---
type: concept
title: Cloud-based Programming Environment
tags: [cloud-computing, development, hpc]
related: [apphub, high-performance-computing]
created: 2026-06-30
updated: 2026-06-30
sources: ["output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_allgemein_sonstiges_high_performance_computing_apph.md"]
---

# Cloud-based Programming Environment

A **Cloud-based Programming Environment** is a development setup where the integrated development environment (IDE), compilers, libraries, and the underlying compute resources are hosted on remote servers and accessed by the user via a web browser.

## Key Characteristics
- **Zero Local Installation:** Users do not need to install language runtimes (e.g., Python, R) or heavy IDEs on their own machines.
- **Resource Offloading:** The actual execution of code happens on the server side. This is critical for tasks such as Machine Learning or Big Data analysis that require significant CPU, GPU, or RAM resources.
- **Consistency:** Pre-configured environments (e.g., those containing PyTorch or TensorFlow in the [[apphub]]) ensure that all users have the same versions of libraries, reducing "it works on my machine" errors.

## Implementation Examples
In the context of the Universität Greifswald, this is implemented via tools like **JupyterLab**, **RStudio**, and **Code-Server**.
