. They are free to develop features in any order they want, provided they can achieve what the client wants.
For instance, applications that are being designed to be used by the mining industries will need to be thoroughly tested and developed in the best way possible. A developer who is creating an application that oil drilling rigs will use in the desert, and the ocean will also require the cloud to ensure they are producing the right quality of code.
The source code used in these applications has to be thoroughly tested to ensure that the end-user gets the features they require.
Quality of software is very important for modern-day uses, and developers have to work with the best tools to ensure that their code is being tested even as they develop. The use of the cloud means that the developers will be able to integrate more tools into their development workflow, and this will be able to monitor the quality of the source code as they write it.
The use of cloud computing by developers makes it possible to have better source code and more stable features. Additionally, keeping track of the progress of the software that is still in development is much easier when the cloud is being used.
The developer will find their work much easier and very effective when they have a reliable platform to run and test their code.
With the use of the cloud, it is also possible to store much more data and test the software’s abilities by taking it to its limits. Validation testing for the applications usually takes them to their logical limits. It introduces strange data types to ensure that the software knows what it is taking in.
A good application should accept legal data types that are being introduced to it and reject other types of data. Additionally, the software should also inform the user when they have entered an incorrect type of information.
When it comes to software applications intended for large-scale use, testing for such scenarios can take a very large amount of time. Therefore, the developer needs a computing platform that will comfortably handle all their testing requirements.
With the cloud, it is possible to run many more tests than is possible to do locally. As a result, the developer will be able to develop more features, and this will also mean that they will be running more tests when they have the cloud to use.
With more tests comes better quality of software, and at the end of the day, the software delivered to the client is of the best quality. Testing is very important for any application that is developed for the real world. In the real world, the software application will be dealing with real data, and it has to treat the data in a sober sense. With the testing done, the software will handle out-of-scope conditions with much ease.
Additionally, the software application that has undergone much testing tends to have fewer to no defects thanks to the testing. The testing is more than enough to weed out most of the wrong features with the software application. Additionally, the testing enables the developer to build better features into their application and eliminate the modules that are not performing as expected.
Keeping track of source code is also made much easier and more effortless with the cloud. The use of the cloud as a development tool means that the developer can have as many branches f the same source code as they need. This makes it possible for the developer to develop more features and even have some test features.
The developer’s flexibility is increased in this way, and they can develop the best kind of software. With the use of the cloud, the developer will find more freedom as they develop their application, and they will not have to be worried about getting the features right.
The use of source code management makes it possible for the software developer to work on test features of the software application. If some of the features do not work, there will be no need to roll back the software version.
Instead, the developer will switch to another branch that has a previous version of the source code. This way, they can continue working on the other features and go back to the test features when they allow it.
Developers have discovered the use of cloud computing as one of the greatest advances in their work. They can develop better software applications when they have been empowered with the most powerful development environment. Here, they can write better source code and have it tested in the same instance they hit save on their local machine.
No matter how complicated the application a developer is working on, the cloud makes it possible for them to run the code and try out the software easily. The software is very easy to develop when there is a reliable software development platform.
With source control and tools such as GIT, the modern developer can develop software features that are up-to-date and appropriate for the modern world. As the clients keep requesting more features, the developer’s workflow is enhanced, and as a result, they can meet the needs of the end-user.
Software development timelines can also be adjusted or thrown out of schedule due to several factors. However, the cloud acting as a development platform for the developer means that they can easily add a few lines of source code when they are free and have nothing to do.
With the use of the cloud as the main development and testing platform for new software features, the developer finds it much easier to develop good software. The developer can integrate more powerful functionalities and features into their applications.
It makes it possible for them to reduce development time and, at the same time, deliver better results in the form of functional software that contains all the features that the client had requested.
With cloud computing, spinning up new instances of the same virtual machine or starting a new virtual machine on the same cloud infrastructure is very simple. The developer will not have to worry about developing the best features for their client.
They will easily start new machines to try out various software features, and as this goes, they will not interrupt or interfere with the software development process in any manner. The developer is free to create new virtual machines and use them to try out new branches of the source code.
As such, they will not ignore the more important features of the software, and they will be able to develop software features that have been requested by working on them until they can work with the software and the source code.
The developer will also have an easier time managing the software development process when they have access to the power of the cloud. The power of the cloud makes the developer more active, and they will even be encouraged to develop the best software possible.
Modern applications require the best kind of testing, and the quality is critical since the applications are used in sensitive and critical installations. For instance, some of the applications are used in hospitals, while the military uses others.
Achieving accuracy with these software applications requires that the integrity of the features has been fully tested. It is also important that the software developers tested each of the software features and, as such, ensure that it performs as it would be expected in the field.
Taking the software through a strict development process and running it on the cloud makes it possible to simulate the actual usage environment long before the software has been deployed. With this in place, the software developer will determine what features and changes are needed in the software before it can be finally deployed to the target environment.
Before the end-user can be equipped with the software application, it will need to be fully tested to ensure that it can provide the end-user features. The client will expect the software application to perform as they had requested. With the cloud, the developer has all the strength they need to create the application and equip it with the features that have been requested.
Software deployment to the end-users is one of the most complicated stages of software development. Being able to deliver the final software version to the users in stages is very important. At this stage, they can use the cloud to streamline the process.
It can also be used as the delivery pipeline. In some cases, the developer can install the application onto the cloud to ensure that the end-users also enjoy the same freedom while using the application as the developer enjoyed when developing the application.
The use of the cloud as a deployment platform means that the software application can be delivered to a lot more people than it as traditionally possible. In the old days, software used to be delivered on CDs and DVDs, which had to be inserted into a drive. The software installation process would take hours, and it was complicated.
However, things have changed with most applications that are in use today being instant applications. Instant applications are ready to be used the very moment you install them. Advances in thread programming have enabled programmers to show the application to the user and use it while the rest of the application is being downloaded in the background.
In other cases, the required modules are downloaded and installed as they are required, which makes management of the software much easier. The end-user will not even be aware that they have only a fraction or fragment of the entire software application, and the initial usage will be very easy. However, the application will have downloaded itself and installed fully in the background in a matter of minutes. The user will not even be able to notice a difference in the performance of the software application.
In this manner, the delivery process of software is very common when the application is meant for use in the enterprise. At its destination, the user will only need a few components while the rest of the application can reside in the cloud. This even does away with the need for the local computer to have much storage space.
In addition, the applications can even be designed to have front-ends on the web, and the back-end server resides in the cloud. With the use of a client and server architecture, it becomes possible to have more advanced back-ends.
With the back-end residing permanently in the cloud, it becomes possible for the developer to keep adding more source code and improving the application even when it is still in use. The end-users will only need to interact with the application’s front end or client while the rest of the work is done in the background by the trusty servers and back-end applications.
Applications that are being continuously improved are very important and tend to perform better than others. They are also more secure, and their performance is known to be several factors better than what you can achieve with typical applications. The use of the cloud as a development platform is one reason modern applications are so effective.
Having been taken through very rigorous testing, these applications can perform better and become more stable than typical applications. The software developer also has a better experience when they have the application already residing on the cloud. Pushing updates to the source code will be made much easier, and the developer will improve the application over time.
Modern applications developed on the cloud are also known to integrate more features as the developer has the freedom to add all kinds of libraries and features to ensure that the required functionality is achieved.
Part Three
Developers have come a long way from working with development environments installed on their local machines to deeply their applications to the cloud. The introduction of the cloud to their development workflow has also made it possible for the developer to create better code and applications capable of better performance.
The end-user of the software will notice the difference between a locally developed application and software developed and tested in the cloud. Cloud-based applications are being heavily adopted by governments, the scientific community and research organizations. They are known to be much easier to run, and whenever one is operating the application, they can work with a lot more data.
Modern applications can work with larger data sets compared to what was traditionally considered possible in the past. As a result, the cloud makes it possible for software users to handle a lot more data than in the past. With this in mind, it becomes possible for the end-user of the software application to perform better and accomplish a lot more with the application that runs in the cloud.
Being able to make use of the cloud platform requires that the end-user can operate the software application while it is in the cloud. The developer should also be able to develop the application for the cloud. Developing for the cloud means that the software developer will include more powerful capabilities and features.
They will also be able to make use of powerful computing capabilities to process information. As such, their software design will be quite different compared to what you would expect for a mobile device or a web application, for instance. With software intended for the cloud, the developer has to develop each of the features to make full use of the processing and storage capabilities presented to it.
Software development is the main activity for modern developers, and with the cloud, they can reach new heights in their work. They can also test their algorithms more frequently, which makes them more confident with using them and applying them to bring out various new features in the software applications.
With the cloud acting as a development environment, software developers find it much easier to develop software. They have enough computing power to test out their algorithms, making it possible for them to build more powerful software features.
No matter the complexity of the software features they are developing, the cloud is strong and sturdy enough to take in whatever data and code are being fed to it. The instruction set of the cloud also makes it possible to run endless code without the computers or the cloud hanging. A hanging cloud would only be possible if it were teleporting a spaceship from some light coordinated in the far corner of the universe, right?
The cloud is a great opportunity for the developer and makes their life much easier. They can run cleaner, faster and stronger code on the cloud, and whenever they need to test their application, the cloud provides them with the best testbed for their applications.
With the cloud, the software developer can write tests that can take the software application to its limits and prepare it for use in the real world. In the real world, the software is being used by millions of users simultaneously, and scaling up and down will be a constant battle for the application.
In addition, the use of the cloud as a software development platform for the software means that the developer will be able to include strange new features into the application.
Developers are also finding their development more fun when they have the cloud to run all kinds of test scenarios. They become better developers in this way, and developing for the real world becomes much easier.
As the needs of the software users keep on increasing, the software developer must have a stress-free development environment that can adapt according to their changing needs and preferences. The use of the cloud has made it possible for the modern software developer to create better software and ensure that the end-user gets the very features they have been requesting.
The end-user gets more powerful features thanks to the developer having a cloud to test their complicated algorithms and ensure that everything is working to their satisfaction before pushing the application to the end-users.
Developing applications for modern companies and the enterprise also calls for the use of the cloud. The cloud makes it possible to create applications that can run faster and produce better results in the process.
With the cloud, the developer can create features that will serve the end customers for years to come. There is also little maintenance when working on the cloud, and the developer does not have to keep formatting the machine whenever it keeps hanging while it is compiling.
With the bulk of the development work offloaded to the cloud, the developer is free to focus on developing small snippets of software and deliver their masterpiece in little gists. The use of the cloud is why modern applications are taking less time to deliver to the user, yet they are so powerful and full of amazing features that the end-users will love and appreciate.
Modern developers need powerful computing resources to be able to test the full capabilities of their software applications. The use of the cloud means that the developers can develop faster, better applications.
The modern developer gets to try out various features from the cloud’s comfort and test the software more thoroughly. In the end, the developed software is more powerful and happens to be more stable in terms of its performance. Bugs are gotten rid of while the software is being developed thanks to continuous integration and advanced testing features on the developer’s toolchain.
The modern software developer should take advantage of cloud computing to deliver the best kind of features to the end-user. The cloud also enables them to gauge the strength of the end computers and devices meant for the software.
As such, software development becomes more organized and productive for the developer who uses the cloud to make all their software features stand out and perform as they would be expected without lagging or crashing unexpectedly.
