Towards Decentralized Computer Programming Shops and its place in Entrepreneurship Development E.N Osegi, V.I.E Anireh To cite this version: E.N Osegi, V.I.E Anireh. Towards Decentralized Computer Programming Shops and its place in Entrepreneurship Development. 1st International Engineering Conference Port-Harcourt Polytechnic School of Engineering Technology. Theme: Entrepreneurship innovation through engineering technology for national development,2017, Jul 2017, Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. Conference Proceeding: Port-Harcourt School of Engineering Science and Technology, Port-Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria, 2017. <hal-01574313> HAL Id: hal-01574313 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01574313 Submitted on 7 Sep 2017 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.
Towards Decentralized Computer Programming Shops and its place in Entrepreneurship Development EN Osegi 1, *, V.I.E. Anireh 2 (PhD) Computer programming represents one interesting skill in the sciences and art of modern computing that is not well represented in a business setting. Ranging from the creation of simple programs for personal use to more complex programs for the creation and installation of mobile apps or desktop apps for a PC or Desktop, computer programming shops (CPS) have served the purpose of providing an environment for such beneficial activities to take place. Despite these benefits, computer programming shops are very limiting and highly centralized. Thus, there is an urgent need for the decentralization of computer programming business enterprise. In this paper, we present an approach that can foster the business of computer programming in a decentralized setting. In particular, we show how using technologies such as the Internet of Things (IOT) and Cloud Computing Connections (CCC) can help further entrepreneurship development in this area without the usual boundary limitations. Keywords: CPS; CCC; decentralization; entrepreneurship development; IOT Introduction An entrepreneur is one who envisages a business idea, then designs, develops, launches and runs the business idea into a useful entity for profit or not for profit. The entity may be a product such as a computer or mobile phone or a service such as selling or operating and maintaining a computer. Entrepreneurs create organizations and exhibit certain behavioral tendencies in the process [1]. Over the years, many businesses have sprung up in the field of computing offering one service or the other and impacting on the lives of a lot of people both youthful and elderly alike. More recently, computer programming a service that results in the generation of computer programs (software applications) as its main product is gradually gaining grounds as a viable trade. In big industries computer programmers (those skilled in the art of computer programming) help automate factories and work processes by writing programs that control big and small machines, and automate the processing of large volumes of documents. While smaller industries operate mainly on smaller tasks such as data processing or mobile app installations. However, most if not all of these businesses are centralized. One problem with this is the fact that it is usually very difficult to service very distant customers leading to delay of service or product development. In addition there is a limiting value in quality of service options; this means that computer programming options are either unavailable or not easily accessible. An instance of this problem may be seen when a prospective customer seeks a programming solution to a problem but has access to only one computer programming shop at a time. This gives rise to the problem we refer to here as the Blind Programming Problem (BPP). There is also the usual bureaucratic bottlenecks associated with centralized systems that 1 Corresponding author: Department of Information Technology, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN); Tel: 234-8025838364; E-mail: nd.osegi@sure-gp.com 2 Department of Computer Science, Rivers State University, Nigeria 1
constitute a delay [2, 3, 4]. Thus, it becomes necessary to move from the conventional to the unconventional business. Decentralization is one step to overcome the obvious limitations of centralized computer programming businesses [5, 6]. Within a decentralized setting, startups can take advantage of tools such as Cloud Computing Connections (CCC) and Internet-of-Things (IOT) to leverage their computer programming businesses beyond their current boundaries. Existing IT businesses can also take advantage of CCC and IOT to offer more computer programming services and products to the teeming computer market. In addition, prospective customers can access multiple computer programming shops (CPS) in a very short time frame, test sample products of the computer programming shops leading to service and product delivery satisfaction. However, there may still be need for modularity to better optimize the decentralization process [7]. Thus, it is the objective of this paper to demonstrate how this very important functionality may be incorporated in a typical business chain by an entrepreneur. In a subsequent part of this paper, we describe our proposed approach for building a decentralized computer programming shop. We also provide illustrative use case models on how the proposed approach may be applied. In a final part, we give our conclusions and recommendations for future work. An approach to a Decentralized Computer Programming Shop In this part, we present a conceptual model that can be used to advance the state of computer programming businesses, particularly for young startups. In this model, a decentralized shop offering a Decentralized Computer Programming as a Service (DECPaaS) is described. The service orientation stems from the fact that support is provided to expert developers and even non-experts (through an end-user programming model) for writing computer codes that operate internal or external systems or that assist in the design of software interfaces. An instance of this can be seen from the use of a cloud computing concept that support online coding and tests as shown in Figure 1. Some examples of such sites that can serve as reference point include www.w3schools.com which is dedicated to web programming, https://octave-online.net dedicated to technical computing on the web etc. Here, the emphasis is on training prospective clients to build real-time and interactive web solutions. Of course, prospective entrepreneurs (clients) can seize the opportunity to build their own DECPaaS shops that is not limited to a central location. Another instance can be realized through a collaborative network of things within and out of the internet. This gives rise to the concept of Re-programmable Internet of Things (RIOTs) i.e. the marriage of embedded hardware with computing. Here, each CPS may be viewed as a computer offering a programming service to its prospective clients who in their own right is also a computer which may or may not offer a programming service. Some immediate benefits can be seen from the use of such a technique. One key advantage of these approaches is that the computer programming shop is not restricted to a particular location, but accessible to all in virtually any location. Another key advantage is in the fact that there is no need to install any software thus leading to memory savings and zero cost of installation. 2
Cloud Applications CPS1 CPS2 CPSn Service Client Fig1. Decentralized Computer Programming as a Service (DECPaaS) Conclusion Our idea of a decentralized computer programming shop is based on the premises that such a shop need not be limited to its environs i.e. computer programming business should not necessarily be done at one particular shop. Our approach introduces yet another business idea: One-business-many-shops. From the discussions so far it is hoped that this will herald a new generation of entrepreneurs within the country and far off. Future work should be geared towards a further decentralization of CPS by collaborating with potential DECPaaS cloud computing providers and automating DECPaaS links within a larger body of networked users. 3
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