Computer science
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Computer science deals with the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and with practical techniques for their implementation and application.
Computer science or computing science (abbreviated CS) is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems.[1][2] Computer scientists invent algorithmic processes that create, describe, and transform information and formulate suitable abstractions to model complex systems.
Computer science has many sub-fields; some, such as computational complexity theory, study the properties of computational problems, while others, such as computer graphics, emphasize the computation of specific results. Still others focus on the challenges in implementing computations. For example, programming language theory studies approaches to describe computations, while computer programming applies specific programming languages to solve specific computational problems, and human-computer interaction focuses on the challenges in making computers and computations useful, usable, and universally accessible to humans.
The general public sometimes confuses computer science with careers that deal with computers (such as information technology), or think that it relates to their own experience of computers, which typically involves activities such as gaming, web-browsing, and word-processing. However, the focus of computer science is more on understanding the properties of the programs used to implement software such as games and web-browsers, and using that understanding to create new programs or improve existing ones.[3]
Contents
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1 History
1.1 Major achievements
2 Philosophy
3 Fields of computer science
3.1 Theoretical computer science
3.1.1 Theory of computation
3.1.2 Information and coding theory
3.1.3 Algorithms and data structures
3.1.4 Programming language theory
3.1.5 Formal methods
3.1.6 Concurrent, parallel and distributed systems
3.1.7 Databases and information retrieval
3.2 Applied computer science
3.2.1 Artificial intelligence
3.2.2 Computer architecture and engineering
3.2.3 Computer graphics and visualization
3.2.4 Computer security and cryptography
3.2.5 Computational science
3.2.6 Information science
3.2.7 Software engineering
4 Education
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
History
Main article: History of computer science
The early foundations of what would become computer science predate the invention of the modern digital computer. Machines for calculating fixed numerical tasks, such as the abacus, have existed since antiquity. Wilhelm Schickard designed the first mechanical calculator in 1623, but did not complete its construction.[4] Blaise Pascal designed and constructed the first working mechanical calculator, the Pascaline, in 1642. Charles Babbage designed a difference engine and then a general-purpose Analytical Engine in Victorian times[5], for which Ada Lovelace wrote a manual. Because of this work she is regarded today as the world's first programmer.[6] Around 1900, punch-card machines[7] were introduced. However, these machines were constrained to perform a single task, or at best some subset of all possible tasks.
During the 1940s, as newer and more powerful computing machines were developed, the term computer came to refer to the machines rather than their human predecessors.[8] As it became clear that computers could be used for more than just mathematical calculations, the field of computer science broadened to study computation in general. Computer science began to be established as a distinct academic discipline in the 1950s and early 1960s.[9][10] The first computer science degree program in the United States was formed at Purdue University in 1962.[11] Since practical computers became available, many applications of computing have become distinct areas of study in their own right.
Although many initially believed it was impossible that computers themselves could actually be a scientific field of study, in the late fifties it gradually became accepted among the greater academic population.[12] It is the now well-known IBM brand that formed part of the computer science revolution during this time. IBM (short for International Business Machines) released the IBM 704 and later the IBM 709 computers, which were widely used during the exploration period of such devices. "Still, working with the IBM [computer] was frustrating...if you had misplaced as much as one letter in one instruction, the program would crash, and you would have to start the whole process over again".[12] During the late 1950s, the computer science discipline was very much in its developmental stages, and such issues were commonplace.
Time has seen significant improvements in the usability and effectiveness of computer science technology. Modern society has seen a significant shift from computers being used solely by experts or professionals to a more widespread user base. Initially, computers were quite costly, and for their most-effective use, some degree of human aid was needed, in part by professional computer operators. However, as computers became widespread and far more affordable, less human assistance was needed, although residues of the original assistance still remained.
Major achievements
This section requires expansion.
