science

Virtual application

Virtual application is a 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 Virtual application rather than just read about it. In short: A virtual application is an application that has been optimized to run on virtual infrastructure. The application software along with just enough operating system (JeOS or "juice") is combined inside a virtual machine container in a manner that maximizes the performance of the application.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

A virtual application is an application that has been optimized to run on virtual infrastructure. The application software along with just enough operating system (JeOS or "juice") is combined inside a virtual machine container in a manner that maximizes the performance of the application. By minimizing the system software to the smallest set of packages required to support the application, the maintenance and administration burden of the virtual application is greatly reduced. By including Application streaming in the design of an application server capable of hosting a Virtual Application, no application specific code need reside on the server at all. Packages of code reside on the server, but the details on how they are to be invoked in order to create the functionality that adds up to the application, gets passed to the server as and when needed. In effect the application does not exist on the server at all. Though clients can still invoke it almost as if it did. The difference being that the incoming request must either include application logic ( exploiting the code packages on the server), or information on where to locate such logic in a repository. Virtual appliances are a category of virtual applications which are further optimized for simplified setup and configuration by the customer and remote management by the application vendor.

See also Application virtualization Microsoft App-V Turbo (software) Just enough operating system Virtual appliance rPath Application streaming Green computing

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Virtual application

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Virtual application claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In 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 Virtual application 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 Virtual application 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 Virtual application

In research: Virtual application appears in 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 Virtual application 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: Virtual application is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Virtualization, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Virtual application 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 Virtual application in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Virtual application 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 Virtual application out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Virtual application in simple terms?

Why does Virtual application matter?

Because it connects several 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 Virtual application?

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 Virtual application.