Applications and systems rely on smooth communication and data sharing to deliver improved functionality and services in today's interconnected digital environment. Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are quite important in this situation. APIs serve as mediators, enabling interoperability, data sharing, and communication between various software programmes. This article will provide you a thorough introduction to APIs and their importance in contemporary software development, whether you're a developer, a tech enthusiast, or just interested about the world of APIs.

This Blog talks about the emerging trends in Cloud computing, and also gives a gist about the term Cloud Computing and its impact in leveraging businesses and individuals. The cloud has the ability to streamline and improve a variety of processes. From understanding the meaning of cloud computing model to discussing various characteristics, this blog will be your one-stop-shop for all things cloud computing. So, fasten your seatbelts and let's dive into the exciting world of the cloud together!!

What is Cloud Computing ?

Cloud computing is a way of using current technology where we can access and use internet-based services and storage to manage, process, and store data and information, instead of having to have it all on your own personal device or computer.

We can think of it like having access to a giant computer in the sky that we can use to do our work, store our files, and run our applications, without having to worry about the technical details or maintenance of the underlying hardware and software. This makes it easier and more convenient for us to access our data and resources from anywhere in the world, as long as we have an internet connection.

Let's take a look at some intriguing features of Cloud Computing!!​

Lets have a look at some of the most used Cloud Storage Services​

Most used Cloud Storage Services

Google Drive is by far the most popular cloud storage service in the world, with an use rate of 94.44 percent. The finest cloud storage for collaboration, Dropbox, is in second position with a still-impressive 66.2 percent, followed by OneDrive (39.35 percent) and iCloud (38.89 percent). Additionally popular cloud storage providers include MEGA (5.09 percent), Box (4.17 percent), and pCloud (1.39%), all of which made our list of the top cloud storage services.

Statistics on Cloud Service Providers​

Stats on Cloud Service Providers

AWS still holds over a third of the cloud services market:

• In Q2 2022, AWS commanded 34% of the cloud market, a 1% increase year-over-year. Azure is second with 21% of the market, followed by Google Cloud (10%), Alibaba (5%), and IBM (4%).
• Amazon's revenue from AWS grew from 5.62 in 2014 to 13.24% in 2021.
• The survey also showed the cloud market continues to grow 34% year-over-year.

Some drawbacks to have a look upon​

Drawbacks of Cloud Computing

According to cybersecurity experts, the most pressing cloud security challenges are misconfiguration of the cloud infrastructure (68 percent); unauthorized access (58 percent); insecure API (52 percent); accounts, services or traffic hijacking (50 percent) and external data sharing (43 percent).

Conclusion​

• In conclusion, cloud computing has become an increasingly popular and indispensable tool for businesses and organizations of all sizes. With its ability to provide on-demand access to a wide range of computing resources, including storage, computing power, and applications, it has transformed the way organizations operate and has unlocked new opportunities for innovation and growth.
• The cloud offers many benefits, including cost savings, scalability, increased efficiency, and improved security. As more and more businesses adopt cloud computing, it is likely that this trend will continue to grow, driving further innovation and enabling organizations to do more with less.
• However, while the benefits of cloud computing are clear, there are also challenges that must be addressed, such as ensuring data security, managing vendor lock-in, and ensuring reliable performance.
• Despite these challenges, the future of cloud computing looks bright, with advancements in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things set to further drive its growth and revolutionize the way businesses operate.

In short, cloud computing is here to stay, and its impact on the business world will only continue to grow in the years to come.

Project management is a wild way to make sure things are progressing as they should. There is a project management technique for everything. Well, almost everything. I haven't found a project managing concept to overcome my feelings of procrastination. Someone might create it one day.

What really is Open Source?​

If you're the engineering type of person that tackles humanity's problems and urgent needs by bringing together an entire community and building a "project" with them, you'll want to know about Open source. Open source refers to a philosophy of software development that emphasizes collaboration, transparency, and community-driven innovation.

Here it is again in bigger letters, for impact:

Open source refers to a philosophy of software development that emphasizes collaboration, transparency, and community-driven innovation.​

And now you know what open source is. In theory, this blog post could be done!

Beyond the marketing standpoint​

Technology is a concept which is ever-changing in how it is defined, its magnitude and how we as engineers develop it. In the world of technology we always find "buzz words" which reflect the recent advancements which are so efficient that they are slowly brought within the industry as a standard way of working on projects, as a team.

One such "buzz word" in the area of software development and project management is open source. Open source is a way of working on a software typically developed in a public, collaborative manner, with the source code made freely available to anyone who wants to use, modify, or distribute it. The term "open source" was coined in 1998 by a group of people in the software industry who wanted to create a new model of software development that was more collaborative and community-driven.

Open source software is often developed and maintained by a community of volunteers and contributors, who work together to improve the software and fix bugs. Consider your homework: a dry document which contains things here and there which you know is very incomplete. If you have a good enough personality (which I don't), you send this document to all your classmates who start doing bits of your homework.

The result? A fine specimen of a document which the entire class can show to your teachers for great marks! What you just did here was open sourcing your homework and let your student community work on it to create a more appealing document which is now complete.

But open source doesn't stop there​

Imagine your homework to be your project, your classmates to be your community. This community observes your project and suggests various improvements within it. Be it suggesting simple changes of changing the fonts or re-working the already existing complex APIs and queries.

A simple conversation between a contributor and a project developer

Another way to look at open source can be building the big Lego City together, block by block. Everyone can add their own pieces to what has been constructed so far and everyone can see how the city is made. In this way, everyone can make the city better and use it how they want.

Budding software engineers collaborating to build their project

Open source is a great way to bring like-minded developers together. Everybody around you, be a fresher student or an industry experienced individual, has had to encounter with open source technologies without even realizing it. From something we daily use like Android to Linux: the operating system used by many corporates and tech giants, there's no saying what the next big thing will be.

Python, Dart, React, MongoDB, even this text box is open source

That's about the gist of what I wished to express regarding open source. Surely that's not everything but I do look forward to go in-depth into this topic and talk about various different things which excite me! Do look forward to upcoming blogposts and reach me out for any constructive criticism, if any, for the future blogposts.