Module IV

Sharing business information, maintaining business relationships and conducting business

transactions using computers connected to telecommunication network is called E-Commerce.

Electronic commerce, commonly known as E-commerce is trading in products or services using

computer networks, such as the Internet. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as
mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online
transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and
automated data collection systems.

Features of E-Commerce:

 Ubiquity: Internet/Web technology is The marketplace is extended beyond traditional available

everywhere: at work, at home, and boundaries and is removed from a temporal and elsewhere via
mobile devices, anytime. geographic location. “Marketspace” is created; shopping can take place
anywhere. Customer convenience is enhanced, and shopping costs are reduced.

 Global reach: The technology reaches Commerce is enabled across cultural and across national
boundaries, around the earth. national boundaries seamlessly and without modification.
“Marketspace” includes potentially billions of consumers and millions of businesses worldwide.

 Universal standards: There is one set of There is one set of technical media standards technology
standards, namely Internet across the globe.

 Richness: Video, audio, and text messages Video, audio, and text marketing messages are are
possible. integrated into a single marketing message and consuming experience.

 Interactivity: The technology works Consumers are engaged in a dialog that through interaction
with the user. dynamically adjusts the experience to the individual, and makes the consumer a
coparticipant in the process of delivering goods to the market.

 Information density: The technology Information processing, storage, and reduces information
costs and raises quality. communication costs drop dramatically, while currency, accuracy, and
timeliness improve greatly. Information becomes plentiful, cheap, and accurate.

 Personalization/Customization: The Personalization of marketing messages and technology

allows personalized messages to customization of products and services are be delivered to
individuals as well as groups. based on individual characteristics.

E-commerce business models are categorized into the following categories.

 Business - to - Business (B2B)
 Business - to - Consumer (B2C)
 Consumer - to - Consumer (C2C)
 Consumer - to - Business (C2B)
 Business - to - Government (B2G)
 Government - to - Business (G2B)
 Government - to - Citizen (G2C)
1) Business - to - Business
A website following the B2B business model sells its products to an intermediate buyer who then
sells the product to the final customer. As an example, a wholesaler places an order from a
company's website and after receiving the consignment, sells the end product to the final customer
who comes to buy the product at one of its retail outlets.

2) Business - to - Consumer
A website following the B2C business model sells its products directly to a customer. A customer can
view the products shown on the website. The customer can choose a product and order the same.
The website will then send a notification to the business organization via email and the organization
will dispatch the product/goods to the customer.

3) Consumer - to - Consumer
A website following the C2C business model helps consumers to sell their assets like residential
property, cars, motorcycles, etc., or rent a room by publishing their information on the website.
Website may or may not charge the consumer for its services. Another consumer may opt to buy the
product of the first customer by viewing the post/advertisement on the website.
4) Consumer - to - Business
In this model, a consumer approaches a website showing multiple business organizations for a
particular service. The consumer places an estimate of amount he/she wants to spend for a
particular service. For example, the comparison of interest rates of personal loan/car loan provided
by various banks via websites. A business organization who fulfills the consumer's requirement
within the specified budget, approaches the customer and provides its services.

5) Business - to - Government
B2G model is a variant of B2B model. Such websites are used by governments to trade and exchange
information with various business organizations. Such websites are accredited by the government
and provide a medium to businesses to submit application forms to the government.

6) Government - to - Business
Governments use B2G model websites to approach business organizations. Such websites support
auctions, tenders, and application submission functionalities.

7) Government - to - Citizen
Governments use G2C model websites to approach citizen in general. Such websites support
auctions of vehicles, machinery, or any other material. Such website also provides services like
registration for birth, marriage or death certificates. The main objective of G2C websites is to reduce
the average time for fulfilling citizen’s requests for various government services.

Meaning of E-Business

E-business refers to performing all types of business activities through the internet. It includes
activities like customer education, procurement of goods/raw materials, supply activities, selling and
buying products, making monetary transactions, etc., over the internet. Websites, Apps, Enterprise
 Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc., are required for e-
business. The e-business activities include the following:
 Supply chain management
 Setting up online stores
 Customer education
 Email marketing
 Monetary business transactions
 Online commercial transactions (selling and buying products)
Examples of e-business are e-commerce companies and their different internal business activities,
classified site, auction site, software and hardware developer site, etc.

Difference between E-Commerce and E-Business

Particulars E-commerce E-business

It refers to performing online commercial It refers to performing every type of business

Meaning
transactions and activities over the internet. activity through the internet.

It is a broad concept and is a superset of e-

Scope It is a narrow concept and is a subset of e-business.
commerce.

Commercial transactions are carried out in e-

Transactions Business transactions are carried out in e-business.
commerce.

Limitation E-commerce transactions are limited. E-business transactions are not limited.

It includes customer education, procurement of

It includes selling and buying products, making
Activities raw materials, supply activities, making monetary
monetary transactions, etc., over the internet.
transactions, etc., over the internet.

It requires using multiple websites, ERPs and

Operation It mainly requires the use of only a website.
CRMs, that connect different business processes.

It consists of the use of the internet, extranet or

Resources It involves mandatory use of the internet.
intranet.

Business E-commerce is appropriate in a Business to E-business is appropriate in a Business to

models Customer (B2C) context. Business (B2B) context.

E-commerce covers external/outward business E-business covers internal and external business
Coverage
processes. processes/activities.

E-commerce and e-business are different. However, they are interrelated and support businesses. E-
commerce and e-business are emerging modes of business. They are continuously reshaping and
evolving the business world.
Types of Security Attacks in E-Commerce
E-commerce attacks can come in many forms that can disrupt your ecommerce platform and your
customers’ accounts and data. Earning the trust of your customers requires a consistent awareness
of the evolving types of fraud and cyberattacks to help you ensure solutions are in place across your
sales funnel.

1. Financial fraud
Financial fraud takes several forms. It involves hackers gaining access to your customer's personal
information or payment information, then selling that information on the black market. It also
involves fraudsters using stolen credit card information to make illegitimate purchases from your e-
commerce store.

2. Phishing
Your customers are the target in a phishing scam, where a fraudster sends messages or emails
pretending to be you with the goal of obtaining their private information. These messages may
contain logos, URLs, and other information that appears to be legitimate, but it won't be you sending
it. They'll ask customers to verify their account by logging in and then use the information to steal
personal data.

3. Spamming
In an attempt to obtain personal information—or to affect your website's performance—spammers
may leave infected links in their comments or messages on your website, such as on blog posts or
contact forms. If you click on the links, they can take you to a spam website that exposes you to
malware.

4. Malware
Malware refers to malicious programs such as spyware, viruses, trojan horses, and ransomware.
Hackers install it on your computer system and spread it to your customers and administrators,
where it might swipe sensitive data on their systems and from your website.

5. Bad bots
People are generally aware that bots are all over the Internet, obtaining information about our
habits and behaviours. Your competition, however, could use bots to gather information about your
inventory and prices. They then use that information to change their prices. Or hackers can send
malicious bots to e-commerce checkout pages to buy large amounts of a product and scalp it for up
to 10 times the list price.

6. Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks

Distributed denial of service attacks happens when your servers receive an overwhelming amount of
requests from various IP addresses—usually untraceable—that cause your server to crash. That
means your e-commerce store isn't available to visitors, which disrupts your sales.

7. Fake return and refund fraud

Fraudsters can obtain money from you by committing fake returns and refund fraud in many ways.
Some use a stolen credit card to purchase merchandise, then claim that the card is closed and
request a refund to another card. Others use counterfeit receipts to request refunds for items they
haven't purchased.

8. Man-in-the-middle attacks
With technology evolving, so are hackers' schemes. Man-in-the-middle attacks allow the hacker to
listen in on the communications of e-commerce website users. These users are tricked into using a
public wireless network, enabling hackers to access their devices and see their browsing history.
They can also access credit card information, passwords, and usernames.

Interconnection and networking

A computer network is a group of computers linked to each other that enables the computer to
communicate with another computer and share their resources, data, and applications.

A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly of four types:

o LAN(Local Area Network)

o PAN(Personal Area Network)
o MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
o WAN(Wide Area Network)

LAN(Local Area Network)

o Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area such as
building, office.
o LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a communication
medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
o It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network adapters, and
ethernet cables.
o The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
o Local Area Network provides higher security.
PAN(Personal Area Network)
o Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically within a
range of 10 meters.
o Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal use is
known as Personal Area Network.
o Thomas Zimmerman was the first research scientist to bring the idea of the Personal Area
Network.
o Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.
o Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are the
laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.

There are two types of Personal Area

Network:

o Wired Personal Area Network

o Wireless Personal Area Network

Wireless Personal Area Network: Wireless Personal Area Network is developed by simply using
wireless technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth. It is a low range network.

Wired Personal Area Network: Wired Personal Area Network is created by using the USB.
Examples of Personal Area Network:
o Body Area Network: Body Area Network is a network that moves with a person. For
example, a mobile network moves with a person. Suppose a person establishes a network
connection and then creates a connection with another device to share the information.
o Offline Network: An offline network can be created inside the home, so it is also known as
a home network. A home network is designed to integrate the devices such as printers,
computer, television but they are not connected to the internet.
o Small Home Office: It is used to connect a variety of devices to the internet and to a
corporate network using a VPN.
MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
o A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by
interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
o Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.
o In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone exchange line.
o The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-3, ADSL,
etc.
o It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).

Uses Of Metropolitan Area Network:

o MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.
o It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
o It can be used in a college within a city.
o It can also be used for communication in the military.

WAN(Wide Area Network)

o A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such
as states or countries.
o A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.
o A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large
geographical area through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or satellite links.
 o The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
o A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and
education.

Examples Of Wide Area

Network:
o Mobile
Broadband: A 4G
network is widely used across a region or country.
o Last mile: A telecom company is used to provide the internet services to the
customers in hundreds of cities by connecting their home with fiber.
o Private network: A bank provides a private network that connects the 44 offices.
This network is made by using the telephone leased line provided by the telecom
company.

Advantages Of Wide Area Network:

o Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides a large geographical area.
Suppose if the branch of our office is in a different city then we can connect with
them through WAN. The internet provides a leased line through which we can
connect with another branch.
o Centralized data: In case of WAN network, data is centralized. Therefore, we do not
need to buy the emails, files or back up servers.
o Get updated files: Software companies work on the live server. Therefore, the
programmers get the updated files within seconds.
o Exchange messages: In a WAN network, messages are transmitted fast. The web
application like Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype allows you to communicate with friends.
o Sharing of software and resources: In WAN network, we can share the software and
other resources like a hard drive, RAM.
o Global business: We can do the business over the internet globally.
o High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for our company then this gives the high
bandwidth. The high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which in turn
increases the productivity of our company.
Disadvantages of Wide Area Network:
o Security issue: A WAN network has more security issues as compared to LAN and
MAN network as all the technologies are combined together that creates the security
problem.
o Needs Firewall & antivirus software: The data is transferred on the internet which
can be changed or hacked by the hackers, so the firewall needs to be used. Some
people can inject the virus in our system so antivirus is needed to protect from such a
virus.
o High Setup cost: An installation cost of the WAN network is high as it involves the
purchasing of routers, switches.
o Troubleshooting problems: It covers a large area so fixing the problem is difficult.

Internetwork
o An internetwork is defined as two or more computer network LANs or WAN or
computer network segments are connected using devices, and they are configured
by a local addressing scheme. This process is known as internetworking.
o An interconnection between public, private, commercial, industrial, or government
computer networks can also be defined as internetworking.
o An internetworking uses the internet protocol.
o The reference model used for internetworking is Open System Interconnection
(OSI).

Types Of Internetwork:

1. Extranet: An extranet is a communication network based on the internet protocol such

as Transmission Control protocol and internet protocol. It is used for information sharing. The
access to the extranet is restricted to only those users who have login credentials. An
extranet is the lowest level of internetworking. It can be categorized as MAN, WAN or other
computer networks. An extranet cannot have a single LAN, atleast it must have one
connection to the external network.

2. Intranet: An intranet is a private network based on the internet protocol such

as Transmission Control protocol and internet protocol. An intranet belongs to an
organization which is only accessible by the organization's employee or members. The main
aim of the intranet is to share the information and resources among the organization
employees. An intranet provides the facility to work in groups and for teleconferences.

OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection. It has been developed by ISO –
‘International Organization for Standardization‘, in the year 1984. It is a 7-layer
architecture with each layer having specific functionality to perform. All these 7 layers work
collaboratively to transmit the data from one person to another across the globe.
Layers of OSI Model
1. Physical Layer
2. Data Link Layer
3. Network Layer
4. Transport Layer
5. Session Layer
6. Presentation Layer
7. Application Layer

Layer 1- Physical Layer

The lowest layer of the OSI reference model is the physical layer. It is responsible for the
actual physical connection between the devices. The physical layer contains information in
the form of bits. It is responsible for transmitting individual bits from one node to the next.
When receiving data, this layer will get the signal received and convert it into 0s and 1s and
send them to the Data Link layer, which will put the frame back together.

Data Bits in the Physical Layer

Functions of the Physical Layer

Bit synchronization: The physical layer provides the synchronization of the bits by providing
a clock. This clock controls both sender and receiver thus providing synchronization at the
bit level.
Bit rate control: The Physical layer also defines the transmission rate i.e. the number of bits
sent per second.
Physical topologies: Physical layer specifies how the different, devices/nodes are arranged
in a network i.e. bus, star, or mesh topology.
Transmission mode: Physical layer also defines how the data flows between the two
connected devices. The various transmission modes possible are Simplex, half-duplex and
full-duplex.
Note: 1. Hub, Repeater, Modem, and Cables are Physical Layer devices.
2. Network Layer, Data Link Layer, and Physical Layer are also known as Lower
Layers or Hardware Layers.

Layer 2- Data Link Layer (DLL)

The data link layer is responsible for the node-to-node delivery of the message. The main
function of this layer is to make sure data transfer is error-free from one node to another,
over the physical layer. When a packet arrives in a network, it is the responsibility of the DLL
to transmit it to the Host using its MAC address.
The Data Link Layer is divided into two sub layers:

1. Logical Link Control (LLC)

2. Media Access Control (MAC)

The packet received from the Network layer is further divided into frames depending on the
frame size of the NIC(Network Interface Card). DLL also encapsulates Sender and Receiver’s
MAC address in the header.

The Receiver’s MAC address is obtained by placing an ARP(Address Resolution

Protocol) request onto the wire asking “Who has that IP address?” and the destination host
will reply with its MAC address.

The Functions of the Data Link Layer

 Framing: Framing is a function of the data link layer. It provides a way for a sender to
transmit a set of bits that are meaningful to the receiver. This can be accomplished by
attaching special bit patterns to the beginning and end of the frame.
 Physical addressing: After creating frames, the Data link layer adds physical addresses
(MAC addresses) of the sender and/or receiver in the header of each frame.
 Error control: The data link layer provides the mechanism of error control in which it
detects and retransmits damaged or lost frames.
 Flow Control: The data rate must be constant on both sides else the data may get
corrupted thus, flow control coordinates the amount of data that can be sent before
receiving an acknowledgment.
 Access control: When a single communication channel is shared by multiple devices, the
MAC sub-layer of the data link layer helps to determine which device has control over
the channel at a given time.
 Function of DLL

Note: 1. Packet in the Data Link layer is referred to as Frame.

2. Data Link layer is handled by the NIC (Network Interface Card) and device drivers of
host machines.

3. Switch & Bridge are Data Link Layer devices.

Layer 3- Network Layer

The network layer works for the transmission of data from one host to the other located in
different networks. It also takes care of packet routing i.e. selection of the shortest path to
transmit the packet, from the number of routes available. The sender & receiver’s IP
addresses are placed in the header by the network layer.

The Functions of the Network Layer

Routing: The network layer protocols determine which route is suitable from source to
destination. This function of the network layer is known as routing.

Logical Addressing: To identify each device on Internetwork uniquely, the network layer
defines an addressing scheme. The sender & receiver’s IP addresses are placed in the header
by the network layer. Such an address distinguishes each device uniquely and universally.

Note: 1. Segment in the Network layer is referred to as Packet.

2. Network layer is implemented by networking devices such as routers.

Layer 4- Transport Layer

The transport layer provides services to the application layer and takes services from the
network layer. The data in the transport layer is referred to as Segments. It is responsible for
the End to End Delivery of the complete message. The transport layer also provides the
acknowledgment of the successful data transmission and re-transmits the data if an error is
found.
At the sender’s side: The transport layer receives the formatted data from the upper layers,
performs Segmentation, and also implements Flow & Error control to ensure proper data
transmission. It also adds Source and Destination port numbers in its header and forwards
the segmented data to the Network Layer.

Note: The sender needs to know the port number associated with the receiver’s application.

Generally, this destination port number is configured, either by default or manually. For
example, when a web application requests a web server, it typically uses port number 80,
because this is the default port assigned to web applications. Many applications have default
ports assigned.

At the receiver’s side: Transport Layer reads the port number from its header and forwards
the Data which it has received to the respective application. It also performs sequencing and
reassembling of the segmented data.

The Functions of the Transport Layer

 Segmentation and Reassembly: This layer accepts the message from the (session) layer,
and breaks the message into smaller units. Each of the segments produced has a header
associated with it. The transport layer at the destination station reassembles the
message.
 Service Point Addressing: To deliver the message to the correct process, the transport
layer header includes a type of address called service point address or port address. Thus
by specifying this address, the transport layer makes sure that the message is delivered
to the correct process.
Services Provided by Transport Layer
1. Connection-Oriented Service
2. Connectionless Service
1. Connection-Oriented Service: It is a three-phase process that includes
 Connection Establishment
 Data Transfer
 Termination/disconnection
In this type of transmission, the receiving device sends an acknowledgment, back to the
source after a packet or group of packets is received. This type of transmission is reliable and
secure.

2. Connectionless service: It is a one-phase process and includes Data Transfer. In this type
of transmission, the receiver does not acknowledge receipt of a packet. This approach allows
for much faster communication between devices. Connection-oriented service is more
reliable than connectionless Service.
Note: 1. Data in the Transport Layer is called Segments.
2. Transport layer is operated by the Operating System. It is a part of the OS and
communicates with the Application Layer by making system calls.
3. The transport layer is called as Heart of the OSI model.
Layer 5- Session Layer
This layer is responsible for the establishment of connection, maintenance of sessions, and
authentication, and also ensures security.

The Functions of the Session Layer

Session establishment, maintenance, and termination: The layer allows the two processes
to establish, use and terminate a connection.

Synchronization: This layer allows a process to add checkpoints that are considered
synchronization points in the data. These synchronization points help to identify the error so
that the data is re-synchronized properly, and ends of the messages are not cut prematurely
and data loss is avoided.

Dialog Controller: The session layer allows two systems to start communication with each
other in half-duplex or full-duplex.

Note: 1. All the below 3 layers(including Session Layer) are integrated as a single layer in the
TCP/IP model as the “Application Layer”.
2. Implementation of these 3 layers is done by the network application itself. These
are also known as Upper Layers or Software Layers.
Scenario
Let us consider a scenario where a user wants to send a message through some Messenger
application running in his browser. The “Messenger” here acts as the application layer which
provides the user with an interface to create the data. This message or so-called Data is
compressed, encrypted (if any secure data), and converted into bits (0’s and 1’s) so that it can
be transmitted.

Communication in Session Layer

Layer 6- Presentation Layer

The presentation layer is also called the Translation layer. The data from the application
layer is extracted here and manipulated as per the required format to transmit over the
network.
The Functions of the Presentation Layer are
Translation: For example, ASCII to EBCDIC.
Encryption/ Decryption: Data encryption translates the data into another form or code. The
encrypted data is known as the ciphertext and the decrypted data is known as plain text. A
key value is used for encrypting as well as decrypting data.
Compression: Reduces the number of bits that need to be transmitted on the network.
Layer 7- Application Layer
At the very top of the OSI Reference Model stack of layers, we find the Application layer
which is implemented by the network applications. These applications produce the data,
which has to be transferred over the network. This layer also serves as a window for the
application services to access the network and for displaying the received information to the
user.

Example: Application – Browsers, Skype Messenger, etc.

Note: The application Layer is also called Desktop Layer.

The Functions of the Application Layer are
 Network Virtual Terminal
 FTAM- File transfer access and management
 Mail Services
 Directory Services

Multimedia

Multimedia is the presentation of text, pictures, audio, and video with links and tools that
allow the user to navigate, engage, create, and communicate using a computer.
Multimedia refers to the computer-assisted integration of text, drawings, still and moving
images(videos) graphics, audio, animation, and any other media in which any type of
information can be expressed, stored, communicated, and processed digitally.
To begin, a computer must be present to coordinate what you see and hear, as well as to
interact with. Second, there must be interconnections between the various pieces of
information. Third, you’ll need navigational tools to get around the web of interconnected
data.
Multimedia is being employed in a variety of disciplines, including education, training, and
business.

Categories of Multimedia

Linear Multimedia:
It is also called Non-interactive multimedia. In the case of linear multimedia, the end-user
cannot control the content of the application. It has literally no interactivity of any kind.
Some multimedia projects like movies in which material is thrown in a linear fashion from
beginning to end. A linear multimedia application lacks all the features with the help of
which, a user can interact with the application such as the ability to choose different options,
click on icons, control the flow of the media, or change the pace at which the media is
displayed. Linear multimedia works very well for providing information to a large group of
people such as at training sessions, seminars, workplace meetings, etc.

Non-Linear Multimedia:
In Non-Linear multimedia, the end-user is allowed the navigational control to rove through
multimedia content at his own desire. The user can control the access of the application.
Non-linear offers user interactivity to control the movement of data. For example computer
games, websites, self-paced computer-based training packages, etc.
Applications of Multimedia
Multimedia indicates that, in addition to text, graphics/drawings, and photographs,
computer information can be represented using audio, video, and animation. Multimedia is
used in:

Education
In the subject of education, multimedia is becoming increasingly popular. It is often used to
produce study materials for pupils and to ensure that they have a thorough comprehension
of various disciplines. Edutainment, which combines education and entertainment, has
become highly popular in recent years. This system gives learning in the form of enjoyment
to the user.

Entertainment
The usage of multimedia in films creates a unique auditory and video impression. Today,
multimedia has completely transformed the art of filmmaking around the world. Multimedia
is the only way to achieve difficult effects and actions.
The entertainment sector makes extensive use of multimedia. It’s particularly useful for
creating special effects in films and video games. The most visible illustration of the
emergence of multimedia in entertainment is music and video apps. Interactive games
become possible thanks to the use of multimedia in the gaming business. Video games are
more interesting because of the integrated audio and visual effects.

Business
Marketing, advertising, product demos, presentation, training, networked communication,
etc. are applications of multimedia that are helpful in many businesses. The audience can
quickly understand an idea when multimedia presentations are used. It gives a simple and
effective technique to attract visitors’ attention and effectively conveys information about
numerous products. It’s also utilized to encourage clients to buy things in business
marketing.

Technology & Science

In the sphere of science and technology, multimedia has a wide range of applications. It can
communicate audio, films, and other multimedia documents in a variety of formats. Only
multimedia can make live broadcasting from one location to another possible.
It is beneficial to surgeons because they can rehearse intricate procedures such as brain
removal and reconstructive surgery using images made from imaging scans of the human
body. Plans can be produced more efficiently to cut expenses and problems.

Fine Arts
Multimedia artists work in the fine arts, combining approaches employing many media and
incorporating viewer involvement in some form. For example, a variety of digital mediums
can be used to combine movies and operas.
Digital artist is a new word for these types of artists. Digital painters make digital paintings,
matte paintings, and vector graphics of many varieties using computer applications.

Engineering
Multimedia is frequently used by software engineers in computer simulations for military or
industrial training. It’s also used for software interfaces created by creative experts and
software engineers in partnership. Only multimedia is used to perform all the minute
calculations.

Components of Multimedia
Multimedia consists of the following 5 components:

Text
Characters are used to form words, phrases, and paragraphs in the text. Text appears in all
multimedia creations of some kind. The text can be in a variety of fonts and sizes to match
the multimedia software’s professional presentation. Text in multimedia systems can
communicate specific information or serve as a supplement to the information provided by
the other media.

Graphics
Non-text information, such as a sketch, chart, or photograph, is represented digitally.
Graphics add to the appeal of the multimedia application. In many circumstances, people
dislike reading big amounts of material on computers. As a result, pictures are more
frequently used than words to clarify concepts, offer background information, and so on.
Graphics are at the heart of any multimedia presentation. The use of visuals in multimedia
enhances the effectiveness and presentation of the concept. Windows Picture, Internet
Explorer, and other similar programs are often used to see visuals. Adobe Photoshop is a
popular graphics editing program that allows you to effortlessly change graphics and make
them more effective and appealing.

Animations
A sequence of still photographs is being flipped through. It’s a set of visuals that give the
impression of movement. Animation is the process of making a still image appear to move. A
presentation can also be made lighter and more appealing by using animation. In
multimedia applications, the animation is quite popular. The following are some of the most
regularly used animation viewing programs: Fax Viewer, Internet Explorer, etc.

Video
Photographic images that appear to be in full motion and are played back at speeds of 15 to
30 frames per second. The term video refers to a moving image that is accompanied by
sound, such as a television picture. Of course, text can be included in videos, either as
captioning for spoken words or as text embedded in an image, as in a slide presentation. The
following programs are widely used to view videos: Real Player, Window Media Player, etc.

Audio
Any sound, whether it’s music, conversation, or something else. Sound is the most serious
aspect of multimedia, delivering the joy of music, special effects, and other forms of
entertainment. Decibels are a unit of measurement for volume and sound pressure level.
Audio files are used as part of the application context as well as to enhance interaction.
Audio files must occasionally be distributed using plug-in media players when they appear
within online applications and webpages. MP3, WMA, Wave, MIDI, and RealAudio are
examples of audio formats. The following programs are widely used to view videos: Real
Player, Window Media Player, etc.
Neural Network

In information technology (IT), an artificial neural network (ANN) is a system of hardware

and/or software patterned after the operation of neurons in the human brain. ANNs -- also
called, simply, neural networks -- are a variety of deep learning technology, which also falls
under the umbrella of artificial intelligence, or AI.

How artificial neural networks work

An ANN usually involves a large number of processors operating in parallel and arranged in
tiers. The first tier receives the raw input information -- analogous to optic nerves in human
visual processing. Each successive tier receives the output from the tier preceding it, rather
than the raw input -- in the same way neurons further from the optic nerve receive signals
from those closer to it. The last tier produces the output of the system.
Each processing node has its own small sphere of knowledge, including what it has seen and
any rules it was originally programmed with or developed for itself. The tiers are highly
interconnected, which means each node in tier n will be connected to many nodes in tier n-
1 -- its inputs -- and in tier n+1, which provides input data for those nodes. There may be
one or multiple nodes in the output layer, from which the answer it produces can be read.
Artificial neural networks are notable for being adaptive, which means they modify
themselves as they learn from initial training and subsequent runs provide more information
about the world. The most basic learning model is centered on weighting the input streams,
which is how each node weights the importance of input data from each of its predecessors.
Inputs that contribute to getting right answers are weighted higher.

Types of neural networks

Neural networks are sometimes described in terms of their depth, including how many layers
they have between input and output, or the model's so-called hidden layers. This is why the
term neural network is used almost synonymously with deep learning. They can also be
described by the number of hidden nodes the model has or in terms of how many inputs
and outputs each node has. Variations on the classic neural network design allow various
forms of forward and backward propagation of information among tiers.

Specific types of artificial neural networks include:

 Feed-forward neural networks: one of the simplest variants of neural networks. They
pass information in one direction, through various input nodes, until it makes it to the
 output node. The network may or may not have hidden node layers, making their
functioning more interpretable. It is prepared to process large amounts of noise. This
type of ANN computational model is used in technologies such as facial recognition
and computer vision.

 Recurrent neural networks: more complex. They save the output of processing nodes
and feed the result back into the model. This is how the model is said to learn to predict
the outcome of a layer. Each node in the RNN model acts as a memory cell, continuing
the computation and implementation of operations. This neural network starts with the
same front propagation as a feed-forward network, but then goes on to remember all
processed information in order to reuse it in the future. If the network's prediction is
incorrect, then the system self-learns and continues working towards the correct
prediction during backpropagation. This type of ANN is frequently used in text-to-
speech conversions.

 Convolutional neural networks: one of the most popular models used today. This
neural network computational model uses a variation of multilayer perceptronsand
contains one or more convolutional layers that can be either entirely connected or
pooled. These convolutional layers create feature maps that record a region of image
which is ultimately broken into rectangles and sent out for nonlinear The CNN model is
particularly popular in the realm of image recognition; it has been used in many of the
most advanced applications of AI, including facial recognition, text digitization
and natural language processing. Other uses include paraphrase detection, signal
processing and image classification.

 Deconvolutional neural networks: utilize a reversed CNN model process. They aim to
find lost features or signals that may have originally been considered unimportant to the
CNN system's task. This network model can be used in image synthesis and analysis.

 Modular neural networks: contain multiple neural networks working separately from
one another. The networks do not communicate or interfere with each other's activities
during the computation process. Consequently, complex or big computational processes
can be performed more efficiently.

Advantages of artificial neural networks

 Parallel processing abilities mean the network can perform more than one job at a time.

 Information is stored on an entire network, not just a database.

 The ability to learn and model nonlinear, complex relationships helps model the real-life
relationships between input and output.

 Fault tolerance means the corruption of one or more cells of the ANN will not stop the
generation of output.

 Gradual corruption means the network will slowly degrade over time, instead of a
problem destroying the network instantly.

 The ability to produce output with incomplete knowledge with the loss of performance
being based on how important the missing information is.

 No restrictions are placed on the input variables, such as how they should be distributed.

 Machine learning means the ANN can learn from events and make decisions based on
the observations.

 The ability to learn hidden relationships in the data without commanding any fixed
relationship means an ANN can better model highly volatile data and non-constant
variance.

 The ability to generalize and infer unseen relationships on unseen data means ANNs can
predict the output of unseen data.

Disadvantages of artificial neural networks

 The lack of rules for determining the proper network structure means the appropriate
artificial neural network architecture can only be found through trial and error and
experience.

 The requirement of processors with parallel processing abilities makes neural networks
hardware-dependent.

 The network works with numerical information, therefore all problems must be translated
into numerical values before they can be presented to the ANN.

 The lack of explanation behind probing solutions is one of the biggest disadvantages in
ANNs. The inability to explain the why or how behind the solution generates a lack of
trust in the network.
Applications of artificial neural networks

Image recognition was one of the first areas to which neural networks were successfully
applied, but the technology uses have expanded to many more areas, including:

 Chatbots

 Natural language processing, translation and language generation

 Stock market prediction

 Delivery driver route planning and optimization

 Drug discovery and development

These are just a few specific areas to which neural networks are being applied today. Prime
uses involve any process that operates according to strict rules or patterns and has large
amounts of data. If the data involved is too large for a human to make sense of in a
reasonable amount of time, the process is likely a prime candidate for automation through
artificial neural networks.