Write your abstract here.
'For centuries, it was only out of reluctant necessity that
authors of esoteric publications
entered into the Faustian
bargain of allowing a price-tag to be erected as a barrier
between their work and its (tiny) intended readership, for
that was the only way they could make their work public at
all during the age when paper publication (and its
substantial real expenses) was the only option. But today
there is another way, and that is PUBLIC FTP
.'
Computer science (abbreviated CS or compsci) encompasses a
variety of topics that relates to computation, like abstract
analysis of algorithms, formal grammars, and subjects such
as programming languages, program design, software, computer
hardware, artificial intelligence, and numerical analysis.
By definition, computer science is the accumulated knowledge
through scientific methodology by computation or by the use
of the computer.
Computer scientists study what programs can and cannot do
(see computability), how programs can efficiently perform
specific tasks (see algorithms and complexity), how programs
should store and retrieve specific kinds of information (see
data structures and databases), how programs might behave
intelligently (see artificial intelligence), and how
programs and people should communicate with each other (see
human-computer interaction and user interfaces).
Most research in computer science has focused on von Neumann
computers or Turing machines (computation models that
perform one small, deterministic step at a time). These
models resemble, at a basic level, most real computers in
use today. Computer scientists also study other models of
computation, which includes parallel machines and
theoretical models such as probabilistic, oracle, and
quantum computers.
Edsger Dijkstra said:
Computer science is no more about computers than
astronomy is about telescopes.
The renowned physicist Richard Feynman said:
Computer science is not as old as physics; it lags by a
couple of hundred years. However, this does not mean that
there is significantly less on the computer scientist's
plate than on the physicist's: younger it may be, but it has
had a far more intense upbringing!
Computer science has roots in electrical engineering, logic,
mathematics, and linguistics. In the last third of the 20th
century computer science emerged as a distinct discipline
and developed its own methods and terminology. Originally,
CS was taught as part of mathematics or engineering
departments, for instance at the University of Cambridge in
England and at the Gdansk University of Technology in
Poland, respectively. Cambridge claims to have the world's
oldest taught qualification in computing. The first computer
science department in the United States was founded at
Purdue University in 1962, while the first college entirely
devoted to computer science was founded at Northeastern
University in 1980. Most universities today have specific
departments devoted to computer science, while some conjoin
it with engineering, with applied mathematics, or other
disciplines.