Java Reference
In-Depth Information
1.1 Basic Computing Concepts
Computers are pervasive in our daily lives, and, thanks to the Internet, they give us
access to nearly limitless information. Some of this information is essential news,
like the headlines at cnn.com. Computers let us share photos with our families and
map directions to the nearest pizza place for dinner.
Lots of real-world problems are being solved by computers, some of which don't
much resemble the one on your desk or lap. Computers allow us to sequence the
human genome and search for DNA patterns within it. Computers in recently manu-
factured cars monitor each vehicle's status and motion. Digital music players such as
Apple's iPod actually have computers inside their small casings. Even the Roomba
vacuum-cleaning robot houses a computer with complex instructions about how to
dodge furniture while cleaning your floors.
But what makes a computer a computer? Is a calculator a computer? Is a human
being with a paper and pencil a computer? The next several sections attempt to
address this question while introducing some basic terminology that will help prepare
you to study programming.
Why Programming?
At most universities, the first course in computer science is a programming course.
Many computer scientists are bothered by this because it leaves people with the
impression that computer science is programming. While it is true that many trained
computer scientists spend time programming, there is a lot more to the discipline. So
why do we study programming first?
A Stanford computer scientist named Don Knuth answers this question by saying
that the common thread for most computer scientists is that we all in some way work
with algorithms.
Algorithm
A step-by-step description of how to accomplish a task.
Knuth is an expert in algorithms, so he is naturally biased toward thinking of them
as the center of computer science. Still, he claims that what is most important is not
the algorithms themselves, but rather the thought process that computer scientists
employ to develop them. According to Knuth,
It has often been said that a person does not really understand something
until after teaching it to someone else. Actually a person does not really
understand something until after teaching it to a computer, i.e., expressing
it as an algorithm. 1
1 Knuth, Don. Selected Papers on Computer Science. Stanford. CA: Center for the Study of Language and
Information, 1996.
 
 
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