Computer science or computing science (sometimes abbreviated CS) is the study of the theoretical foundations of information Information, in its most restricted technical sense, is an ordered sequence of symbols. As a concept, however, information has many meanings. Moreover, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, and representation and computation Computation is a general term for any type of process, algorithm or measurement; this often includes but is not limited to digital data. This includes phenomena ranging from human thinking to calculations with a more narrow meaning. Computation is a process following a well-defined model that is understood and can be expressed in an algorithm,, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data//information, and provides output in a useful format systems.[1][2][3][4] It is frequently described as the systematic study of algorithmic In mathematics, computer science, and related subjects, an algorithm is an effective method for solving a problem expressed as a finite sequence of instructions. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and many other fields processes that create, describe, and transform information. Computer science has many sub-fields Computer science has a number of major sub-fields which can be classified by a number of means; some, such as computer graphics Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer, emphasize the computation of specific results, while others, such as computational complexity theory Computational complexity theory is a branch of the theory of computation in computer science and mathematics that focuses on classifying computational problems according to their inherent difficulty. In this context, a computational problem is understood to be a task that is in principle amenable to being solved by a computer. Informally, a, study the properties of computational problems In theoretical computer science, a computational problem is a mathematical object representing a collection of questions that computers might want to solve. For example, the problem of factoring. Still others focus on the challenges in implementing computations. For example, programming language theory Programming language theory is a branch of computer science that deals with the design, implementation, analysis, characterization, and classification of programming languages and their individual features. It falls within the discipline of computer science, both depending on and affecting mathematics, software engineering and linguistics. It is a studies approaches to describe computations, while computer programming Computer programming is the process of writing, testing, debugging/troubleshooting, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in a programming language. The code may be a modification of an existing source or something completely new. The purpose of programming is to create a program that exhibits a certain applies specific programming languages A programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be performed by a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine, to express algorithms precisely, or as a mode of human communication to solve specific computational problems, and human-computer interaction Human–computer interaction is the study of interaction between people (users) and computers. It is often regarded as the intersection of computer science, behavioral sciences, design and several other fields of study. Interaction between users and computers occurs at the user interface (or simply interface), which includes both software and focuses on the challenges in making computers and computations useful, usable, and universally accessible to people Humans, known taxonomically as Homo sapiens , are the only living species in the Homo genus of bipedal primates in Hominidae, the great ape family. However, in some cases "human" is used to refer to any member of the genus Homo.

The general public sometimes confuses computer science with careers that deal with computers (such as the noun Information Technology Information technology is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware", according to the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA). IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to), 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.[5]

Contents

History

Wikiversity has learning materials about computing
Main article: History of computer science The history of computer science began long before the modern discipline of computer science that emerged in the twentieth century, and hinted at in the centuries prior. The progression, from mechanical inventions and mathematical theories towards the modern concepts and machines, formed a major academic field and the basis of a massive worldwide

The early foundations of what would become computer science predate the invention of the modern digital computer A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions. Machines for calculating fixed numerical tasks, such as the abacus The abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abacuses are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of wood, stone, or metal. The abacus was in use, have existed since antiquity. Wilhelm Schickard Wilhelm Schickard was a German polymath who built one of the first calculating machines in 1623 built the first mechanical calculator in 1623.[6] Charles Babbage Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor, and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer. Parts of his uncompleted mechanisms are on display in the London Science Museum. In 1991, a perfectly functioning difference engine was constructed from Babbage's original plans. Built to designed a difference engine The Difference Engine was an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. Both logarithmic and trigonometric functions can be approximated by polynomials, so a difference engine can compute many useful sets of numbers in Victorian The Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 until her death on the 22nd of January 1901. The reign was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements at home, allowed an educated middle class to times[7] helped by Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace , born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine. Her notes on the engine include what is recognised as the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine; as such she is regarded as the.[8] Around 1900, punch-card machines A keypunch is a device for manually entering data into punched cards by precisely punching holes at locations designated by the keys struck by the operator. Early keypunches were manual devices. Later keypunches were mechanized, often resembled a small desk, with a keyboard similar to a typewriter, and with hoppers for blank cards and stackers for[9] were introduced. However, all of 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.[10] As it became clear that computers could be used for more than just mathematical calculations, the field of computer science broadened to study computation Computation is a general term for any type of process, algorithm or measurement; this often includes but is not limited to digital data. This includes phenomena ranging from human thinking to calculations with a more narrow meaning. Computation is a process following a well-defined model that is understood and can be expressed in an algorithm, in general. Computer science began to be established as a distinct academic discipline in the 1950s and early 1960s.[11][12] The first computer science degree program in the United States was formed at Purdue University Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University System. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and money from Lafayette businessman John Purdue to in 1962.[13] 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.[14] It is the now well-known IBM International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) is a multinational computer, technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM is the world's fourth largest technology company and the second most valuable global brand (after Coca-Cola). IBM is one of the few information technology companies with a 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".[14] 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.

Major achievements

This section requires expansion.
The German A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state, military used the Enigma machine An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. The first Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I. This model and its variants were used commercially from the early 1920s, and adopted by military and government during World War II Albania · Australia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Canada · Ceylon (Sri Lanka) · Channel Islands · China · Czechoslovakia · Denmark · Dutch East Indies · Egypt · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Greenland · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland · for communication they thought to be secret. The large-scale decryption of Enigma traffic at Bletchley Park Bletchley Park, also known as Station X, is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England. During World War II, Bletchley Park was the site of the United Kingdom's main decryption establishment, the Government Code and Cypher School. Ciphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted there, most importantly was an important factor that contributed to Allied victory in WWII.[15]

Despite its short history as a formal academic discipline, computer science has made a number of fundamental contributions to science Science is, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge that is capable of resulting in a correct prediction or reliable outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique, technology, or practice and society A society or a human society is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations such as social status, roles and social networks. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals sharing a distinctive culture and institutions. Without an article, the term refers either to the entirety of. These include:

Areas of computer science

As a discipline, computer science spans a range of topics from theoretical studies of algorithms and the limits of computation to the practical issues of implementing computing systems in hardware and software.[20][21] The Computer Sciences Accreditation Board (CSAB) [22] – which is made up of representatives of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society (IEEE), and the Association for Information Systems (AIS) – identifies four areas that it considers crucial to the discipline of computer science: theory of computation, algorithms and data structures, programming methodology and languages, and computer elements and architecture. In addition to these four areas, CSAB also identifies fields such as software engineering, artificial intelligence, computer networking and communication, database systems, parallel computation, distributed computation, computer-human interaction, computer graphics, operating systems, and numerical and symbolic computation as being important areas of computer science.[20]

Theoretical computer science

The broader field of theoretical computer science encompasses both the classical theory of computation and a wide range of other topics that focus on the more abstract, logical, and mathematical aspects of computing.

Mathematical logic Automata theory Number theory Graph theory
Type theory Category theory Computational geometry Quantum computing theory

Theory of computation

According to Peter J. Denning, the fundamental question underlying computer science is, "What can be (efficiently) automated?"[11] The study of the theory of computation is focused on answering fundamental questions about what can be computed and what amount of resources are required to perform those computations. In an effort to answer the first question, computability theory examines which computational problems are solvable on various theoretical models of computation. The second question is addressed by computational complexity theory, which studies the time and space costs associated with different approaches to solving a computational problem.

The famous "P=NP?" problem, one of the Millennium Prize Problems,[23] is an open problem in the theory of computation.

P = NP ? GNITIRW-TERCES
Computability theory Computational complexity theory Cryptography

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Computer science breakthrough: The end of P = NP? - InfoWorld
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breakthrough: The end of P = NP? InfoWorld It's a classic problem -- many consider it to be the fundamental unsolved problem in computer science -- and it has a long history. HP boffin claims million-dollar maths prize Register Computer scientist Vinay Deolalikar claims to have solved maths riddle of P vs NP Telegraph.co.uk P, NP, And Is Academia Inhospitable to Big Discoveries? Psychology Today (blog) Forbes (blog)  - Nature.com  - Wikinews
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