Computer Science - Early History, Computer Science Chronology, Basic Methodologies Of The Field, Some Examples Of Computer Science Merging With Other Fields
algorithms software study algorithm
Computer science is often defined as "the systematic study of algorithmic processes, their theory, design, analysis, implementation and application." An algorithm is a precise method usable by a computer for the solution of a problem. The term algorithm comes from the last name of a Persian author, Abu Ja'far Mohammed ibn Musa al Khowarizmi (c. 825 C.E.), who wrote an early textbook on mathematics. Some computer scientists study broad classes of algorithms, while others study algorithms for a specific task. Algorithms must be written down in some notation. Often the notation used is a programming language, as algorithms written in a programming language can be transformed and executed on a digital computer. Such algorithms are called computer software. Computer science is also concerned with large software systems, collections of thousands of algorithms, whose combination produces a significantly complex application. For these systems new issues become prominent: reliability, security, dependability, scalability, and modifiability of both the computer software and hardware. Another aspect of computer science is the impact it has had on other disciplines. Computer science "thinking," namely the modeling of processes by algorithms, has had a major impact on researchers in other fields.
Additional Topics
The field called computer science was born in the 1940s, though its roots extend back to the nineteenth century and even earlier. One of the early founders of the field was Alan Turing (1912–1954), a citizen of Great Britain, who in 1937 published his famous paper entitled "On Computable Numbers with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem." In this paper he introduced the …
During the early period (1950s–1960s), a great deal of computer science work focused on understanding and refining
essential elements of a computer system. Operating-systems software was developed to facilitate the control of the functional units of a computer: the processor and the input and output devices. Programming languages were devised so programmers could more easily express the co…
The digital computer is the center of computer science. Abstract models are developed in the hope of capturing essential elements, but the models need sufficient accuracy so conclusions reflect what will actually occur on a real digital computer. Algorithmic thinking requires one to express solutions to problems as a sequence of steps, each one sufficiently precise that it could be translated into…
Library science, which is concerned with the archiving of texts into digital libraries so the information can be efficiently and accurately retrieved. With the advent of the Internet, digital libraries are causing major changes to the traditional bricks-and-mortar library. Management science, which is concerned with the development of computer models to help businesses perform their planning and f…
Computer science originated within mathematics, mainly through mathematical logic, and through electrical engineering with the use of Boolean algebra and switching theory to describe electronic circuitry. Conversely, computer science has strongly influenced mathematics. In some cases computers have been used to help prove theorems. One example is the question of whether four colors are sufficient …
Citing this material
Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.
Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.
User Comments