Computer science

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Computer science (or computing science) is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. It is frequently described as the systematic study of algorithmic processes that describe and transform information. According to Peter J. Denning, the fundamental question underlying computer science is, "What can be (efficiently) automated?" Computer science has many sub-fields; some, such as computer graphics, emphasize the computation of specific results, while others, such as computational complexity theory, study the properties of computational problems. Still others focus on the challenges in implementing computations. For example, programming language theory studies approaches to describing 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 people.

The general public sometimes confuses computer science with vocational areas 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.

For more information about Computer science, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with computer science

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'One keypad per child' lets schoolchildren share screen to learn math

'One keypad per child' lets schoolchildren share screen to learn math (w/ Video)

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created 41 minutes ago | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The slogan is "one laptop per child." But it will be a long time before that is true everywhere in the world. Meanwhile, a new device aims to make a situation that is common in poor areas - one computer shared ...


'Fighting' IED attacks with SCARE technology

'Fighting' IED attacks with SCARE technology

Technology / Computer Sciences

created 3 hours ago | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Maryland researchers have developed and successfully tested new computer software and computational techniques to analyze patterns of improvised explosive device (IED) attacks ...


Cyber hacking could be a thing of the past

Cyber hacking could be a thing of the past

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 07, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- High-profile websites are constantly under threat from hackers attempting to paralyse their websites but new research could make such attacks computationally impossible. This research will ...


Californians -- and their cell phones -- will help computer scientists monitor air pollution

Californians -- and their cell phones -- will help computer scientists monitor air pollution

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (2) | comments 0

You want to go for a run, but you don't want to run in polluted air that might aggravate your asthma. University of California, San Diego computer scientists are creating a network of environmental sensors ...


iPhones are musical instruments in new course and ensemble (w/ Video)

iPhones are musical instruments in new course and ensemble (w/ Video)

Technology / Hi Tech

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (9) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- iPhones are being used as musical instruments in a new course at the University of Michigan.


Building real security with virtual worlds

Building real security with virtual worlds

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Nov 26, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Advances in computerized modeling and prediction of group behavior, together with improvements in video game graphics, are making possible virtual worlds in which defense analysts can explore ...


Smartphone app illuminates power consumption

Smartphone app illuminates power consumption

Technology / Software

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 1.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new application for the Android smartphone shows users and software developers how much power their applications are consuming. PowerTutor was developed by doctoral students and professors ...


Stimulus grant will improve physics arXiv

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Stimulus funding will enhance Cornell's e-print arXiv of scientific papers to help users identify a work's main concepts, see research reports in context and easily find related work.


Robots perform Shakespeare to learn how to save people

Other Sciences / Other

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Flying robot fairies are joining human actors in Texas A&M University?s production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which runs through Sunday (Nov. 15) in the Rudder Forum.


Inventing language

Inventing language

Technology / Engineering

created Nov 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Last Thursday, the day after the New York Yankees won their first World Series of the 21st century, MIT Institute Professor Barbara Liskov, the 2008 recipient of the Turing Award — frequently ...


What computer science can teach economics

What computer science can teach economics

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Computer scientists have spent decades developing techniques for answering a single question: How long does a given calculation take to perform? Constantinos Daskalakis, an assistant professor ...


Hooks hijacked? New research shows how to block stealthy malware attacks

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (13) | comments 3

The spread of malicious software, also known as malware or computer viruses, is a growing problem that can lead to crashed computer systems, stolen personal information, and billions of dollars in lost productivity every ...


MIT MAV

Flying MAV Navigates Without GPS (w/ Video)

Technology / Engineering

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (12) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- During the last several years, researchers have been building micro air vehicles (MAVs) that can autonomously fly through different environments by relying on GPS for navigation. Recently, ...


Software That's Resilient Against Hacker Attack

Software That's Resilient Against Hacker Attack

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of researchers headed by Martin Rinard, a professor of computer science at MIT, have developed new software that automatically patches errors in deployed software in a matter of minutes.


The explainer: P vs. NP -- The most notorious problem in theoretical computer science remains open

P vs. NP -- The most notorious problem in theoretical computer science remains open

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Oct 29, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (22) | comments 5

In the 1995 Halloween episode of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson finds a portal to the mysterious Third Dimension behind a bookcase, and desperate to escape his in-laws, he plunges through. He finds himself wander ...