computer science

Notification system

Notification system is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Notification system rather than just read about it. In short: In information technology, a notification system is a combination of software and hardware that delivers a message to a set of recipients. It commonly displays activity related to an account.

Key takeaways

Notification system belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Notification system to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Notification system from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In information technology, a notification system is a combination of software and hardware that delivers a message to a set of recipients. It commonly displays activity related to an account. These systems are an important aspect of modern web applications.

Implications and effects The widespread adoption of notification systems was a major technological development of the 20th century. A notification is a combination of software, hardware, and psychology that provides a means of delivering a message to a group of recipients. Notifications show activity that relates to an event, account, or person. A push notification is a message that appears on a mobile device such as a text, sports score, limited-time deal, or an e-mail announcing when a computer network will be down for scheduled maintenance. Notifications are sent from app publishers at any time in an effort to get users to open up their app or website. Notifications appear on a user's lock screen and also at the top of their phone screen when the phone is unlocked and in use. In most newer devices, notifications appearing on the lock screen can be turned off, typically via an option in the device's settings. Push notifications can be valuable and convenient for both the app user and the developer due to the immediacy and display location of notifications. Notifications also pair with sounds to reach multiple senses of a user and reach maximum attention. For app publishers, push notifications are a way for them to speak directly to the user without being caught by spam filters or being pushed to the side by the flood of emails within an inbox. Because of this, these push click-through rates can be higher than email. They invite users to open an app or spend time and money in a certain way by the app publisher, even when the app isn't open. This means that for developers, publishers, and businesses, notifications are the most effective way to take attention and ultimately make money.

Psychology and ethics Notifications use a concept known as variable rewards, which is a technique that slot machines use to engage gamblers. Similarly, variable reward systems keep users compulsively checking their phones due to the possibility of social approval awaiting them. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt at NYU Stern School of Business points to concerns of mental health directly relating to social media and the notification system. He points to the increase in depression and suicide rates among teens and young adults since the early 2000s, and Haidt states that this trend started the year social media was made available on cell phones. Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology states that there is a "disinformation-for-profit business model" and companies profit by allowing "unregulated messages to reach anyone for the best price." This becomes problematic as companies have unlimited and often unwarranted access to you and your focus through the notification system. This is always used to drive larger profits, whether that means that companies use notifications to simply promote their newest product, or if they subtly try to get you back onto the app in order to take more of your time. There is overwhelming evidence that notifications are associated with decreased productivity, poorer concentration, and increased distraction at work, school, and home. "Ping fatigue" is the mental exhaustion created by endless digital notifications (pings). The notifications arise from emails, instant messaging, package arrivals, workflow updates, and other digital tools and may disruptive to employee flow, negatively impacting productivity. The ever-present notifications lend to a sense of an infinite workday and lead to occupational burnout.

Interactive media

The number of ways a person can interact with technology has steadily increased. Advanced notification systems support at least one and sometimes all of the following communications media:

Text messaging (SMS) Voice (telephone, cellphone, VoIP, outdoor loudspeaker, indoor PA system) E-mail (POP, IMAP, SMTP) Desktop alert (dialog, balloon, modal window, toast) Pager (SNPP) Instant messaging (IRC, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN, XMPP, iMessage) RSS (RSS reader, digital signage) Web page (JavaScript, XML) Fax

See also Emergency notification system Emergency communication system Emergency broadcast system Emergency alert system Emergency telephone number ePrompter, an e-mail notification system Pop-up notification, a type of notification system

References

External links Biography of Ramsay Brown

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Notification system

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Notification system claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Notification system before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Notification system ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Notification system

In research: Notification system appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Notification system in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Notification system is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Human–computer interaction, Information systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Notification system outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Notification system in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Notification system means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Notification system out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Notification system in simple terms?

In information technology, a notification system is a combination of software and hardware that delivers a message to a set of recipients. It commonly displays activity related to an account.

Why does Notification system matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Notification system?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Notification system.