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Computer Science
Also Known As Informatics
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Computer science is the study of computation and information: what can be computed at all, how to design algorithms that compute it efficiently, and how to build the hardware and software that carry algorithms out. Its theoretical foundation is usually dated to Alan Turing's 1936 paper describing an abstract computing machine, years before an electronic computer existed to run one.
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Founded YearSourced to the subject's own accountDated to Alan Turing's 1936 paper, the field's theoretical foundation; the first university computer science departments did not open until the 1960s, so this year marks the idea, not the institution. Central QuestionCan every problem whose solution can be quickly verified also be quickly solved, the P versus NP question that remains the field's most consequential open problem? 2 ScopeComputer science is the study of computation, information and automation, spanning theoretical disciplines such as algorithms and the theory of computation and applied disciplines such as hardware and software design. 2 SignificanceComputer science began to be established as a distinct academic discipline only in the 1950s and early 1960s, with Cambridge's Diploma in Computer Science in 1953 among the first degree programs. It was built on theoretical foundations laid earlier by Charles Babbage's mechanical computing designs, Ada Lovelace's published algorithm, and Alan Turing's formal account of computability. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
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1. History of Computer Science (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead sectionQuote, Lead section
The history of computer science began long before the modern discipline of computer science, usually appearing in forms like mathematics or physics. Developments in previous centuries alluded to the discipline that we now know as computer science.
2. Computer Science (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead sectionQuote, Lead section
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Included broadly in the sciences, computer science spans theoretical disciplines to applied disciplines.
2. Computer Science (Wikipedia)
Computer Science (Wikipedia)
WikipediaNaming sectionQuote, Naming section
In Europe, terms derived from contracted translations of the expression automatic information or information and mathematics are often used, e.g. informatique (French), Informatik (German), informatica (Italian, Dutch), informatica (Spanish, Portuguese).
William Shockley (Britannica)
Association for Computing Machinery (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Association for Computing Machinery, Lead sectionView the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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