Information systems in the context of Decision making

The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for global intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission, the majority of which are clandestine. The NSA has roughly 32,000 employees.

Originating as a unit to decipher coded communications in World War II, it was officially formed as the NSA by President Harry S. Truman in 1952. Between then and the end of the Cold War, it became the largest of the U.S. intelligence organizations in terms of personnel and budget. Still, information available as of 2013 indicates that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pulled ahead in this regard, with a budget of $14.7 billion. The NSA currently conducts worldwide mass data collection and has been known to physically bug electronic systems as one method to this end. The NSA is also alleged to have been behind such attack software as Stuxnet, which severely damaged Iran's nuclear program. The NSA, alongside the CIA, maintains a physical presence in many countries across the globe; the CIA/NSA joint Special Collection Service (a highly classified intelligence team) inserts eavesdropping devices in high-value targets (such as presidential palaces or embassies). SCS collection tactics allegedly encompass "close surveillance, burglary, wiretapping, [and] breaking".

Digital data, in information theory and information systems, is information represented as a string of discrete symbols, each of which can take on one of only a finite number of values from some alphabet, such as letters or digits. An example is a text document, which consists of a string of alphanumeric characters. The most common form of digital data in modern information systems is binary data, which is represented by a string of binary digits (bits) each of which can have one of two values, either 0 or 1.

Digital data can be contrasted with analog data, which is represented by a value from a continuous range of real numbers. Analog data is transmitted by an analog signal, which not only takes on continuous values but can vary continuously with time, a continuous real-valued function of time. An example is the air pressure variation in a sound wave.

Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, engineering, mathematical, technological, and social aspects. Major computing disciplines include computer engineering, computer science, cybersecurity, data science, information systems, information technology, and software engineering.

The term computing is also synonymous with counting and calculating. In earlier times, it was used in reference to the action performed by mechanical computing machines, and before that, to human computers.

The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army, responsible for creating and managing communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860 by Major Albert J. Myer who played a significant role during the American Civil War. It initially manages portfolios and new technologies that are eventually transferred to other U.S. government entities. Such responsibilities included military intelligence, weather forecasting, and aviation.

The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC), is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It manages new technologies and portfolios that are eventually transferred to other U.S. government entities; such responsibilities include military intelligence, weather forecasting, and aviation.

The assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration (ASD(NII)) was an appointed position that provided management and oversight of all DoD information technology, including national security systems. The ASD(NII) also served as the chief information officer (CIO) of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), a position distinct from the ASD and governed by the Clinger-Cohen Act.

The ASD(NII)/DoD CIO was the principal staff assistant and advisor to the secretary and deputy secretary of defense on networks and network-centric policies and concepts; command, control and communications (C3); non-intelligence space matters; enterprise-wide integration of DoD information matters; information technology (IT), including National Security Systems (NSS); information resources management (IRM); spectrum management; network operations; information systems; information assurance (IA); positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) policy, including airspace and military-air-traffic control activities; sensitive information integration; contingency support and migration planning; and related matters.

The term information professional or information specialist refers to professionals responsible for the collection, documentation, organization, storage, preservation, retrieval, and dissemination of printed and digital information. The service delivered to the client is known as an information service.

The term "information professional" is versatile one, used to describe similar and sometimes overlapping professions, such as librarians, archivists, information managers, information systems specialists, information scientists, records managers, and information consultants. However, terminology differs among sources and organisations. Information professionals are employed in a variety of private, public, and academic institutions, as well as independently.

In information systems, applications architecture or application architecture is one of several architecture domains that form the pillars of an enterprise architecture (EA).

A computer language is a formal language for humans to communicate with a computer, not a natural language. In earlier days of computing (before the 1980s), the term was used interchangeably with programming language, but today, used primarily for taxonomy, is a broader term that encompasses languages that are not programming in nature. Sub-categories (with possibly contended hierarchical relationships) include:

• Construction
  • Programming – for controlling computer behavior
    • Command – for controlling the tasks of a computer, such as starting programs
    • Query – for querying databases and information systems
    • Transformation – for transforming the text of a formal language into text that meets a specific goal
  • Structural
    • Configuration – for writing configuration files
    • Data exchange – examples: JSON, XML
    • Markup – for annotating a document in a way that is syntactically distinguishable from the text, such as HTML
    • Page description – for describing the appearance of a printed page in a higher level than an actual output bitmap
    • Style sheet – for expressing the presentation of structured documents, such as CSS
• Modeling – for designing systems
  • Architecture description – for describing and representing system architecture
  • Hardware description – for modeling integrated circuits
• Simulation – for simulating
• Specification – for describing what a system should do