John R. Mashey (born 1946) is an American computer scientist , director and entrepreneur.
77-731: Mashey holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Pennsylvania State University , where he developed the ASSIST assembler language teaching software. He worked on the PWB/UNIX operating system at Bell Labs from 1973 to 1983, authoring the PWB shell , also known as the "Mashey Shell". He then moved to Silicon Valley to join Convergent Technologies , ending as director of software. He joined MIPS Computer Systems in early 1985, managing operating systems development, and helping design
154-643: A 250-page critical report on the Wegman Report . Mashey's report concluded that the Wegman Report contained plagiarized text. This story was featured in USA Today , and he was interviewed in Science magazine, which stated that he was "spending his retirement years compiling voluminous critiques of what he calls the 'real conspiracy' to produce 'climate antiscience'." His research has investigated
231-413: A Turing machine is one of the most important results in computability theory, as it is an example of a concrete problem that is both easy to formulate and impossible to solve using a Turing machine. Much of computability theory builds on the halting problem result. Another important step in computability theory was Rice's theorem , which states that for all non-trivial properties of partial functions, it
308-563: A Turing machine will always require only a finite amount of memory. So in principle, any problem that can be solved (decided) by a Turing machine can be solved by a computer that has a finite amount of memory. The theory of computation can be considered the creation of models of all kinds in the field of computer science. Therefore, mathematics and logic are used. In the last century, it separated from mathematics and became an independent academic discipline with its own conferences such as FOCS in 1960 and STOC in 1969, and its own awards such as
385-438: A computer specialist is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Unix -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Computer science Computer science is the study of computation , information , and automation . Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms , theory of computation , and information theory ) to applied disciplines (including
462-585: 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. CSAB , formerly called Computing Sciences Accreditation Board—which is made up of representatives of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS) —identifies four areas that it considers crucial to
539-753: A distinct academic discipline in the 1950s and early 1960s. The world's first computer science degree program, the Cambridge Diploma in Computer Science , began at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory in 1953. The first computer science department in the United States was formed at Purdue University in 1962. Since practical computers became available, many applications of computing have become distinct areas of study in their own rights. Although first proposed in 1956,
616-516: A finite representation of a formal language that may be an infinite set. Automata are used as theoretical models for computing machines, and are used for proofs about computability. Language theory is a branch of mathematics concerned with describing languages as a set of operations over an alphabet . It is closely linked with automata theory, as automata are used to generate and recognize formal languages. There are several classes of formal languages, each allowing more complex language specification than
693-464: A mathematical discipline argue that computer programs are physical realizations of mathematical entities and programs that can be deductively reasoned through mathematical formal methods . Computer scientists Edsger W. Dijkstra and Tony Hoare regard instructions for computer programs as mathematical sentences and interpret formal semantics for programming languages as mathematical axiomatic systems . A number of computer scientists have argued for
770-443: A mathematics emphasis and with a numerical orientation consider alignment with computational science . Both types of departments tend to make efforts to bridge the field educationally if not across all research. Despite the word science in its name, there is debate over whether or not computer science is a discipline of science, mathematics, or engineering. Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon argued in 1975, Computer science
847-463: A network while using concurrency, this is known as a distributed system. Computers within that distributed system have their own private memory, and information can be exchanged to achieve common goals. This branch of computer science aims to manage networks between computers worldwide. Computer security is a branch of computer technology with the objective of protecting information from unauthorized access, disruption, or modification while maintaining
SECTION 10
#1732801253279924-550: A number of terms for the practitioners of the field of computing were suggested in the Communications of the ACM — turingineer , turologist , flow-charts-man , applied meta-mathematician , and applied epistemologist . Three months later in the same journal, comptologist was suggested, followed next year by hypologist . The term computics has also been suggested. In Europe, terms derived from contracted translations of
1001-495: A particular kind of mathematically based technique for the specification , development and verification of software and hardware systems. The use of formal methods for software and hardware design is motivated by the expectation that, as in other engineering disciplines, performing appropriate mathematical analysis can contribute to the reliability and robustness of a design. They form an important theoretical underpinning for software engineering, especially where safety or security
1078-408: A problem can be solved at all on a computer, but also how efficiently the problem can be solved. Two major aspects are considered: time complexity and space complexity, which are respectively how many steps it takes to perform a computation, and how much memory is required to perform that computation. In order to analyze how much time and space a given algorithm requires, computer scientists express
1155-512: A significant amount of computer science does not involve the study of computers themselves. Because of this, several alternative names have been proposed. Certain departments of major universities prefer the term computing science , to emphasize precisely that difference. Danish scientist Peter Naur suggested the term datalogy , to reflect the fact that the scientific discipline revolves around data and data treatment, while not necessarily involving computers. The first scientific institution to use
1232-410: A specific application. Codes are used for data compression , cryptography , error detection and correction , and more recently also for network coding . Codes are studied for the purpose of designing efficient and reliable data transmission methods. Data structures and algorithms are the studies of commonly used computational methods and their computational efficiency. Programming language theory
1309-728: A trustee of the Computer History Museum in 2001. In 1997 he received Pennsylvania State University 's first Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award for Computer Science and Engineering . In 2012, he received the USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award ("Flame Award") "for his contributions to the UNIX community since its early days". He has written articles for the Skeptical Inquirer regarding climate change denial . In 2010 he published
1386-528: Is undecidable whether a Turing machine computes a partial function with that property. Computability theory is closely related to the branch of mathematical logic called recursion theory , which removes the restriction of studying only models of computation which are reducible to the Turing model. Many mathematicians and computational theorists who study recursion theory will refer to it as computability theory. Complexity theory considers not only whether
1463-415: 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 an active research area, with numerous dedicated academic journals. Formal methods are
1540-422: Is an empirical discipline. We would have called it an experimental science, but like astronomy, economics, and geology, some of its unique forms of observation and experience do not fit a narrow stereotype of the experimental method. Nonetheless, they are experiments. Each new machine that is built is an experiment. Actually constructing the machine poses a question to nature; and we listen for the answer by observing
1617-484: Is an open problem in the theory of computation. Information theory, closely related to probability and statistics , is related to the quantification of information. This was developed by Claude Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and communicating data. Coding theory is the study of the properties of codes (systems for converting information from one form to another) and their fitness for
SECTION 20
#17328012532791694-479: Is associated in the popular mind with robotic development , but the main field of practical application has been as an embedded component in areas of software development , which require computational understanding. The starting point in the late 1940s was Alan Turing's question " Can computers think? ", and the question remains effectively unanswered, although the Turing test is still used to assess computer output on
1771-548: Is connected to many other fields in computer science, including computer vision , image processing , and computational geometry , and is heavily applied in the fields of special effects and video games . Information can take the form of images, sound, video or other multimedia. Bits of information can be streamed via signals . Its processing is the central notion of informatics, the European view on computing, which studies information processing algorithms independently of
1848-409: Is considered by some to have a much closer relationship with mathematics than many scientific disciplines, with some observers saying that computing is a mathematical science. Early computer science was strongly influenced by the work of mathematicians such as Kurt Gödel , Alan Turing , John von Neumann , Rózsa Péter and Alonzo Church and there continues to be a useful interchange of ideas between
1925-508: Is determining what can and cannot be automated. The Turing Award is generally recognized as the highest distinction in computer science. The earliest foundations of what would become computer science predate the invention of the modern digital computer . Machines for calculating fixed numerical tasks such as the abacus have existed since antiquity, aiding in computations such as multiplication and division. Algorithms for performing computations have existed since antiquity, even before
2002-445: Is divided into three major branches: automata theory and formal languages , computability theory , and computational complexity theory , which are linked by the question: "What are the fundamental capabilities and limitations of computers?". In order to perform a rigorous study of computation, computer scientists work with a mathematical abstraction of computers called a model of computation . There are several models in use, but
2079-630: Is generally considered the province of disciplines other than computer science. For example, the study of computer hardware is usually considered part of computer engineering , while the study of commercial computer systems and their deployment is often called information technology or information systems . However, there has been exchange of ideas between the various computer-related disciplines. Computer science research also often intersects other disciplines, such as cognitive science , linguistics , mathematics , physics , biology , Earth science , statistics , philosophy , and logic . Computer science
2156-584: Is intended to organize, store, and retrieve large amounts of data easily. Digital databases are managed using database management systems to store, create, maintain, and search data, through database models and query languages . Data mining is a process of discovering patterns in large data sets. The philosopher of computing Bill Rapaport noted three Great Insights of Computer Science : Programming languages can be used to accomplish different tasks in different ways. Common programming paradigms include: Many languages offer support for multiple paradigms, making
2233-426: Is involved. Formal methods are a useful adjunct to software testing since they help avoid errors and can also give a framework for testing. For industrial use, tool support is required. However, the high cost of using formal methods means that they are usually only used in the development of high-integrity and life-critical systems , where safety or security is of utmost importance. Formal methods are best described as
2310-545: Is mathematical and abstract in spirit, but it derives its motivation from practical and everyday computation. It aims to understand the nature of computation and, as a consequence of this understanding, provide more efficient methodologies. According to Peter Denning, the fundamental question underlying computer science is, "What can be automated?" 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
2387-519: Is of high quality, affordable, maintainable, and fast to build. It is a systematic approach to software design, involving the application of engineering practices to software. Software engineering deals with the organizing and analyzing of software—it does not just deal with the creation or manufacture of new software, but its internal arrangement and maintenance. For example software testing , systems engineering , technical debt and software development processes . Artificial intelligence (AI) aims to or
John Mashey - Misplaced Pages Continue
2464-584: Is required to synthesize goal-orientated processes such as problem-solving, decision-making, environmental adaptation, learning, and communication found in humans and animals. From its origins in cybernetics and in the Dartmouth Conference (1956), artificial intelligence research has been necessarily cross-disciplinary, drawing on areas of expertise such as applied mathematics , symbolic logic, semiotics , electrical engineering , philosophy of mind , neurophysiology , and social intelligence . AI
2541-432: Is the field of study and research concerned with the design and use of computer systems , mainly based on the analysis of the interaction between humans and computer interfaces . HCI has several subfields that focus on the relationship between emotions , social behavior and brain activity with computers . Software engineering is the study of designing, implementing, and modifying the software in order to ensure it
2618-783: Is the field of study concerned with constructing mathematical models and quantitative analysis techniques and using computers to analyze and solve scientific problems. A major usage of scientific computing is simulation of various processes, including computational fluid dynamics , physical, electrical, and electronic systems and circuits, as well as societies and social situations (notably war games) along with their habitats, among many others. Modern computers enable optimization of such designs as complete aircraft. Notable in electrical and electronic circuit design are SPICE, as well as software for physical realization of new (or modified) designs. The latter includes essential design software for integrated circuits . Human–computer interaction (HCI)
2695-500: Is the quick development of this relatively new field requires rapid review and distribution of results, a task better handled by conferences than by journals. Theory of computation In theoretical computer science and mathematics , the theory of computation is the branch that deals with what problems can be solved on a model of computation, using an algorithm , how efficiently they can be solved or to what degree (e.g., approximate solutions versus precise ones). The field
2772-943: The Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000. The Official Problem Description was given by Turing Award winner Stephen Cook . Aside from a Turing machine , other equivalent (See: Church–Turing thesis ) models of computation are in use. In addition to the general computational models, some simpler computational models are useful for special, restricted applications. Regular expressions , for example, specify string patterns in many contexts, from office productivity software to programming languages . Another formalism mathematically equivalent to regular expressions, Finite automata are used in circuit design and in some kinds of problem-solving. Context-free grammars specify programming language syntax. Non-deterministic pushdown automata are another formalism equivalent to context-free grammars. Primitive recursive functions are
2849-725: The IMU Abacus Medal (established in 1981 as the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize), the Gödel Prize , established in 1993, and the Knuth Prize , established in 1996. Some pioneers of the theory of computation were Ramon Llull , Alonzo Church , Kurt Gödel , Alan Turing , Stephen Kleene , Rózsa Péter , John von Neumann and Claude Shannon . Automata theory is the study of abstract machines (or more appropriately, abstract 'mathematical' machines or systems) and
2926-693: The MIPS RISC architecture, as well as specific CPUs, systems and software. He continued similar work at Silicon Graphics (1992–2000), contributing to the design of the NUMAflex modular computer architecture using NUMAlink , ending as VP and chief scientist. Mashey was one of the founders of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) benchmarking group, was an ACM National Lecturer for four years, has been guest editor for IEEE Micro , and one of
3003-475: The "technocratic paradigm" (which might be found in engineering approaches, most prominently in software engineering), and the "scientific paradigm" (which approaches computer-related artifacts from the empirical perspective of natural sciences , identifiable in some branches of artificial intelligence ). Computer science focuses on methods involved in design, specification, programming, verification, implementation and testing of human-made computing systems. As
3080-570: The 100th anniversary of the invention of the arithmometer, Torres presented in Paris the Electromechanical Arithmometer , a prototype that demonstrated the feasibility of an electromechanical analytical engine, on which commands could be typed and the results printed automatically. In 1937, one hundred years after Babbage's impossible dream, Howard Aiken convinced IBM, which was making all kinds of punched card equipment and
3157-456: The 2nd of the only two designs for mechanical analytical engines in history. In 1914, the Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo published his Essays on Automatics , and designed, inspired by Babbage, a theoretical electromechanical calculating machine which was to be controlled by a read-only program. The paper also introduced the idea of floating-point arithmetic . In 1920, to celebrate
John Mashey - Misplaced Pages Continue
3234-631: The Analytical Engine, Ada Lovelace wrote, in one of the many notes she included, an algorithm to compute the Bernoulli numbers , which is considered to be the first published algorithm ever specifically tailored for implementation on a computer. Around 1885, Herman Hollerith invented the tabulator , which used punched cards to process statistical information; eventually his company became part of IBM . Following Babbage, although unaware of his earlier work, Percy Ludgate in 1909 published
3311-559: The Machine Organization department in IBM's main research center in 1959. Concurrency is a property of systems in which several computations are executing simultaneously, and potentially interacting with each other. A number of mathematical models have been developed for general concurrent computation including Petri nets , process calculi and the parallel random access machine model. When multiple computers are connected in
3388-553: The UK (as in the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh ). "In the U.S., however, informatics is linked with applied computing, or computing in the context of another domain." A folkloric quotation, often attributed to—but almost certainly not first formulated by— Edsger Dijkstra , states that "computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes." The design and deployment of computers and computer systems
3465-516: The accessibility and usability of the system for its intended users. Historical cryptography is the art of writing and deciphering secret messages. Modern cryptography is the scientific study of problems relating to distributed computations that can be attacked. Technologies studied in modern cryptography include symmetric and asymmetric encryption , digital signatures , cryptographic hash functions , key-agreement protocols , blockchain , zero-knowledge proofs , and garbled circuits . A database
3542-433: The application of a fairly broad variety of theoretical computer science fundamentals, in particular logic calculi, formal languages , automata theory , and program semantics , but also type systems and algebraic data types to problems in software and hardware specification and verification. Computer graphics is the study of digital visual contents and involves the synthesis and manipulation of image data. The study
3619-410: The binary number system. In 1820, Thomas de Colmar launched the mechanical calculator industry when he invented his simplified arithmometer , the first calculating machine strong enough and reliable enough to be used daily in an office environment. Charles Babbage started the design of the first automatic mechanical calculator , his Difference Engine , in 1822, which eventually gave him the idea of
3696-455: The computational problems that can be solved using these machines. These abstract machines are called automata. Automata comes from the Greek word (Αυτόματα) which means that something is doing something by itself. Automata theory is also closely related to formal language theory, as the automata are often classified by the class of formal languages they are able to recognize. An automaton can be
3773-430: The computer needs to perform a number of steps that grow linearly in the size of the problem. To simplify this problem, computer scientists have adopted Big O notation , which allows functions to be compared in a way that ensures that particular aspects of a machine's construction do not need to be considered, but rather only the asymptotic behavior as problems become large. So in our previous example, we might say that
3850-471: The design and implementation of hardware and software ). Algorithms and data structures are central to computer science. The theory of computation concerns abstract models of computation and general classes of problems that can be solved using them. The fields of cryptography and computer security involve studying the means for secure communication and preventing security vulnerabilities . Computer graphics and computational geometry address
3927-475: The development of sophisticated computing equipment. Wilhelm Schickard designed and constructed the first working mechanical calculator in 1623. In 1673, Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated a digital mechanical calculator, called the Stepped Reckoner . Leibniz may be considered the first computer scientist and information theorist, because of various reasons, including the fact that he documented
SECTION 50
#17328012532794004-583: 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, human–computer interaction, computer graphics, operating systems, and numerical and symbolic computation as being important areas of computer science. Theoretical computer science
4081-424: The distinction more a matter of style than of technical capabilities. Conferences are important events for computer science research. During these conferences, researchers from the public and private sectors present their recent work and meet. Unlike in most other academic fields, in computer science, the prestige of conference papers is greater than that of journal publications. One proposed explanation for this
4158-459: The distinction of three separate paradigms in computer science. Peter Wegner argued that those paradigms are science, technology, and mathematics. Peter Denning 's working group argued that they are theory, abstraction (modeling), and design. Amnon H. Eden described them as the "rationalist paradigm" (which treats computer science as a branch of mathematics, which is prevalent in theoretical computer science, and mainly employs deductive reasoning),
4235-520: The expression "automatic information" (e.g. "informazione automatica" in Italian) or "information and mathematics" are often used, e.g. informatique (French), Informatik (German), informatica (Italian, Dutch), informática (Spanish, Portuguese), informatika ( Slavic languages and Hungarian ) or pliroforiki ( πληροφορική , which means informatics) in Greek . Similar words have also been adopted in
4312-462: The first programmable mechanical calculator , his Analytical Engine . He started developing this machine in 1834, and "in less than two years, he had sketched out many of the salient features of the modern computer". "A crucial step was the adoption of a punched card system derived from the Jacquard loom " making it infinitely programmable. In 1843, during the translation of a French article on
4389-488: 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 multitude of computational problems. The famous P = NP? problem, one of the Millennium Prize Problems ,
4466-461: The generation of images. Programming language theory considers different ways to describe computational processes, and database theory concerns the management of repositories of data. Human–computer interaction investigates the interfaces through which humans and computers interact, and software engineering focuses on the design and principles behind developing software. Areas such as operating systems , networks and embedded systems investigate
4543-463: The long-time organizers of the Hot Chips conferences. He chaired technical conferences on operating systems and CPU chips, and gave public talks on software engineering, RISC design, performance benchmarking and supercomputing. He has been credited for being the first to spread the term and concept of big data in the 1990s. He became a consultant for venture capitalists and high-tech companies and
4620-502: The machine in operation and analyzing it by all analytical and measurement means available. It has since been argued that computer science can be classified as an empirical science since it makes use of empirical testing to evaluate the correctness of programs , but a problem remains in defining the laws and theorems of computer science (if any exist) and defining the nature of experiments in computer science. Proponents of classifying computer science as an engineering discipline argue that
4697-441: The most commonly examined is the Turing machine . Computer scientists study the Turing machine because it is simple to formulate, can be analyzed and used to prove results, and because it represents what many consider the most powerful possible "reasonable" model of computation (see Church–Turing thesis ). It might seem that the potentially infinite memory capacity is an unrealizable attribute, but any decidable problem solved by
SECTION 60
#17328012532794774-439: The one before it, i.e. Chomsky hierarchy , and each corresponding to a class of automata which recognizes it. Because automata are used as models for computation, formal languages are the preferred mode of specification for any problem that must be computed. Computability theory deals primarily with the question of the extent to which a problem is solvable on a computer. The statement that the halting problem cannot be solved by
4851-478: The principal focus of computer science is studying the properties of computation in general, while the principal focus of software engineering is the design of specific computations to achieve practical goals, making the two separate but complementary disciplines. The academic, political, and funding aspects of computer science tend to depend on whether a department is formed with a mathematical emphasis or with an engineering emphasis. Computer science departments with
4928-615: The principles and design behind complex systems . Computer architecture describes the construction of computer components and computer-operated equipment. Artificial intelligence and machine learning aim to synthesize goal-orientated processes such as problem-solving, decision-making, environmental adaptation, planning and learning found in humans and animals. Within artificial intelligence, computer vision aims to understand and process image and video data, while natural language processing aims to understand and process textual and linguistic data. The fundamental concern of computer science
5005-416: The problem requires O ( n ) {\displaystyle O(n)} steps to solve. Perhaps the most important open problem in all of computer science is the question of whether a certain broad class of problems denoted NP can be solved efficiently. This is discussed further at Complexity classes P and NP , and P versus NP problem is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems stated by
5082-484: The reliability of computational systems is investigated in the same way as bridges in civil engineering and airplanes in aerospace engineering . They also argue that while empirical sciences observe what presently exists, computer science observes what is possible to exist and while scientists discover laws from observation, no proper laws have been found in computer science and it is instead concerned with creating phenomena. Proponents of classifying computer science as
5159-409: The scale of human intelligence. But the automation of evaluative and predictive tasks has been increasingly successful as a substitute for human monitoring and intervention in domains of computer application involving complex real-world data. Computer architecture, or digital computer organization, is the conceptual design and fundamental operational structure of a computer system. It focuses largely on
5236-469: The secretive funding of climate contrarian thinktanks. Mashey blogs at DeSmogBlog , which focuses on global warming . Mashey became a scientific and technical consultant for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in 2015. Mashey is married to Angela Hey, a Cambridge University and Waterloo University graduate with a Ph.D. from Imperial College, London . This biographical article relating to
5313-581: The term computer came to refer to the machines rather than their human predecessors. As it became clear that computers could be used for more than just mathematical calculations, the field of computer science broadened to study computation in general. In 1945, IBM founded the Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory at Columbia University in New York City . The renovated fraternity house on Manhattan's West Side
5390-758: The term "computer science" appears in a 1959 article in Communications of the ACM , in which Louis Fein argues for the creation of a Graduate School in Computer Sciences analogous to the creation of Harvard Business School in 1921. Louis justifies the name by arguing that, like management science , the subject is applied and interdisciplinary in nature, while having the characteristics typical of an academic discipline. His efforts, and those of others such as numerical analyst George Forsythe , were rewarded: universities went on to create such departments, starting with Purdue in 1962. Despite its name,
5467-579: The term was the Department of Datalogy at the University of Copenhagen, founded in 1969, with Peter Naur being the first professor in datalogy. The term is used mainly in the Scandinavian countries. An alternative term, also proposed by Naur, is data science ; this is now used for a multi-disciplinary field of data analysis, including statistics and databases. In the early days of computing,
5544-443: The time or space required to solve the problem as a function of the size of the input problem. For example, finding a particular number in a long list of numbers becomes harder as the list of numbers grows larger. If we say there are n numbers in the list, then if the list is not sorted or indexed in any way we may have to look at every number in order to find the number we're seeking. We thus say that in order to solve this problem,
5621-443: The two fields in areas such as mathematical logic , category theory , domain theory , and algebra . The relationship between computer science and software engineering is a contentious issue, which is further muddied by disputes over what the term "software engineering" means, and how computer science is defined. David Parnas , taking a cue from the relationship between other engineering and science disciplines, has claimed that
5698-481: The type of information carrier – whether it is electrical, mechanical or biological. This field plays important role in information theory , telecommunications , information engineering and has applications in medical image computing and speech synthesis , among others. What is the lower bound on the complexity of fast Fourier transform algorithms? is one of the unsolved problems in theoretical computer science . Scientific computing (or computational science)
5775-438: The way by which the central processing unit performs internally and accesses addresses in memory. Computer engineers study computational logic and design of computer hardware, from individual processor components, microcontrollers , personal computers to supercomputers and embedded systems . The term "architecture" in computer literature can be traced to the work of Lyle R. Johnson and Frederick P. Brooks Jr. , members of
5852-440: Was IBM's first laboratory devoted to pure science. The lab is the forerunner of IBM's Research Division, which today operates research facilities around the world. Ultimately, the close relationship between IBM and Columbia University was instrumental in the emergence of a new scientific discipline, with Columbia offering one of the first academic-credit courses in computer science in 1946. Computer science began to be established as
5929-544: Was also in the calculator business to develop his giant programmable calculator, the ASCC/Harvard Mark I , based on Babbage's Analytical Engine, which itself used cards and a central computing unit. When the machine was finished, some hailed it as "Babbage's dream come true". During the 1940s, with the development of new and more powerful computing machines such as the Atanasoff–Berry computer and ENIAC ,
#278721