<p><strong>Computer science</strong>, or <strong>computing science</strong>, is the study of the theoretical foundations of <a title="Information" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information">information</a> and <a title="Computation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computation">computation</a> and their implementation and application in <a title="Computer system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_system">computer systems</a>.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-0"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-0">[1]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="_ref-1"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-1">[2]</a></sup><sup class="reference" id="_ref-2"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-2">[3]</a></sup> Computer science has many sub-fields; some emphasize the computation of specific results (such as <a title="Computer graphics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_graphics">computer graphics</a>), while others relate to properties of <a title="Computational problem" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_problem">computational problems</a> (such as <a title="Computational complexity theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_complexity_theory">computational complexity theory</a>). Still others focus on the challenges in implementing computations. For example, <a title="Programming language theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_language_theory">programming language theory</a> studies approaches to describing computations, while <a title="Computer programming" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_programming">computer programming</a> applies specific <a title="Programming language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_language">programming languages</a> to solve specific computational problems. A further subfield, <a title="Human-computer interaction" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-computer_interaction">human-computer interaction</a>, focuses on the challenges in making computers and computations useful, usable and universally accessible to <a title="Public goods" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_goods">people</a>.</p> <p><a id="History" name="History"></a></p>

<dl><dd><div class="noprint"><em><a title="History of computer science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_computer_science">History of computer science</a></em></div></dd></dl><p>The history of computer science predates the invention of the modern <a title="Digital computer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_computer">digital computer</a> by many centuries. Machines for calculating fixed numerical tasks, such as the <a title="Abacus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus">abacus</a>, have existed since antiquity. <a title="Wilhelm Schickard" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Schickard">Wilhelm Schickard</a> built the first mechanical calculator in 1623.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-3"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-3">[4]</a></sup> <a title="Charles Babbage" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage">Charles Babbage</a> designed a <a title="Difference engine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine">difference engine</a> in <a title="Victorian era" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era">Victorian</a> times (between 1837 and 1901)<sup class="reference" id="_ref-4"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-4">[5]</a></sup> helped by <a title="Ada Lovelace" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace">Ada Lovelace</a>.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-5"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-5">[6]</a></sup> Around 1900 the <a title="IBM" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM">IBM</a> corporation sold punch-card machines.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-6"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-6">[7]</a></sup> However all of these machines were constrained to perform a single task, or at best, some subset of all possible tasks.</p><p>During the 1940s, as newer and more powerful computing machines were developed, the term <em>computer</em> 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 <a title="Computation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computation">computation</a> in general. Computer science began to be established as a distinct academic discipline in the 1960s, with the creation of the first computer science departments and degree programs.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-Denning_cs_discipline_0"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-Denning_cs_discipline">[8]</a></sup> Since practical computers became available, many applications of computing have become distinct areas of study in their own right.</p><p><a id="Major_achievements" name="Major_achievements"></a></p>

<td><a class="image" title="Wiki letter w.svg" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wiki_letter_w.svg"><img height="17" alt="" width="17" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Wiki_letter_w.svg/17px-Wiki_letter_w.svg.png" /></a></td> <td><em>&nbsp;^{This short section requires <a class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Computer_science&amp;action=edit" rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Computer_science&amp;action=edit">expansion</a>.}</em></td>

<div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 172px"><a class="image" title="German military used the Enigma machine during World War II for communication they thought to be secret. The large-scale decryption of Enigma traffic at Bletchley Park was an important factor that contributed to Allied victory in WWII." href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Enigma.jpg"><img class="thumbimage" height="227" alt="German military used the Enigma machine during World War II for communication they thought to be secret. The large-scale decryption of Enigma traffic at Bletchley Park was an important factor that contributed to Allied victory in WWII." width="170" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Enigma.jpg/170px-Enigma.jpg" /></a>

<div class="magnify" style="FLOAT: right"><a class="internal" title="Enlarge" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Enigma.jpg"><img height="11" alt="" width="15" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" /></a></div>German military used the <a title="Enigma machine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_machine">Enigma machine</a> during <a title="World War II" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II">World War II</a> for communication they thought to be secret. The large-scale decryption of Enigma traffic at <a title="Bletchley Park" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bletchley_Park">Bletchley Park</a> was an important factor that contributed to Allied victory in WWII.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-kahnbook_0"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-kahnbook">[9]</a></sup></div>

<p>Despite its relatively short history as a formal academic discipline, computer science has made a number of fundamental contributions to <a title="Science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science">science</a> and <a title="Society" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society">society</a>. These include:</p>

<li>A formal definition of <a title="Computation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computation">computation</a> and <a title="Computability" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computability">computability</a>, and proof that there are computationally <a title="Halting problem" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halting_problem">unsolvable</a> and <a title="Intractable" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intractable#Intractability">intractable</a> problems.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-7"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-7">[10]</a></sup> </li> <li>The concept of a <a title="Programming language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_language">programming language</a>, a tool for the precise expression of methodological information at various levels of abstraction<sup class="reference" id="_ref-8"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-8">[11]</a></sup> </li>

<li>Sparked the <a title="Digital Revolution" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Revolution">Digital Revolution</a> which led to the current <a title="Information Age" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Age">Information Age</a><sup class="reference" id="_ref-bgu_0"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-bgu">[12]</a></sup> </li> <li>In <a title="Cryptography" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography">cryptography</a>, <a title="Cryptanalysis of the Enigma" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptanalysis_of_the_Enigma">breaking the Enigma machine</a> was an important factor contributing to the Allied victory in World War II.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-kahnbook_1"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-kahnbook">[9]</a></sup> </li> <li><a title="Scientific computing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_computing">Scientific computing</a> enabled advanced study of the mind and mapping the human genome was possible with <a title="Human Genome Project" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Genome_Project">Human Genome Project</a>.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-bgu_1"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-bgu">[12]</a></sup> <a title="Distributed computing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_computing">Distributed computing</a> projects like <a title="Folding@home" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding%40home">Folding@home</a> explore <a title="Protein folding" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_folding">protein folding</a>. </li>

<p><a id="Relationship_with_other_fields" name="Relationship_with_other_fields"></a>&nbsp;</p>

<div class="infobox sisterproject"><div class="floatleft"><span><a class="image" title="Wikiquote-logo-en.svg" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wikiquote-logo-en.svg"></a></span></div><div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 60px"><a title="Wikiquote" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiquote">Wikiquote</a> has a collection of quotations related to:<div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 10px"><em><strong><a class="extiw" title="wikiquote:Edsger_Dijkstra" href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edsger_Dijkstra">Edsger Dijkstra</a></strong></em></div></div></div><p>Despite its name, much of computer science does not involve the study of computers themselves. Because of this several alternative names have been proposed. 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 applying the datalogy term was DIKU, 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. Also, in the early days of computing, a number of terms for the practitioners of the field of computing were suggested in the <em>Communications of the ACM</em>&mdash;<em>turingineer</em>, <em>turologist</em>, <em>flow-charts-man</em>, <em>applied meta-mathematician</em>, and <em>applied epistemologist</em>.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-9"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-9">[13]</a></sup> Three months later in the same journal, <em>comptologist</em> was suggested, followed next year by <em>hypologist</em>.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-10"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-10">[14]</a></sup> Recently the term <em>computics</em> has been suggested.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-11"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-11">[15]</a></sup></p><p>In fact, the renowned computer scientist <a title="Edsger W. Dijkstra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsger_W._Dijkstra">Edsger Dijkstra</a> is often quoted as saying, <em>&quot;Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.&quot;</em> The design and deployment of computers and computer systems is generally considered the province of disciplines other than computer science. For example, the study of <a title="Computer hardware" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_hardware">computer hardware</a> is usually considered part of <a title="Computer engineering" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_engineering">computer engineering</a>, while the study of commercial <a title="Computer system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_system">computer systems</a> and their deployment is often called <a title="Information technology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology">information technology</a> or <a title="Information systems" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_systems">information systems</a>. Computer science is sometimes criticized as being insufficiently scientific, a view espoused in the statement <em>&quot;Science is to computer science as hydrodynamics is to plumbing&quot;</em> credited to <a title="Stan Kelly-Bootle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Kelly-Bootle">Stan Kelly-Bootle</a><sup class="reference" id="_ref-12"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-12">[16]</a></sup> and others. However, there has been much cross-fertilization of ideas between the various computer-related disciplines. Computer science research has also often crossed into other disciplines, such as <a title="Artificial intelligence" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence">artificial intelligence</a>, <a title="Cognitive science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_science">cognitive science</a>, <a title="Physics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics">physics</a> (see <a title="Quantum computing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computing">quantum computing</a>), and <a title="Linguistics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics">linguistics</a>.</p><p>Computer science is considered by some to have a much closer relationship with <a title="Mathematics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics">mathematics</a> than many scientific disciplines.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-Denning_cs_discipline_1"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-Denning_cs_discipline">[8]</a></sup> Early computer science was strongly influenced by the work of mathematicians such as <a title="Kurt Gödel" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_G%C3%B6del">Kurt G&ouml;del</a> and <a title="Alan Turing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing">Alan Turing</a>, and there continues to be a useful interchange of ideas between the two fields in areas such as <a title="Mathematical logic" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_logic">mathematical logic</a>, <a title="Category theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_theory">category theory</a>, <a title="Domain theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_theory">domain theory</a>, and <a title="Algebra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebra">algebra</a>.</p><p>The relationship between computer science and <a title="Software engineering" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering">software engineering</a> is a contentious issue, which is further muddied by <a title="Debates within software engineering" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debates_within_software_engineering">disputes</a> over what the term &quot;software engineering&quot; means, and how computer science is defined. <a title="David Parnas" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Parnas">David Parnas</a>, taking a cue from the relationship between other engineering and science disciplines, has claimed that 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.<sup class="reference" id="_ref-13"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science#_note-13">[17]</a></sup></p><p><a id="Fields_of_computer_science" name="Fields_of_computer_science"></a>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Computer science searches for concepts and <a title="Formal proof" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_proof">formal proofs</a> to explain and describe computational systems of interest. As with all sciences, these theories can then be utilised to synthesize practical engineering applications, which in turn may suggest new systems to be studied and analysed. While the <a title="ACM Computing Classification System" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACM_Computing_Classification_System">ACM Computing Classification System</a> can be used to split computer science up into different topics of fields a more descriptive break down follows:</p>

<dl><dt><a title="Mathematical logic" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_logic">Mathematical logic</a> </dt><dd>Boolean logic and other ways of modeling logical queries; the uses and limitations of formal proof methods. </dd><dt><a title="Number theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_theory">Number theory</a> </dt><dd>Theory of proofs and heuristics for finding proofs in the simple domain of integers. Used in <a title="Cryptography" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography">cryptography</a> as well as a test domain in <a title="Artificial intelligence" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence">artificial intelligence</a>. </dd><dt><a title="Graph theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph_theory">Graph theory</a> </dt><dd>Foundations for data structures and searching algorithms. </dd><dt><a title="Type Theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_Theory">Type Theory</a> </dt><dd>Formal analysis of the types of data, and the use of these types to understand properties of programs &mdash; especially program safety. </dd><dt><a title="Category Theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_Theory">Category Theory</a> </dt><dd>Category theory provides a means of capturing all of math and computation in a single synthesis. </dd><dt><a title="Computational geometry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_geometry">Computational geometry</a> </dt><dd>The study of <a title="Algorithm" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithm">algorithms</a> to solve problems stated in terms of <a title="Geometry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometry">geometry</a> </dd><dt>the study of set theory </dt></dl>

<dl><dd><div class="noprint"><em>Main article: <a title="Theory of computation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_computation">Theory of computation</a></em></div></dd></dl><dl><dt><a title="Automata theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automata_theory">Automata theory</a> </dt><dd>Different logical structures for solving problems. </dd><dt><a title="Computability theory (computer science)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computability_theory_%28computer_science%29">Computability theory</a> </dt><dd>What is calculable with the current models of computers. Proofs developed by <a title="Alan Turing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing">Alan Turing</a> and others provide insight into the possibilities of what can be computed and what can not. </dd><dt><a title="Computational complexity theory" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_complexity_theory">Computational complexity theory</a> </dt><dd>Fundamental bounds (especially time and storage space) on classes of computations. </dd><dt><a title="Quantum computing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computing">Quantum computing theory</a> </dt><dd>Representation and manipulation of data using the quantum properties of particles and quantum mechanism. </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Analysis of algorithms" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_of_algorithms">Analysis of algorithms</a> </dt><dd>Time and space complexity of algorithms. </dd><dt><a title="Algorithms" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithms">Algorithms</a> </dt><dd>Formal logical processes used for computation, and the efficiency of these processes. </dd><dt><a title="Data structure" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_structure">Data structures</a> </dt><dd>The organization of and rules for the manipulation of data. </dd></dl><p><a id="Programming_languages_and_compilers" name="Programming_languages_and_compilers"></a>&nbsp;</p>

<dl><dt><a title="Compiler" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiler">Compilers</a> </dt><dd>Ways of translating computer programs, usually from <a title="High-level programming language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-level_programming_language">higher level</a> languages to <a title="Low-level programming language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-level_programming_language">lower level</a> ones. </dd><dt><a title="Interpreter (computing)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpreter_%28computing%29">Interpreters</a> </dt><dd>A program that takes in as input a computer program and executes it. </dd><dt><a title="Programming language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_language">Programming languages</a> </dt><dd>Formal language paradigms for expressing algorithms, and the properties of these languages (e.g. what problems they are suited to solve). </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Concurrency (computer science)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrency_%28computer_science%29">Concurrency</a> </dt><dd>The theory and practice of simultaneous computation; data safety in any multitasking or multithreaded environment. </dd><dt><a title="Distributed computing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_computing">Distributed computing</a> </dt><dd>Computing using multiple computing devices over a network to accomplish a common objective or task and thereby reducing the latency involved in single processor contributions for any task. </dd><dt><a title="Parallel computing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_computing">Parallel computing</a> </dt><dd>Computing using multiple concurrent threads of execution. </dd></dl><p><a id="Software_engineering" name="Software_engineering"></a>&nbsp;</p>

<dl><dt><a title="Algorithm design" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithm_design">Algorithm design</a> </dt><dd>Using ideas from algorithm theory to creatively design solutions to real tasks </dd><dt><a title="Computer programming" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_programming">Computer programming</a> </dt><dd>The practice of using a programming language to implement algorithms </dd><dt><a title="Formal methods" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_methods">Formal methods</a> </dt><dd>Mathematical approaches for describing and reasoning about software designs. </dd><dt><a title="Reverse engineering" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineering">Reverse engineering</a> </dt><dd>The application of the scientific method to the understanding of arbitrary existing software </dd><dt><a title="Software development" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development">Software development</a> </dt><dd>The principles and practice of designing, developing, and testing programs, as well as proper engineering practices. </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Computer architecture" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_architecture">Computer architecture</a> </dt><dd>The design, organization, optimization and verification of a computer system, mostly about <a title="CPU" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU">CPUs</a> and <a title="Memory (computers)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_%28computers%29">Memory</a> subsystem (and the bus connecting them). </dd><dt><a title="Computer organization" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_organization">Computer organization</a> </dt><dd>The implementation of computer architectures, in terms of descriptions of their specific <a title="Electrical circuit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_circuit">electrical circuitry</a> </dd><dt><a title="Operating system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system">Operating systems</a> </dt><dd>Systems for managing computer programs and providing the basis of a useable system. </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Computer audio" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_audio">Computer audio</a> </dt><dd>Algorithms and data structures for the creation, manipulation, storage, and transmission of <a title="Digital audio" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio">digital audio</a> recordings. Also important in <a title="Voice recognition" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_recognition">voice recognition</a> applications. </dd></dl><dl><dt><a title="Computer networking" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_networking">Networking</a> </dt><dd>Algorithms and protocols for reliably communicating data across different shared or dedicated media, often including <a title="Error correction" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Error_correction">error correction</a>. </dd></dl><dl><dt><a title="Cryptography" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography">Cryptography</a> </dt><dd>Applies results from complexity, probability and number theory to invent and break codes. </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Data mining" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_mining">Data mining</a> </dt><dd>Data mining is the extracting of the relevant data from all the sources of data </dd><dt><a title="Relational databases" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relational_databases">Relational databases</a> </dt><dd>Study of algorithms for searching and processing information in documents and databases; closely related to <a title="Information retrieval" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_retrieval">information retrieval</a>. </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Artificial intelligence" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence">Artificial intelligence</a> </dt><dd>The implementation and study of systems that exhibit an autonomous intelligence or behaviour of their own. </dd><dt><a title="Artificial Life" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Life">Artificial Life</a> </dt><dd>The study of digital organisms to learn about biological systems and evolution. </dd><dt><a title="Automated reasoning" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_reasoning">Automated reasoning</a> </dt><dd>Solving engines, such as used in <a title="Prolog" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolog">Prolog</a>, which produce steps to a result given a query on a fact and rule database. </dd><dt><a title="Computer vision" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_vision">Computer vision</a> </dt><dd>Algorithms for identifying three dimensional objects from one or more two dimensional pictures. </dd><dt><a title="Machine learning" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_learning">Machine learning</a> </dt><dd>Automated creation of a set of rules and axioms based on input. </dd><dt><a title="Natural language processing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_language_processing">Natural language processing</a>/<a title="Computational linguistics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_linguistics">Computational linguistics</a> </dt><dd>Automated understanding and generation of human language </dd><dt><a title="Robotics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotics">Robotics</a> </dt><dd>Algorithms for controlling the behavior of robots. </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Computer graphics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_graphics">Computer graphics</a> </dt><dd>Algorithms both for generating visual images synthetically, and for integrating or altering visual and spatial information sampled from the real world. </dd><dt><a title="Image processing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_processing">Image processing</a> </dt><dd>Determining information from an image through computation. </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Human computer interaction" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_computer_interaction">Human computer interaction</a> </dt><dd>The study of making computers and computations useful, usable and universally accessible to <a title="User (computing)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_%28computing%29">people</a>, including the study and design of computer interfaces through which people use computers. </dd></dl>

<dl><dt><a title="Bioinformatics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioinformatics">Bioinformatics</a> </dt><dd>The use of computer science to maintain, analyse, and store <a title="Biological data" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_data">biological data</a>, and to assist in solving biological problems such as <a title="Protein folding" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_folding">Protein folding</a>, function prediction and <a title="Phylogeny" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylogeny">Phylogeny</a>. </dd><dt><a title="Cognitive Science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_Science">Cognitive Science</a> </dt><dd>Computational modelling of real minds </dd><dt><a title="Computational chemistry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_chemistry">Computational chemistry</a> </dt><dd>Computational modelling of theoretical chemistry in order to determine chemical structures and properties </dd><dt><a title="Computational neuroscience" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_neuroscience">Computational neuroscience</a> </dt><dd>Computational modelling of real brains </dd><dt><a title="Computational physics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_physics">Computational physics</a> </dt><dd>Numerical simulations of large non-analytic systems </dd><dt><a title="Numerical analysis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_analysis">Numerical algorithms</a> </dt><dd>Algorithms for the numerical solution of mathematical problems such as <a title="Root-finding algorithm" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root-finding_algorithm">root-finding</a>, <a title="Numerical integration" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_integration">integration</a>, the <a title="Numerical ordinary differential equations" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_ordinary_differential_equations">solution of ordinary differential equations</a> and the approximation/evaluation of <a title="Special functions" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_functions">special functions</a>. </dd><dt><a title="Symbolic mathematics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_mathematics">Symbolic mathematics</a> </dt><dd>Manipulation and solution of expressions in symbolic form, also known as <a title="Computer algebra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_algebra">Computer algebra</a>. </dd></dl>

<h3><span class="mw-headline">Didactics of computer science / <a title="Didactics of Informatics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didactics_of_Informatics">Didactics of Informatics</a></span></h3>

<p>Some universities teach computer science as a theoretical study of computation and algorithmic reasoning. These programs often feature the <a title="Theory of computation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_computation">theory of computation</a>, <a title="Analysis of algorithms" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_of_algorithms">analysis of algorithms</a>, <a title="Formal methods" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formal_methods">formal methods</a>, <a title="Concurrency (computer science)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrency_%28computer_science%29">concurrency theory</a>, <a title="Databases" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Databases">databases</a>, <a title="Computer graphics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_graphics">computer graphics</a> and <a title="Systems analysis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analysis">systems analysis</a>, among others. They typically also teach <a title="Computer programming" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_programming">computer programming</a>, but treat it as a vessel for the support of other fields of computer science rather than a central focus of high-level study.</p><p>Other colleges and universities, as well as <a title="Secondary school" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_school">secondary schools</a> and vocational programs that teach computer science, emphasize the practice of advanced <a title="Computer programming" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_programming">computer programming</a> rather than the theory of algorithms and computation in their computer science curricula. Such curricula tend to focus on those skills that are important to workers entering the software industry. The practical aspects of computer programming are often referred to as <a title="Software engineering" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering">software engineering</a>. However, there is a lot of <a title="Debates within software engineering" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debates_within_software_engineering">disagreement</a> over what the term &quot;software engineering&quot; actually means, and whether it is the same thing as programming.</p><dl><dd>See <a title="Peter J. Denning" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_J._Denning">Peter J. Denning</a>, <em><a class="external text" title="http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=971303&amp;dl=ACM&amp;coll=&amp;CFID=15151515&amp;CFTOKEN=6184618" rel="nofollow" href="http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=971303&amp;dl=ACM&amp;coll=&amp;CFID=15151515&amp;CFTOKEN=6184618">Great principles in computing curricula</a></em>, Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2004. </dd></dl>

<dl><dd><em>Main list: <a title="List of basic computer science topics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_basic_computer_science_topics">List of basic computer science topics</a></em> </dd></dl>

<li><a title="Career domains in computer science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career_domains_in_computer_science">Career domains in computer science</a> </li> <li><a title="Computing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computing">Computing</a> </li> <li><a title="Informatics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informatics">Informatics</a> </li> <li><a title="List of academic computer science departments" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_computer_science_departments">List of academic computer science departments</a> </li> <li><a title="List of computer science conferences" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_science_conferences">List of computer science conferences</a> </li> <li><a title="List of open problems in computer science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open_problems_in_computer_science">List of open problems in computer science</a> </li> <li><a title="List of prominent pioneers in computer science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prominent_pioneers_in_computer_science">List of prominent pioneers in computer science</a> </li> <li><a title="List of publications in computer science" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_publications_in_computer_science">List of publications in computer science</a> </li> <li><a title="List of software engineering topics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_software_engineering_topics">List of software engineering topics</a> </li> <li><a title="List of computer scientists" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_scientists">List of computer scientists</a> </li>