Information technology systems can be broadly classified as follows:
- Object-oriented systems
- Artificial intelligence systems
- Database systems
The preceding systems may be centralized or decentralized in the way that they are distributed.
Object-oriented systems use the concept of objects that work together with other objects in a system to achieve certain objectives. Related and common tasks are grouped together as an object. Such systems are considered more reliable and less prone to security issues due to changes in the software code.
The following are some of the concepts of object-oriented systems.
An object-oriented programming method uses the collection of objects that communicate and coordinate with other objects to achieve a desired objective. Sending or receiving messages and processing instructions are some of the functions of these objects.
Some of the fundamental concepts that are used in object-oriented programming are as follows:
- Class: This defines the characteristics and behaviors of an object
- Object: This is a pattern, example, or model of a class
- Instance: When a class creates a specific object during runtime, then it is called an instance of that class
- Method: This signifies the abilities of an object
- Message passing: This is the communication process to invoke a method by one object to another
- Inheritance: Classes have subclasses; these subclasses inherit characteristics from the main class
- Encapsulation: This is a wrapper and can conceal the functional details of an object to the class
- Abstraction: This is used to simplify a complex structure by modeling
- Polymorphism: This is when treating derived class members are treated just like their parent class members
- Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA): This is an analysis process for producing conceptual model, and Object-Oriented Design (OOD) is used to design the ways (how) in which to implement the conceptual model produced in the analysis process
Software developed through object-oriented methods are generally considered to be secure. Only the data that is required for the process is accessible to the class, and the other system data is not accessible. This data-hiding method makes object-oriented software more secure, and so, they are prone to less data corruption.
AI is science and engineering of making intelligent systems. AI systems perceive their environment and take action, which maximizes the chance of success. Due to the adaptability of AI systems based on the environment and the circumstances, a success in an AI system is determined on the successful decisions that the system makes.
AI systems are used in information technology in an attempt to mimic human brains in perception and decision-making. From a security perspective, an artificial intelligence system can be a protector from attacks as well as a perpetrator of attacks.
An expert system is an artificial intelligence based system that tries to reproduce the performance of one or more human experts.
Neural network is a type of artificial intelligence system that tries to mimic the neural processing of the human brain. They are used in applications such as speech recognition, image analysis, software agents, and so on.
A database system defines the storage and manipulation of data, while a Database Management System (DBMS) is a set of software programs that are used to perform and control the operations of a database system.
DBMS consists of a modeling language, data structures, database query language, and transaction mechanisms.