An Introduction to Computer Science

(CSC 101)
 CSC 101 Objective
• This course is to prepare the students on the Fundamentals of
Computer science and Computing.
• It teaches the basics concepts, Data representation, Computer
Organization & Architecture, Problem Solving with Algorithm,
Computer Networks and the Internet and programming in
Visual Basics.
• The course will feature activities like teaching, demonstration,
laboratory activities, chatting, assignment and group discussion.
• Course evaluation will be based on class attendance, online
activities, quizzes, lab work and examination.
• Go to moodle learning system to see the course outline
lms.ui.edu.ng
How to get maximum benefits from the Lecture
• Attend class regularly
• Read the related chapters in the textbook
• Visit Moodle regularly
• Visit lecturer whenever you have questions
• Use your IT gadget to foster understanding of
the course by checking up new concepts online.
Go to U-tube and download lecture videos on
topics you don’t understand
• Attend Discussion Groups after studying
• Think more!
 Lesson Objectives
• To Introduce Computer science through an
understanding of what computer scientists do
• To examine COMPUTER SCIENCE AS A DISCIPLINE
• To present an understanding of the nature of
computational tools and theories.
• To explain the Founding Traditions of Computer Sc
• QUALITIES OF A GOOD COMPUTER SCIENTIST
• To introduce six major criteria that computation tools
must be built to satisfy.
i.E correctness, efficiency, security, fault-tolerance, user-
friendliness and intelligence
 Understanding Computer science
• Computer Scientists have been in increasing
demand since the advent of the modern
computer.
• The pervasiveness of the modern computer
has accentuated the need to train more
people in the discipline.
• These people must be able to meet the need
of the society in helping to achieve the
effective use of computers.
 What Computer Scientists do
• In order to understand the discipline, it is
important to answer the question: what do
computer scientists do?
• They create and manage tools that support
and enhance the use of the modern
computer(computation tools for short).
• In order to create effective computation tools
it is important to create models of these tools
before they are built.
 What Computer Scientists do
• Most of the models created are mathematical
in nature.
• Models need to be built around discrete
mathematical structures(e.g. sets, lists,
orderings etc.)
• Computer scientists use these existing
structures to create mathematical theories
• A theory is a body of knowledge that
facilitates the creation of models.
• Tools are built based on these theories
 Definitions of Computer Science
• The systematic study of algorithmic processes
that describe and transform information:
their theory, analysis, design, efficiency,
implementation and application. (automation)
• Computer Science is about building computers
and writing computer programs, how we use
computational tools, and what we find out
when we do
• Computer Science is also about problem
solving. Solving problem computationally
involves the followings:
 Steps in Computational Problem Solving
• ABSTRACTION
• AUTOMATION
• IMPLEMENTATION

• ABSTRACTION: Building clean abstract models (abstractions)

of real-world. Computer Science is a means of solving real-
world problems, and it all starts with abstractions.
• A representation of the actual problem
• A mental model that removes complex details at the
moment of abstraction
• This is a key concept on CSC. Abstraction will
reappear throughout the course – be sure you
understand it!
 E.G of Abstraction
• Abstraction of the car
functionalities
– You don’t bother
about the internal
details that make a
car work while
driving
• Internal details of the
engine and how it works
are hidden when
driving, it is an abstract
view of a car
 Abstraction
• Abstract view
 Steps in Computational Problem Solving
Cont.
• AUTOMATION: builds model with the aim of using the model to solve
problems. Computer Scientists automate their models through the use of
algorithm, which performs actions on and with real world data.

• IMPLEMENTATION: Models and algorithms are implemented in the form

of code (instructions) that the computer can understand. Implementation
proves that our proposed solution actually works.
– Computers are used to implement these codes because Computers
are electronic devices that are amazingly fast at executing algorithms
on data. Ordinarily we could use pencil and paper to work through our
algorithm but this will take a very long time and will easily attract
error.
– E.g of implementation languages: VB, java, etc
 COMPUTER SCIENCE AS A DISCIPLINE
• In 1953, University of Cambridge established the Cambridge
Diploma in computer science. It is the first computer science
degree program in the world.
• The first department of computer science in the U.S. was
established at Purdue University in 1962.
• Computer Science department was established in the year
1974 in the University of Ibadan.

• Computer Science as a discipline is divided into two areas:

– System
– Application
 Areas of Computer Science
• Systems Area
– Algorithms and Data Structures
– Programming Languages and Compilers
– Computer Architecture
– Operating Systems
– Software Engineering
– Human-Computer Interaction
– Computer Networks
• Application Area
– Numerical Computation
– Databases
– Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
– Graphics
– Bioinformatics
– World Wide Web
– Games
 COMPUTER SCIENCE AS A DISCIPLINE
Applications areas : deals with production of better tools for domain
specific applications. E.G

• Numerical and symbolic computation

• Databases and information retrieval
• Artificial intelligence and Robotics
• Graphics
• Organizational informatics
• Bioinformatics
Computer: What is a Computer?
 What is Computer?
• Computer
– A kind of digital system
• All the information is represented, stored, and processed in binary digits.
– A programmable device
• Processor inside – microprocessors, digital signal processor (DSP),
microcontroller, etc.
• Processors can be programmed using their machine instructions.
• Hardware
– The physical elements of a computing system
• Printer, mother boards, wires, keyboard, CPU, DRAM, HDD, CD-ROM, network
cards, ..
• Software
– The programs that provide the instructions for a computer to execute
• Operating systems: Windows, Linux, MacOS
• Translators: C compilers, Java interpreters, FORTRAN compilers
• Applications; Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, flight simulators, games, etc.
Layers of a Computer System
 Layers of a Computer System
• Information Layer
– How to represent numbers, texts, images, audios, and videos
– All the information is represented using binary digits, i.e. bits (0s and 1s)
• Hardware Layer
– Physical components; CPU, memory, HDD, motherboards, gates and circuits
• Programming Layer
– Machine language, assembly language, high-level language, software
• Operating System Layer
– Interact with users, schedule programs, and manage hardware resources
• Application Layer
– Solve real-world problems
– Run application programs to use computer’s abilities to perform various tasks
• Communication Layer
– Computers are connected into networks so that they can share information
and resources
Layers of Software

Application
Programmers
and System
Programmers
 Foundational Basis of CSC
As a discipline computer science brings together ideas from
different traditions i.e The Founding Traditions of Computer Sc
• Mathematics: gives the discipline much of its theory.
– Theory has to do with building of conceptual frameworks and notations
for understanding relationships among objects in a domain. A theory
clearly defines a kind of structure. The theory clearly defines its
properties. The properties must be clearly and precisely defined. The
usual vehicle for the precise description of properties is Logic or
algebra.
– The structures that a theory defines allows a computer scientist to
capture the essence of a tool to be developed.
– This essence is the model of the system to be built.
– Using the theory it is possible to reason about the behaviour of the
system to be built through the model.
– This kind of reasoning can help avoid disastrous consequences.
 Foundational Basis of CSC

– Engineering Tradition : Gives it much of its creativity and design.

Computer scientist create computer programs and harware

– Experimental Science Tradition: gives it much of its science.

What is science?
Science is s a systematic enterprise that builds and
organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations
and predictions about the universe.
It follows a set of methodology and principles that can be proven
 Computer
Science Vs Technology Scientist
Write programs
to make the
artificial
organs work.
These are called
dedicated
systems
 ICT – Information and
Communication Technology
feeds on Computer Science
which provides the theory,
models and tools it needs
 Facet of Technology

Knowledge from
Experimental Science

Tools Processes

SERVICE
TO
HUMANITY
 Information Processing
• Computation is thought of as the process of
transforming(processing) information.
• Information is “acquired facts”.. “about a
specific subject”. (Encarta)
• “I have five cows”. “Maigida has given me two
more”, “I sold one to Mr. Bako today”.
• It takes a little bit of information processing to
know how many cows I have left.
 Tools
• A computational tool is a product of a creative
activity.
• It might be a piece of software or hardware.
• There are two categories of tools.
– Those tools support the creation of other tools
• E.g Programming languages
– end-user tool supports a specific task in the
human domain (and not the creation of other
tools).
• Word processing application
 What can be automated?
• Automation refers to our ability to make a
computer solve a problem.
• Usually, automation consist of
• Generating software that will solve the problem
on a general purpose computer. OR
• Generating hardware that will do so.
• That software/hardware is a computational
tool.
 What can be automated? How?
• Computer Scientists build and study tools based on
one or any combination of the followings set of
performance goals.
• Correctness
• Efficiency
• Security
• User-friendliness
• Fault-tolerance
• Intelligence
Each of the above represent possible objectives that a
tool may be engineered to meet.
 Correctness
• A tool is said to be correct if it works according to a
pre-defined specification.
• The pre-defined specification must be clearly and
unambiguously stated – for correctness to be
assessed.
• The specification answers the question of what tool
are we expected to build.
• A correct tool conforms completely with the
specification ……..A little story will drive home the
point:
 Efficiency
• The efficiency of a tool is a measure of its ability
to make judicious use of resources.
• The most important resource for tools is time.
• Another important group of resources is
machine resources (especially space).
• A tool is more efficient w. r. t. time if it uses less
time to a solve problem than another.
• A tool is more efficient w. r. t. space if it uses
less space to a solve problem than another.
 Security
• A tool is secure if its functions will not be
hampered by malicious attacks or other
compromising situation.
• There are different ways in which a tool can be
compromised.
• One way is if information is intercepted during
transmission.(This happened a lot during
WW2).
 Security(2)
• Another possible source of security
compromise is unauthorized use of a tool.
• Data Interception can be prevented by data
encryption.
• Data encryption is the process of transforming
data into an unintelligible form(encrypted data)
prior to transmission.
• The transformation is undone at the point of
reception (decryption).
 User-Friendliness
• User-friendliness reflects the ease with which
a tool can be used by a human user.
• Factors ranging from culture, ergonomics to
personal preferences may affect user-
friendliness.
• As such user-friendliness may be context-
dependent.
 Fault-tolerance
• Fault-tolerance is the ability of a tool to cope
in the presence of faults.
• A tool is fault-tolerant if every possible fault
does not lead to a failure.
• The level of fault-tolerance is measured by
mean time between failure (MTBF).
• This is a measure of the time between two
failure incidents in the use of a tool.
 Intelligence
• Intelligence is the ability of a tool to mimic
human intelligence.
• Tools can mimic intelligence in a number of
ways:
– Reasoning
– Language understanding
– Learning
– Game playing
 Example- Game Playing
• In 1997, IBM’s chess playing computer ‘Deep
Blue’ defeated the then world champion Garry
Kasparov under tournament conditions.
• That was a landmark in the history of game
playing machines.
• The success of game playing machines has
been attributed to their ability to ‘see’ many
moves ahead in a game.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD COMPUTER SCIENTIST
Qualities of a good computer scientist include:
• Passion for finding elegant solutions
• Ability to use mathematical analysis and logical rigor to evaluate such
solutions
• Creativity in modeling complex problems through the use of abstractions
• Attention to details and hidden assumptions
• Ability to recognize variants of the same problem in different settings
• Ability to retarget known efficient solutions to problems in new settings
i.e. reusability.
• If you like to solve puzzles, then computer science is for you!
CAREERS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
• Many students graduate to rewarding computer-related careers in:
– Software engineering,
– System administration and management
– Research and development in industrial and governmental
laboratories etc
•
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND OTHER DISCIPLINES

• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND COMPUTER

ENGINEERING
• Computer engineering concerns itself with current practices in assembling
hardware and software components to erect computing engines with the
best cost-performance characteristics. In contrast, computer scientists
worry about the feasibility and efficiency of solutions to problems in a
manner that is less dependent on current technologies.

• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND SCIENTIFIC

COMPUTING
• Computers and software artifacts have become indispensable tools in
every scientific discipline. The scientists who use Computer and software
artifacts are called Computational Scientists. The use of computers has
enabled:
• Biologists to comprehend genetics - Computational Biology
• Astrophysicists to use laser technology
• Geologists to predict earthquakes.
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND OTHER DISCIPLINES
CONT

• Scientists in these disciplines increasingly rely on a computational

methodology in addition to traditional mathematical or empirical
methodologies to make advances in their respective fields of study.
•
• Careers in other fields: Since computer technology has transformed
almost all disciplines Computer Science graduates can use their computer
science skills in other disciplines such as:
– Medicine,
– Law, education
– Physical and life sciences
– Social sciences and humanities.
 DIGITAL DIVIDE
• Digital divide represents the disparity between those who
have and those who do not have access to computer
technology.

• In developing countries like Nigeria there is a great challenge

on digital divide. In Nigeria the unequal digital divide is found
everywhere, for example, rural communities, in primary and
secondary schools, higher institutions of learning, etc. This
can be seen from the perspective of the number of people
that has access to it, and the technological skill of those that
have access to computer technology.
•
 STUDY QUESTIONS
• Discuss the relevance of computers to your
course in University of Ibadan
• What is the core of Computer Science?
• Distinguish between systems areas and
applications areas of Computer Science
discipline.
• Is computing a mathematical discipline, a
scientific discipline, or an engineering
discipline? Explain.
• Briefly discuss the steps involved in solving
problems computationally.