SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

"Software engineering is one of the fastest growing fields in the world today," says Ben Amaba, worldwide executive for IBM Complex Systems. "What we're seeing across all other disciplines is that software is becoming an invisible thread tying all disciplines together. Software is now embedded in almost all devices, mechanical devices all talk with each other, and developing products using software is faster and poses fewer risks than physical prototyping."

 Software engineering concerned with developing and maintaining software systems that behave reliably and efficiently, are affordable to develop and maintain, and satisfy all the requirements that customers have defined for them. It is important because of the impact of large, expensive software systems and the role of software in safety-critical applications.

 It integrates significant mathematics, computer science and practices whose origins are in engineering. Software engineering focuses on software development and goes beyond programming to include such things as eliciting customers’ requirements, and designing and testing software. Software Engineering students learn how to assess customer needs and develop usable software that meets those needs.

  Software Engineering has its roots in the theory and mathematics of computer science. While its study has a lot in common with computer science, software engineers learn much more about creating high-quality software in a systematic, controlled, and efficient manner. Software engineers are trained in all aspects of the software life cycle, from specification through analysis and design, to testing maintenance and evaluation of the product. They are concerned with safety and reliability of the product as well as cost and schedule of the development process.[1]

  In order to be a successful software engineering, [2]a person firstly must always do some extra activities apart from studies and related to any software that has some real time solution of any problem. Whenever you have free time spend it searching on the internet about new technologies in the market and also watch for the technologies that will be useful in the future. Next, after studying about all the fields related to Computer Science, choose a particular direction in Software Industry.

  Narrowing your choice down will help considerably in planning your career. Always think simple because the Software Industry itself is very complex. Learn about the field. The major difference between programmer and engineer is simply that engineers design tools, hence those are used by programmers to build solutions.

  Firstly, because it requires a complex skill set and high qualifications that are rare to find even today and because their demand is constantly increasing as demand for software goes up. So, people with right qualifications are a treasure companies are seeking, and once they get them, they pay them well to keep them on board. Plus, you may develop anything from business software to a gaming one, whatever you find more interesting. You can also make your own decision about whether you want to work alone or you require a team of other technology professionals to work with. [3]

 

  In today’s business environment, it is one of the most empowered jobs in the market. Being a software engineer gives you some of the best platforms to play with your creativity and design interfaces according to the user’s role. It should be professional, appealing and must match your customer’s profile to some extent. Lastly, being a software engineer can be quite challenging; a perfect choice for those who like a challenge and love computers. Every few days, there are new innovations and upgrades and a lot of new things to be learned. If you fail to keep up with the technology, you will be left behind. Software engineers surely remain on their toes all the time.

  The pros of software engineering are the job is perfect for people that love computers. This is a profession that pays well, and yet, most software engineers do not have to deal with the customers directly. You can freelance, not every software engineer can do this, but good programmers can choose to freelance, they work at home, work on projects posted on the Internet, and get paid. For cons of software engineering are hard to change jobs.

  There is a lot of competition. Next, there is too much to learn in too little time. This is related to the point above. Technology changes so fast, that if you don't keep up, you become irrelevant and could be replaced with younger, brighter and more tech savvy engineers. It is important to read the magazines that talk about the changes in computer technology.

  Software has three types which are system software, application software, and general purpose software. System software is a program that is designed for controlling input or output devices, memory and processor. While application software are designed for specific computer application and general purpose software is most programming language are designed to be good for one category of application but not necessarily for the other so general purpose software support both type.

Computer systems software engineers coordinate the construction, maintenance, and expansion of an organization's computer systems. Working with the organization, they coordinate each department's computer needs—ordering, inventory, billing, and payroll recordkeeping, for example—and make suggestions about its technical direction. They also might set up the organization's intranets—networks that link computers within the organization and ease communication among various departments. Often, they are also responsible for the design and implementation of system security and data assurance.

Systems software engineers also work for companies that configure, implement, and install the computer systems of other organizations. These workers may be members of the marketing or sales staff, serving as the primary technical resource for sales workers, or providing logistical and technical support. Since the selling of complex computer systems often requires substantial customization to meet the needs of the purchaser, software engineers help to identify and explain needed changes. In addition, systems software engineers are responsible for ensuring security across the systems they are configuring.

  Computer software engineers, also known as software developers, are a vital component of Oregon's workforce. Within this occupational group, there are two types of engineers: applications and systems. Applications engineers are charged with developing, creating, and modifying computer applications software or specialized utility programs.

  Systems engineers are charged with researching, designing, and developing operating systems-level software, compilers, and network distribution software. This article focuses on applications engineers as they makes up more than 80 percent of computer software engineers statewide.

Applications engineers work across numerous industries but are concentrated in three high-tech subsectors: semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing; software publishing; and computer systems design and related services.

  The odds are really freaking good, and only some of the goods are odd.  Sure there are a bunch of socially awkward engineers, but because of the sheer scarcity of women in the field, if you are a single female you can have first pick of a lot of really nice available guys. Less Drama, at working with mostly men keeps the workplace drama-free. Not that all or most women are moody drama queens, but you know, it happens. It just seems to happen less with men. Being liked, it’s just nice to have some women in a male-dominated workspace.

  They generally remember to shower every so often, and if you ever bring brownies to work, you’re suddenly everyone’s favourite person for at least a few minutes (though this is true for males as well). Sure, if you’re a real bitch, no one’s going to like you, but most female engineers are easy to get along with and are well-liked and appreciated in their team.  It makes it a little less like; hey look at all this testosterone fuelling our coding hackathons in this smelly room.

  Determines operational feasibility by evaluating analysis, problem definition, requirements, solution development, and proposed solutions. Next, documents and demonstrates solutions by developing documentation, flowcharts, layouts, diagrams, charts, code comments and clear code. Prepares and installs solutions by determining and designing system specifications, standards, and programming. Improves operations by conducting systems analysis; recommending changes in policies and procedures. [4]

 

  Updates job knowledge by studying state-of-the-art development tools, programming techniques, and computing equipment; participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations. Protects operations by keeping information confidential.

  Provides information by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing development and service issues. Accomplishes engineering and organization mission by completing related results as needed. Develops software solutions by studying information needs.

  The more the software industry matures, the more it is accepted by the software engineering community that the people involved in software development processes deserve more attention than the processes or technologies themselves. To this end, Human Aspects of Software Engineering details software engineering from the perspective of those involved in the process: individuals, teams, customers, and the organization. The book is written for software engineering students and professional software developers. It illustrates the richness and complexity of the human aspects of software engineering and covers the problems, questions, and conflicts that arise during development. The importance of these issues is widely acknowledged in the industry and academia, because many of the failures of software systems can be traced to human factors. [5]

 

  This, however, is the first textbook for a full course on the topic. Focusing on the different social and cognitive aspects of software development, the book addresses topics such as teamwork, customer - software-engineer relationships, and learning processes in software development. These topics are central to developers in understanding the multifaceted nature of the process. While the code and technology of software engineering are discussed, they are examined from the human perspective. In addition to the detailed topic coverage, activities, questions for discussion, and practical assignments are included.

   A software engineer has one of the most in-demand, lucrative careers in the world. Software engineers have advanced math skills, which allow them to write complex algorithms required for developing software. Those who design applications build software that will be used by a person without a programming background.

   Individuals in these computer careers may be employed by companies such as Microsoft or Adobe to develop retail software packages. Or they may work instead for a general business (or as a consultant to a general business) where they develop custom, proprietary software or adapt a retail package to meet specific business needs.

  Most employers prefer to hire people who have at least a college degree and experience with a variety of computer systems. Students seeking software engineering jobs can improve their chances by signing up as interns to get some experience. Large firms that can train new hires may take new grads with no experience. Persons looking at jobs in this field must have strong problem-solving skills. They also must be able to work with team members, other staff, and customers.

   Because they often deal with many tasks at the same time, they must be able to focus and pay close attention to detail. As technology advances in the computer field, employers want workers to keep up. Software engineers must learn new skills if they wish to remain in this advancing field. To help them keep up, employers, vendors, private training schools, and others offer a large number of courses.

  It is the job of these professionals to make user-friendly and efficient applications so that employees can be as productive as possible. Training employees to use the applications should also be straightforward. The software should be designed to cater to skills that end-users already have so that, for example, transition from one system to another is a smooth process.

  The range of work of an individual employed in one of many of the computer careers we reviewed depends on the size of the organization for which he works. If you work for a large organization, you are likely to fulfil a more narrow business role, but you are more likely to perform many other functions in a smaller organization.

    Software engineering also has its own requirement that have to be fulfilled by those who are interested in software engineering’s scope. Skill set in one of them. Successful Software Engineers need to know basic business functions, have a firm understanding of design methodology, and excellent communication skills.

  Software engineers normally work in well-lighted offices or labs. Most work at least 40 hours a week. If a big project is due, they may have to work nights or weekends to meet deadlines. Like other workers who sit for hours at a computer, they are susceptible to eyestrain, back ache, and hand and wrist pain.Software engineers who are employed by vendors and consulting firms spend time away from their offices to meet with customers. As networks expand, they may be able to use modems, laptops, e-mail, and the Internet to identify and fix problems from their own office.

  Both computer applications software engineers and computer systems software engineers are projected to be among the fastest growing occupations from 2008 to 2018. Rapid growth in the computer systems design industry should mean good opportunities for college grads with a degree and some experience. Employers will look for software engineers with a strong background in programming and systems analysis, along with business and people skills.

  The number of computer software engineers is expected to rise much faster than the average, as businesses are looking for new ways to get ahead of competition and make their computer systems the fastest. Also, growing concerns over "cyber security"—making sure only certain people can see private information—will mean more jobs for these engineers. Job growth will not be as fast as during the last decade because some work is outsourced to foreign countries.[6]

  Software engineering has brought humanity closer to the moon and taken it deeper into the earth. Along with all these miracles, software engineering has created many job opportunities. For a software engineer, the most important is which language he or she would like to learn in. just like how there are various speaking languages, there are various programming languages, which are used for several and certain purposes. C++ is a general purpose language. It is regarded as a middle level language. The language comprises of high level as well as low level language features.[7]

  Being software engineering in Islamic views are we can help other people to solve their problems. As we know that Islam encouraged us to help each others. Software engineer will help other people in specific problem related with engineering.

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[1]Jessica Keyes. Software Engineering Handbook. Auerbach Publications (CRC Press), 2003.Contains complete examples of various SE documents.

[2] Ian K. Bray. An Introduction to Requirements Engineering. Pearson Addison Wesley; 1st edition (August 26, 2002).

[3] Alan M. Davis. Software Requirements: Objects, Functions, and States. Prentice Hall PTR; 2nd Revised edition (March 1993).

[4] Dean Leffingwell, Don Widrig. Managing Software Requirements: A Unified Approach. Addison-Wesley Pub Co; 1st edition (October 28, 1999).

[5] Michael Jackson. Problem Frames: Analyzing and Structuring Software Development Problems. Addison-Wesley Pub Co; 1st edition (December 15, 2000; ©2001).

[6] Capers Jones. Software Assessments, Benchmarks, and Best Practices. Addison-Wesley Pub Co; 1st edition (April 28, 2000).

[7] Gerard O'Regan. A Practical Approach to Software Quality. Springer Verlag; 1st edition (June 13, 2002).
Contents in brief: Introduction (functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, portability), Inspections and Testing, ISO 9000, CMM, SPICE 15504, Metrics, Formal Methods and Design.

FOOD CROP PRODUCTION TO THE SOCIETY

Crop production is the process of growing crops. Many states grow crops for getting revenue. Crop production happens on large farms. Some of them are organic and some of them are not. There are many different crops that can be produced. For example like cottons, corns, wheat, leafy vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelon, and rice. Other types of crops include flowers such as sunflowers, whose seeds can be eaten. Orchards also are involved in crop production in terms of growing things such as apples, peaches, oranges, lemons, and nuts. Agriculture produces foods for human consumption. It provides the raw materials for many branches of industry, including the food-processing, mixed-feed, textile, pharmaceutical, and perfume industry. In agriculture the land is the principal means of production. The land, in its varied forms and features, determines the specific forms of agricultural concentration and specialization and makes it incumbent on the agriculturist to use scientific systems of land cultivation to increase soil fertility. Agriculture probably first developed in South Asia and Egypt, then spread to Europe, Africa, the rest of Asia, the islands of the central and South Pacific, and finally to North and South America. Agriculture in the Middle East is believed to date from 9000–7000 BC. Early cultivated crops include wild barley (Middle East), domesticated beans and water chestnuts (Thailand), and pumpkins (the Americas).1

Why I choose this topic is because the yield gains are much higher than what has been reported for other countries where genetically modified crops were used mostly to replace and enhance chemical pest control. In many developing countries, small-scale farmers especially suffer big pest-related yield losses because of technical and economic constraints. Pest-resistant genetically modified crops can contribute to increased yields and agricultural growth in those situations. This may help certain country and the society to take an opportunity to develop a better food crop production system. GM crops not only help to enhance output using fewer resources but also help in addressing many nutritional and health issues confronting Malaysian society, like those pointed out by the Malaysian Agricultural Research Institute's (MARDI) Deputy Director of Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Programmer, Dr. Indu Bala Jaganath. The nature of agriculture in the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America is determined by local social, economic, and political conditions. Once the developing countries threw off the colonial yoke, many came under economic dependence on the developed capitalist states. Their agriculture is largely underdeveloped, even though most of the population is engaged in agriculture—for example, 82 percent in Afghanistan, 68 percent in India, 70 percent in Indonesia, 55 percent in Egypt, 84 percent in Kenya, and 91 percent in Mali.2

Of the seven crops listed, six are annual crops that must be replanted each year (only hay crops would be left in place from year to year). The process of cultivating crops typically begins with tillage of the soil. Although tillage can serve a number of functions within a crop production system, the most fundamental function is to create conditions that will ensure good contact between seed and soil at the time of seed planting and the ready availability of water to the seed during germination. The degree to which the soil is disturbed by tillage prior to seed planting provides a means of categorizing crop production within a range of tillage systems. These systems range from no-tillage in which there is not soil disturbance in a field except during the process of planting a crop to conventional tillage in which multiple tillage operations can extend over many months and take place before, during, and after planting. Crop production systems that involve pre-plant tillage but maintain residues from a previous crop on the soil surface are referred to as conservation tillage practices. Against a background of a static or declining area of land available for crop and livestock production and a decreasing rate of crop improvement through conventional breeding, there is a need for new technology to increase crop yield, improve nutritional quality of food and reduce crop losses. Societal pressure suggests this will need to be achieved in a manner ensuring safety for the public and the environment.3

Modern science has also revolutionized food processing; refrigeration, for example, has made possible the large meatpacking plants and shipment and packaging of perishable foods.2 Urbanization has fostered the specialties of market gardening and truck farming. Harvesting operations have been mechanized for almost every plant product grown. Breeding programs have developed highly specialized animal, plant, and poultry varieties, thus increasing production efficiency. In the United States and other leading food-producing nations agricultural colleges and government agencies attempt to increase output by disseminating knowledge of improved agricultural practices, by the release of new plant and animal types, and by continuous intensive research into basic and applied scientific principles relating to agricultural production and economics. Many different factors influence the kind of agriculture practiced in a particular area. Among these are climate, soil, water availability, topographies, near to markets, transportation facilities, land costs, and general economic level. Climate, soil, water availability, and topography vary widely throughout the world. This variation brings about a wide range in agricultural production enterprises. As new technology is introduced and adopted, environmental factors are less important in influencing agricultural production patterns. Continued growth in the world's population makes critical the continuing ability of agriculture to provide needed food and fiber.4

The crop traits targeted through genetic engineering are not completely different from those pursued by conventional breeding. Nonetheless, because genetic engineering allows for the direct gene transfer across species boundaries, some traits that were previously difficult or impossible to breed can now be developed with relative ease. Worldwide on-going research and development for the coming generations of genetically modified (GM) crops include improved quality traits such as higher nutrient contents of food products to help improve the health status of consumers, crops modified to produce special substances for pharmaceutical or industrial purposes, and crops designed to be heat, drought or salt tolerant for adopting to climate change, or for the use of low- and no-till farming methods, fuel use and CO 2 emissions to help mitigate climate change and bring about environmental benefits3. Some of them are in the pipeline for commercial production. Genetic engineering is aimed at benefiting mankind. Therefore food manufacturers would never purposely use a known toxin or allergen because it is not in the manufacturer interest to market foods that would hurt their customers, consumers, or anyone. In addition, GM food manufacturers subject such foods to more rigorous testing than is required of traditionally bred fruits and vegetables or animals. Generally the basis for the opposing the use of the biotechnology in food crop production are based on two concerns; the concern on the production technology itself and the concern on the business intention of using such technology.5

In the North and West United States the era of mechanized agriculture began with the invention of such farm machines as the reaper, the cultivator, the thresher, and the combine. Other revolutionary innovations, e.g., the tractor, continued to appear over the years, leading to a new type of large-scale agriculture. Modern science has also revolutionized food processing; refrigeration, for example, has made possible the large meatpacking plants and shipment and packaging of perishable foods. Urbanization has fostered the specialties of market gardening and truck farming. Harvesting operations have been mechanized for almost every plant product grown. Breeding programs have developed highly specialized animal, plant, and poultry varieties, thus increasing production efficiency. The development of genetic engineering has given rise to genetically modified transgenic crops and, to a lesser degree, livestock that possess a gene from an unrelated species that confers a desired quality. Such modification allows livestock to be used as "factories" for the production of growth hormone and other substances. In the United States and other leading food-producing nations agricultural colleges and government agencies attempt to increase output by disseminating knowledge of improved agricultural practices, by the release of new plant and animal types, and by continuous intensive research into basic and applied scientific principles relating to agricultural production and economics.6

Religious views on genetically modified foods have been mixed, although as yet, no genetically modified foods (GM) foods have been designated as unacceptable by religious authorities. Islam too forbids eating of pork, and Islamic scholars have also raised concern about the theoretical production of foods with genes from pigs. And there are varying perspectives. A seminar of Islamic scholars in Kuwait on genetics and genetic engineering in October 1998 concluded that although there are fears about the possibility of the harmful effects of GM food technology and GM food products on human beings and the environment, there are no laws within Islam which stop the genetic modification of food crops and animals. And in 2003, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) approved the importation and consumption of genetically modified food products by Indonesian Muslims. Others have written that while there are Quranic verses forbidding humanity from defacing God's creation, these "cannot be invoked as a total and radical ban on genetic engineering ... If carried too far, it would conflict with many forms of curative surgery that also entail some change in God's creation". Voices in opposition to GMOs argue, based on the Quran, that there is no need for genetic modification of food crops because God created everything perfectly and man does not have any right to manipulate anything that God has created nor to tamper with it.7

. Between 1990 and 1995 the annual amount of pesticide active ingredients used in the EU declined from 307,000 t to 253,000 t which represents an 18% reduction. This was due to a number of factors including lower dose rates, better application technology, changes in farm management practices, national mandatory reduction schemes, as well as payment for agri-environmental schemes. The EU 6th Environmental Action Plan has continued to focus on pesticide reduction as a priority in relation to environmental degradation. It is against this background of reducing pesticide input that the potential of GM crops to further reduce pesticide use in the EU will be estimated. In countries where GM crops are at present widely grown, published data presented in this paper shows that the adoption of GM technology can lead to a marked reduction in pesticide use. However, the size of the reduction varies between crops and the introduced trait. For example only a modest reduction in pesticide use of 10% is associated with the introduction HT soybeans but a large and highly significant reduction of 60% in pesticide use is recorded for varieties of cotton. Although the total reduction in pesticide use of 2.9 million kg associated with HT soybeans is important the most valuable contribution to environmental benefits of GM soybeans may be that they encourage farmers to use conservation tillage techniques. While detailed consideration of this topic is beyond the scope of this paper further work is needed to quantify the environmental benefits associated with conservation tillage.8

The so-called green revolution, whose proponents wish to introduce high-yield, drought-resistant strains of wheat, rice, and corn, to plant larger areas in these crops, and to make use of mineral fertilizers, has not brought significant results. Self-sufficiency in grain has still not been attained. Per capita grain production has been low—212 kg in 1973, or one-third that of the developed capitalist countries and almost one-fourth that of the members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.5 Growth rates for other agricultural products are low, forcing the developing countries into greater dependence on imported food. In 1972 and 1973,37 million tons of wheat were imported. Low per capita grain production and slow growth rates for other products have led to a chronic food shortage and widespread undernourishment. According to UN statistics, 20 to 25 percent of the population in the Far East, Middle East, and Africa suffer from hunger. In all, about 460 million people are undernourished. The solution to the food problem requires radical agrarian changes and much greater intensification of agricultural production.9

To conclude, demanding evidence of zero risk before allowing a new technology is fundamentally at odds with any practical strategy for investigating new technologies. Mobile phones might never have seen the light of day if such stringent demands had been placed on them. In the case of GM technology it is clearly crucial to ask what the risks of adopting GM crops are. But it is also important to ask what the risks of not doing so are. Realistic cost-benefit analyses that consider local social and environmental conditions and development goals are needed on a country-by-country basis. Heated debate about the food crisis must not detract from an evidence-based assessment of biotechnology’s potential for improving agricultural productivity in developing countries. The benefits of GM crops must not be overstated. But neither can poor arguments be allowed to obscure strong arguments for a good cause. It is not necessary to accept the risks posed by GM crops when conventional breeding – sometimes assisted by safe biotechnologies such as marker assisted selection – continues to successfully produce crops that are high-yielding, drought-tolerant, climate-ready, pest- and disease-resistant, and nutritious. Conventional breeding, the existing crop varieties developed by farmers worldwide, and agro-ecological farming methods, are proven effective methods of meeting our current and future food needs.10

1 Faddeev, N. V. Sovet ekonomicheskoi vzaimopomoshchi. Moscow, 1974

2Xia, J.Y., Cui, J.J., Ma, L.H., Dong, S.X., Cui, S.X., 1999. The role of transgenic Bt cotton in integrated pest management . Acta. Gossypii Sinica 11, 57-64 14

3Hammond, B.G., Fuchs, R.L., 2000. Safety and advantages of Bacillus

4Riebe, J.F., Zalewski, J.C., 2001. Pesticide reduction and disease control with genetically modified potato. Envir. Biosafety Res. (In press)

5U.S. USDA. NASS. 2007 Census of Agriculture, 2008 Organic Production Survey. Web. 27 Jan. 2010.

6Rola, A.C., Pingali, P.L., 1993. Pesticides, rice productivity and farmers health: an economic assessment. Los Banos, Philippines, and Washington, D.C. International Rice

7Addison, S. 1999. Ingard cotton: Research and performance review 1998-1999

8Hammond, B.G., Fuchs, R.L., 2000. Safety and advantages of Bacillus ; pg255 

9Faddeev, N. V. Sovet ekonomicheskoi vzaimopomoshchi. Moscow, 1974

10U.S. USDA. NASS. 2007 Census of Agriculture, 2008 Organic Production Survey. Web. 27 Jan. 2010

ART OF CALIGRAPHY

Islamic calligraphy spread along with Islamic religion and have 29 letters and it is written from right to the left, unlike English letters which is written from left to right. Islamic calligraphy exists since the early Islamic century and it is also used in Quran. Quran is revelation from Allah to our  Prophet Muhammad in the early seventh century, epitomise Islamic calligraphy. It was revealed orally to Muhammad, and the scripture was soon committed to writing. Calligraphy is specially revered among Islamic Arts since it was primary means for preservation of Quran. Arabic scripts in Quran, however, has only the cursive form of writing, although it has many styles. Islamic calligraphy, also known as Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practise of handwriting, calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. Islamic calligraphy not only been used in Quran, it is also used as artistic in architecture in Middle-east’s buildings or houses design. Most of the obvious design is in mosque ,which can be found in and out of the mosque in any states, they carved the Islamic calligraphy of ayah in Quran on the ceiling or wall beautifully, typically with combination with Arabesque motifs. Arabesque is a form of Islamic art known for its repetitive geometric forms creating beautiful decorations. These geometric shapes often include Arabic calligraphy written on walls and ceilings inside and outside of mosques.   Furthermore, it has been spread widely to Asians especially in Malaysia. Besides been used in designs of houses and building, it is also used as handicraft and then framed it to be sold. It has become as one of the famous handicraft in Malaysia, calligraphers can generate a high income and make living out of it. Because not everyone can writes a beautiful calligraphy, it has its own styles in writing it.

I choose this topic because I think people nowadays have the lack in ability of writing Arabic calligraphy. Which we are supposed to master it as we are Muslims and mostly it is been used in our religious book and Quran. And it would be very shameful if we could not read and understand the language. Calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting, thus, by learning on how to write calligraphy, it improves the skill of one’s handwriting. Learning it will gives one many benefits. Besides that, it will be beneficial for memory and perseverance improvement, and last but not least, it will teach one the beautiful of calligraphy arts. Some people are born lucky because they are gifted with the skills of writing Arabic calligraphy beautifully. But to those who are poor and lack of that skill, that is one of the major reason why I want to give them a lesson on how to be a skilful calligraphers They can also make business out of it. All they need to do is, practise it for hundred times a day, and the results will be impressive, with Allah’s will. For example, Mohamed Zakariya is an American Muslim master of Arabic calligraphy. He went to a trip to Morocco would change his life and future path. He was fascinated by the culture, religion, and language that he encountered in Morocco. It was this experience that led him to study and eventually revert him into Islam. However, his love for Arabic calligraphy began even earlier, when as a boy in Santa Monica, he first saw a wrok of Arabic Calligraphy hang on the wall of an Armenian carpet shop. Many years later, he makes a stop in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey, studying the arts of Islamic Calligraphy.

Today, Zakariya continues his art in the U.S. where he trains his own students and regularly holds exhibitions and workshops across the country. More recently, Zakariya and his works were featured in the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" (2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.

The early history of Arabic writing is obscure, and what historical records do exist are controversial. Here is what we know for sure: The Arabic language is very ancient, but it was not a written language until perhaps the third or fourth century C.E. What the earliest written forms looked like we can hazard only a barely educated guess. Inscriptions on stone suggest both unconnected and connected letter alphabets were in use. The connected letter alphabet is recognizable as the true Arabic alphabet. We also know that a small number of people in the Prophet Muhammad’s lifetime knew how to read and write. We know the Prophet had secretaries, or scribes, to write for him, as he was unlettered. What did this writing look like? As for calligrapgher, they use Quran as their reference of their art works. I believe the preserved letters of the Prophet may be of greater help here than early Quran manuscripts. The letters are either authentic or copied from originals in look and content, while the dates of the early Qurans cannot be demonstrated. I doubt the authenticity of the available copies of the Quran from the caliph Uthman’s time—the calligraphy is too well developed. The letters, on the other hand, must represent contemporary writing practice and may even be in the hand of some of the scribes who made the first complete mushaf under the caliph Abu Bakar. From what little we know, a picture emerges of a practical, crude writing system that was available to the scribes. It was a cursive, “soft,” or layyin script, produced with a blunt pen tip. Just possibly another version existed for very special uses—a hard, “dry,” or yabis script, which would have been written with a chisel-edged pen on prepared animal skin (parchment or vellum). Evidence from petroglyph inscriptions suggests that this script, too, was known in the earliest Islamic period. The script would soon be used for copying the Quran, though the date is uncertain. The Andalusian Quranic scholar, Abu Amr ad-Dani (d. 1052 C.E.) describes seeing many early Qurans, but he does not mention the script or page materials, only the spelling and contents.  

A swift, practical script for daily use, and a formal soon to be calligraphic script for special or formal occasions. The first would eventually evolve into the modern calligraphic styles, the second into the broad-pen Quranic calligraphic scripts that, for lack of authenticated terminology, we conveniently label “Kufic.” The Arabic language spread with the Islamic religion, and with it, the Arabic alphabet: 29 letters (including Lam-Alif) written from right to left like Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, and other languages from the same family. Other languages such as Persian, Turkish, and Spanish, soon came to be written in versions of this versatile alphabet as well. It seems clear that soon the concept of calligraphic correctness that is, legibility and repeatability that had begun to emerged among the scribes (katibs).  This can be observed in probably in the first century of Quranic texts and the papyrus texts of correspondence between early Muslims. And now it has developed into more modernic and came with many styles over the century that our calligraphers has created. For example, Arabic calligraphy have five styles, those are Naskh, Thuluth, Ta’liq, Riq’a, and Diwani. Every scripts mentioned above has their own curvy and styles, it is not the same. Each one of them has their own uniqueness and characteristics. For example, as for Thuluth scripts, Thuluth was the medieval Islamic style of handwritten alphabet. Thuluth (Arabic: "one-third") is written on the principle that one-third of each letter slopes. It is a large and elegant, cursive script, used in medieval times on mosque decorations. It took on some of the functions of the early Kufic script; it was used to write surah headings, religious inscriptions, and princely titles and epigraphs. It was also used for many of the large copies of the Koran produced from the 13th century.

It is not surprising, that even today many of the leading calligraphers of the Islamic world come from non-Arabic speaking areas. One example is Aftab Ahmad, of Peshawar in Pakistan are examples of whose work are presented in the eyes of the world. The son of Muhammad Sharif, also a famous calligrapher, Aftab Ahmad is a man of many talents, an internationally recognized photographer, he is also a well-known ceramicist and calligrapher. Extraordinarily, he is ambidextrous and can write either from left to right or right to left with either hand. In keeping with the long tradition of Islamic calligraphy, the texts he prefers to inscribe are the shahada, the Muslim profession of faith, and short Quranic texts testifying to the unity of God. The works of Islamic calligraphers, both past and present, are not always easy to decipher: although the form of individual letters must adhere to the rigid canons of whatever style is being used, clarity is not a paramount goal in artistic calligraphy. Part of the pleasure of looking at decorative calligraphy is the slow dawning of recognition, as the eye traces the letters and discovers a familiar text from the Quran. Well said, this is the major impact of Islamic calligraphy to the world. It has been spread to the nation and expand widely, no matter what religion you are, which states do you live, and what language do you speak. Islamic calligraphy is the most famous calligraphy among all because it has existed ever since others calligraphy were exist. 

The contribution of the Muslim World to a wide range of arts, sciences and academic disciplines is often overlooked or taken for granted. Islamic calligraphy is a good epitomise to be an example. Youngsters nowadays do not even know on how to write an Islamic calligraphy, and this is too saddening for us Muslims. Because Islamic calligraphy origins from Arabic alphabet which we are supposed to know, and understand, and can read it. Here I am going to provide a glimpse of the rich cultural heritage within the Muslim World and the significant role that Muslims have played in the advancement of knowledge. It presents the rich creativity of Islamic Arts and Architecture, traces the historical development of Islamic regions and dynasties, highlighting their diversity of artistic expression from the inception of the faith until the present. Our previous calligraphers has contributed in many things that related with calligraphy. They has transmitted from all ayah Quran that our Prophet received from Allah, into one book, in a word that we are easy to understand. For example, We can trace the first evolution of writing into an esthetically mature calligraphy to this period. The grand inscription belt in the Dome of the Rock is the lasting testimony of those first century concepts—something totally new in world art. Executed in mosaic tiles, this band of calligraphy is a perfectly legible, fully artistically realized monumental form of the earliest Koranic script. To be that good, that confident and exuberant only seven decades after the Hijra, is really impressive. The concept of the belt in calligraphy as an architectural component is still used today, in fresh ways. In the late Umayyad period and early Abbasid period, names and a little information about some of the great calligraphers, such as ad-Dahhak Ibn Ajlan and Yusuf Ibn Hammad, begin to show up in the Arabic source literature. So far no signed examples of their work have been found, and we can only guess what their calligraphy was like.  In any case, by the end of the third century, the whole edifice of calligraphy in the Islamic domains was essentially in place. Korans were copied in huge numbers with varying degrees of skill. The stationer’s trade was practiced, as was the government scribal trade, and art materials were being produced. The art itself was discussed and found to be beautiful, necessary, and valuable. There were libraries, customers, professionals and amateurs, a connoisseurship, a market.  

Calligraphy was both a court-sponsored enterprise and a cottage industry, involving a large supporting cast of paper makers, stationers, pigment and ink makers, gold beaters, and the like. The art had its own rules, etiquette, and literature and its own jargon of words and concepts. Most of the Arabic terms have been lost, but many of the Persian and Turkish terms seem to have survived, along with the concepts script. The most different and unique of calligraphy was the North African-Andalusian-West African method. This style group, often called Maghribi, consists of many specific scripts, although their names are a bit problematic. They are commonly written with a blunt pen, usually in brown ink. The illumination styles differ as well. This is still a living tradition. Chinese Muslims also devised a method of writing that contrasted with the main line. They work is done with a brush, rather than a pen, and the aesthetics are definitely Chinese. This too remains a living tradition. This phenomenon is nicely described by the late Mahmud Yazir, the Turkish scholar of calligraphy: “Within the Muslim community,” he wrote, “it was not only the Arabs, but the Turks, Persians, Egyptians, Tunisians, Algerians, Moroccans, Andalusians, Afghans, Central Asians, Indians, Javanese, Kurds, Laz, Bulgarian Pomak Muslims, Bosnians, Albanians, and Circassians who brought forth calligraphers. These and so many more peoples and nations brought up countless illustrious artists; male and female slaves, men, women, poor, rich, religious savants, philosophers, painters, musicians, composers, singers, physicians, rulers, sheikhs, theologians, judges, muftis, kadiaskers, sheikhulislams, vezirs, ministers of state, pashas, generals, shahs, and emperors, all exhausting their lives and ruining their eyesight producing masterpieces of calligraphy.” Yazir later alludes to the place of Istanbul in this grand scheme: “The city of Istanbul became an exhibition of beautiful calligraphy for all humanity, not just the Turks and the Islamic world. It became a glorious university of esthetics.” 

In my opinion, every calligraphies has its own uniqueness and beauty. It is like a music to my eyes. Some calligraphy may be long and thin, some may look like short and wide. It depends on the hand of arts of the calligraphers. But most of calligraphs that I can see widely used in Malaysia is the Naskh script. When they announced the prayer times in television, they have the azan and the subtitles of the azan. The ayah is written in Arabic calligraphy is in Thuluth script, while the Naskh script is taught to school in children. For example, Islamic Arts Museum in Malaysia organized a competition to all calligraphers out there to show their talent and skill in calligraphy. It is organized annually and it attracts many people to join them. And so does to school children, the museum organized a workshop for kids to sharpen their skills and to exposed them to the arts and culture of Islam. I am not surprised if the kids not having any idea or thought on this. Parents should exposed them on this, it would be such wasted if the Arabic calligraphy is obsolete among us. For example, when I was in primary school, I participated in the calligraphy competition because one of my teachers saw my hidden talent. She said, I have a beautiful handwriting in Arabic fonts and she would love to sharpen my skills. So she trained me for a month, and I have to practised it everyday using a blunt pencil. How to make the pencil blunt, it cannot be used by the sharpener. Instead of shaperners, my teacher blunt it by a knife. And it has its own techniques to do it. But unfortunately, the luck was on my side. I did not win the competition, but at least I managed to gain knowledge from it. It was a whole new thing for me, and I am lucky because the teacher picked me. And so I was picked for every year to participated in the competition, and I gained so many friends. Their handwriting in calligraphy is way much better than me. Surely I learnt a lot of things from them too . I wish I can participate in more competition in the future.

Arabic opens the way to centuries of history, science, literature and culture. Arabic opens the way to a body of authentic material and a collection of manuscripts that cover all fields of study including the Qur'an, and Islamic writings and thoughts. Arabic opens the way to the Middle East, and provides access to the varied market of 21 countries and over one billion Arabs across the globe. Arabic provides us the tools to build bridges with communities and groups that are in the heart of current affairs, and communicate for creating a more peaceful and prosperous world. By learning Arabic calligraphy, it will gives many benefits to us. Firstly, it will improve our handwrittings to a beautiful one. If back then, our handwriting looks like a mess and our lecturers are hardly to understand, after learning the calligraphy, it may improves on our handwriting a little bit. From mess, to neat. It would not look mess like it used to be before this. Furthermore, thru calligraphy, we have gained another knowledge that other people might lack of. Not many people are exposed to this and not many of them out there can writes calligraphy even after they have learn it. Calligraphy is an art, it is a skill that you need to have in yourself. Thirdly, you can earn money from this. Many of calligraphers earn a lot of money by their skills. You framed a basic surah like Al-Fatihah in a big frame, with a beautiful calligraphy. And you can sell it up too RM 1,000. You would not have think of this before, but this is a reality. For example, my mom would a buy a big frame of surah with a beautiful calligraphy to hang in on the wall in our home. She would not mind spending her money on it, because she does not have the skill to write the calligraphy. She loves and appreciate those work very much. This is what I am talking about. Those are the advantages of learning Arabic calligraphy.

In a nutshell, I hope that over time we will have a huge user-generated mobile museum of Arabic calligraphy, typography, art and design with pictures from around the world. And people who are interested in the subject will be able to learn about different approaches to this art form as well as to educate others by sharing their own knowledge. One of the many benefits we can envisage is for tourists travelling to a new country. If they are interested the calligraphy, the applications can help pinpoint specific masterpieces they want to see and also search for other examples located in the area. It can help them understand the words written on inscriptions even if they do not know Arabic, and if they want to learn more about a particular work, they can post questions to draw on the knowledge of other users. Moreover, we are living in the 21st of century, inventor of application on mobile should create an applications like they have in Google Play or Apple Store and it should be free download. It will make it easier for an amateur to learn it everywhere and anywhere they would like to. And most of people nowadays use smart phones and tablet, I am pretty sure that some of them would demand an application like I mentioned above. At the same time, the course uses their Arabic language skills as a means of studying popular culture. For non-Muslims who will be downloading that application, at the same time will learn Arabic. It will enhance them to learn our language, and who knows by God wills, they will revert to Islam just like I shared with you on the above. The master in calligraphy who is American Muslim. I believe, non-Muslim will be fascinated by our beautiful language and culture. And Allah said “kun fay a kun” , which means “ Be and it is”.  With Allah’s will, anything can happen. If he wants it that way, thus it will happen in his way it wants it to be happen.