Introduction to

Computer Science
Overview of Discussion

 What is computer science?

 What is a computer?
 What can computers do?
 How do computers solve problems?
 What is computer science?
 Who invented computers?
 Conceptual computers
 Computing devices
Learning Objectives

 Define and use terminology

 Examples: computer, computer science,
algorithm, specification, correctness, efficiency,
von Neumann machine
 Distinguish between algorithms and non-
algorithms
 Know something about the history of
computers (up to 1950)
Which one is the computer?

Rock Calculator Television

Modern Airplane Washing Machine Computer Workstation

Is it a Computer?

 What questions would

you ask?
 What experiments
would you run?
Is a rock a computer?

 Does not act or

process
 Takes no input and
produces no output

 Computers must be able to handle input and

output
Is a washing machine a computer?

 Input: dirty clothes

 Output: clean clothes
 Does not handle
information

 Computers input and output information

Is a television set a computer?

 Input: information from

cables or radio waves
 Output: information as
sound and picture
 Does not process
information

 Computers process information by computing

new results and answering queries
Is a modern airplane a computer?

 Input: information from

radio waves
 Output: manipulations
to the airplane
 Can only handle
specific information
necessary for flight
control
 Computers are general purpose because
they can perform many different tasks
Is an ordinary calculator a computer?

 Input: numbers and

mathematical operations
 Output: answer
 Handles any numeric task
 Cannot remember which
buttons are pressed

 Computers are programmable so they can

remember sequences of operations
Definition of a Computer

 a general purpose,
 programmable,
 information processor
 with input and output
Computing Agents

 Definition of computers does not cover all

that computer scientists study
 Broader class of objects and methods –
computing agents
 Have some or all of the characteristics of a
computer
Specialized Computing Devices and
Information Appliances
 Devices limited by set of operations or
programmability
 Calculators limited to operations described by
their buttons
 Global Positioning System (GPS) calculates
latitude and longitude from satellite signals
 Cell phone allows one to surf the web
 Information appliances – performs a single
job well
Embedded computers and robots

 Machines with full-fledged computers inside

 Washing machines, airplanes, ATMs, etc.
 Such machines require highly reliable,
predictable computer programs
 All physical mechanisms controlled by
computers are robotic devices
 Restrict definition to machines that are general
purpose and programmable
 Robotic arm or cart
Natural computing agents

 Living organisms process information in their

efforts to eat, survive, and reproduce
 1940s study showed frogs collect less visual
information than people
 Identify rapidly moving objects as food, slowly moving
objects as predators
 Study physical events in terms of information they
contain and process
 Chemical reactions, crystal formations, plant growth, etc.
What is a computer?

 Definition of a computer is narrow

 Definition of computing agent is broad
 Although many computer scientists focus on
the computer, some computer scientists deal
with computing agents
What can computers do – today?

 Business productivity managers

 Personal information managers
 Spreadsheets
 Database software
 Desktop publishing
 Multimedia encyclopedias
 Simulate the physical world
 Produce a music video
What might computers do – tomorrow?

 Diagnose diseases
 MYCIN captures medical knowledge in rules that
allowed a computer to identify an ailment based
on symptoms
 Control robots that walk, talk, and learn
 CMU created a program that drove a van from
Pittsburgh to D.C. using cameras for eyes
 Compose music and create art
How do computers solve problems?

 Humans deconstruct problems into small

operations that a computer can carry out
 Writing an algorithm
 Solve a problem by computer requires
 State the problem clearly in a problem statement
 Solve the problem with an algorithm that gives
clear instructions
 Use a computing agent to carry out the
instructions
Stating the problem clearly

 Describes what to do, not how to do it

 How do I get from Timonium Campus to the
Beltway?
 Solve general classes of problems
 How do I get from point A in Timonium to point B?
 What is the square root of y?
Specifying a problem

 Clear problem statement is called the

specification
 What information can we use as input
 What the output, or solution, to our problem
should look like
 Specification for the square root problem
 Input: A positive number y > 0
 Output: A positive number x such that x2 = y
 Make sure specification is not ambiguous
Solving the problem using an Algorithm

 Algorithm – a clear sequence of instructions

for performing a task
 a well-ordered sequence
 of well-defined,
 feasible operations
 that takes finite time to carry out
Finding the square root to the nearest
tenth
 For this example we are interested in the square
root of 55
1. Find the two integers between which √55 lies
 Do this by starting at 0 and continuing up through the
integers until you find an integer whose square is less than
55 and the next integer has a square larger than 55
2. Find the first estimate by averaging the two integers
3. Divided 55 by the estimate. Compute it to one more
place than you want in the final answer
4. Average the estimate and the result of step 3
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the tenth digit does not
change
Almost Algorithms

 To shampoo your hair  To write the Great

1. Rinse American Novel
2. Lather 1. Get paper and pencil
3. Repeat 2. Sit down
 To set the time on the 3. Write word on paper
VCR 4. If novel is great, quit.
Otherwise, go back to
1. Open the front panel
step 3.
2. Push the button
3. Set the hours, then the
minutes
Using the computing agent

 The square root algorithm is only an

algorithm for an agent that understands
English and can perform arithmetic
 Requirements imposed by the computing
agent
 Algorithm is in a language the computing agent
understands
 Algorithm uses primitive operations that the agent
can carry out
Necessity of artificial languages

 Problems with natural languages (like

English)
 Flexible
 Often ambiguous
 Computers use artificial languages with
precise meanings
 mathematical equations, music notation,
programming languages
 Programming languages define primitive
operations computing agents understand
What is computer science?

 The study of computers

 The study of algorithmic processes including
their
 Theory
 Analysis
 Design
 Efficiency
 Implementation
 Application
Who invented computers?

 Computer science has roots in two fields

 Mathematics
 Alan Turing and the Turing machine (1930s)
 Developed theories with paper and pencil about how to
perform computations by hand
 Engineering
 John von Neumann and the von Neumann machine
(1940s)
 Showed how to build physical computers out of
electronic circuitry
Mathematical Roots

 Leibniz’s Dream (1600s)

 Can we find a universal language for
mathematical algorithms that will let us describe
and solve any problem?
 Reduce all reasoning to a fixed set of basic rules
 Determine truth or falsity of sentences by fixed rules for
manipulating sentences
 George Boole (1800s)
 Introduces binary notation of calculation
 Computers use binary system for logic and arithmetic
More on Theory

 David Hilbert (1928)

 Challenges the mathematical community to find
an infallible, mechanical method for constructing
and checking truth of mathematical statements
 Interested in an algorithm
 Alonzo Church, Alan Turing, and Kurt Gödel
construct arguments that there is no solution
to Hilbert’s Challenge
 Turing builds a conceptual computer for his
argument
The Turing Machine and the Church-
Turing Thesis
 Turing Machine
 Machine with a finite set of rules and an infinite
amount of “scratch paper” for computation
 No one has designed a physical computer that can do
more than a Turing machine
 Machine could not solve Hilbert’s problem
 Church-Turning Thesis
 The Turing Machine captures what we mean by
computational systems
 Is as powerful an any other mechanical computing
agent
Engineering Roots

 First step development of calculators

 Abacus – developed 5000 years ago in the Middle
East
 Pascaline – first mechanical calculator using
gears for calculation (1642)
 Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine –
conceptual design that used hundreds of gears to
compute mathematical functions (1820s)
Electronic Circuits

 Telegraph – uses electricity to convey letters

and transmit information quickly (1844)
 Hollerith Tabulating Machine – Uses
electricity and punch cards to calculate the
US census (1890)
 Z2 – used circuitry to compute arithmetic
operations (1930s)
Programmed Devices

 Jacquard Loom – weaves cloth using a pattern

specified using punch cards (1801)
 The Analytic Engine – conceptual design for a
machine consisting of a Mill, Store, Printer, and
Readers
 Led Ada Lovelace to define programming concepts such as
the subroutine
 ENIAC – one of the first programmable electronic
computers (1945)
 Programmed by routing cables and flipping switches
von Neumann Machine

 Store programs in electronic memory along

side the data (1943)
 Move and manipulate a program like data
 Enabled high-level programming languages

Input Central Processing

Unit (CPU) Output

Memory
Machine Languages
 Only language computers directly understand
 “Natural language” of computer
 Defined by hardware design
 Machine-dependent
 Generally consist of strings of numbers
 Ultimately 0s and 1s
 Instruct computers to perform elementary operations
 One at a time
 Cumbersome for humans
 Example:
+1300042774
+1400593419
+1200274027
Assembly Languages

 English-like abbreviations representing elementary

computer operations
 Clearer to humans
 Incomprehensible to computers
 Translator programs (assemblers)
 Convert to machine language
 Example:
LOAD BASEPAY
ADD OVERPAY
STORE GROSSPAY
High-level Languages

 Similar to everyday English, use common mathematical

notations
 Single statements accomplish substantial tasks
 Assembly language requires many instructions to accomplish
simple tasks
 Translator programs (compilers)
 Convert to assembly language
 Interpreter programs
 Directly execute high-level language programs
 Example:
grossPay = basePay + overTimePay
Programming Approaches

 Structured programming (1960s)

 Disciplined approach to writing programs
 Clear, easy to test and debug, and easy to modify
 Focus on what the program does
 Object Oriented programming
 Object is an entity characterized by a state and a
behavior
 state is encoded in the computer program as data
 behavior is encoded as methods
Objects
 Reusable software components that model real
world items
 Meaningful software units
 Date objects, time objects, paycheck objects, invoice
objects, audio objects, video objects, file objects, record
objects, etc.
 Any noun can be represented as an object
 More understandable, better organized and easier
to maintain than structured programming
 Favor modularity
 Software reuse
 Libraries
C++

 C++ programs
 Built from pieces called classes and functions
 C++ standard library
 Rich collections of existing classes and functions
 “Building block approach” to creating
programs
 “Software reuse”
Basics of a Typical C++ Environment

 C++ systems
 Program-development environment
 Language
 C++ Standard Library
 Basics of a Typical C++ Environment
Edit Program is created in
Editor Disk the editor and stored
Phases of C++ Programs: on disk.
Preprocessor program
Preprocessor Disk
processes the code.
1. Edit Compile
Compiler creates
Compiler Disk object code and stores
2. Preprocess it on disk.

Make Linker links the object

Linker Disk
code with the libraries,
3. Compile Primary creates a.out and
Memory stores it on disk
Loader
4. Link Run
Loader puts program
in memory.
5. Load Disk ..
..
..

Primary
6. Execute Memory
CPU takes each
CPU
instruction and
executes it, possibly
..
storing new data
..
..
values as the program
executes.