What is Computer Science Really About什么是计算机科学.pptVIP

What is Computer Science Really About? Main Points There is more to computer science than just programming. Computer science is about algorithms and computational thinking. We try to formalize activities into repeatable procedures and concrete decisions. Generalizing a procedure into an abstract algorithm helps us recognize if there are known solutions, and how complex the problem is. Programming is just translating an algorithm into a specific syntax. Computational thinking translating processes/procedures into step-by-step activities with well-defined choice points and decision criteria Design and analysis of algorithms expression of a procedure in terms of operations on abstract data structures like graphs, lists, strings, and trees finite number of steps (clear termination conditions; it has to halt) is the algorithm correct? are all cases handled, or might it fail on certain inputs? how much time will it take? how much space (memory)? Programming translating algorithms into a specific language Software engineering managing the development and life-cycle of a system, including design/specification, documentation, testing, use of components/libraries, release of new/updated versions usually a team effort Computational Thinking has infused into all kinds of fields from cooking and gardening, to transportation, medical diagnosis, and particle physics many intelligent activities are often ill-defined, and CT is about formalizing them into concrete decisions and repeatable procedures think about how to find a good place for dinner in a new town think about how choose a book to read (interest area? author or type of lit.? next in series? recommendations? available in library?) “finding Waldo” (how do you search for shapes in images?) think about how you recognize misspelled words, or words in a foreign language, or proper names mechanical analogies think about how a thermostat does temperature control think about the pattern of traffic signals at an intersection t