Introduction to Computer Science

Lecture 1
Objectives

Define information society

Define knowledge society

Define IT,ICT and Computer Science

Discuss the National ICT Policy
(http://www.ictministry.gov.zw)
Information society 1

Vital to think about the impact of systems and technologies
on the people and societies that use them

Does technology determine society?
Or the reverse?

Data – bits of factual information.
Raw recordings of observations
Meaningless information

Information- ideas,facts and imaginative works of the mind
that have been communicated,recorded,published and
distributed formally and informally.

Raw data that has been given meaning.
Information society 2

Info is the raw material

IT becomes pervasive across society

reliant on data storage, processing power and
communications networks

based on flexibility and ability to reconfigure
Knowledge Society

Generates , processes, shares and make available to all
members of the society knowledge that may be used to
improve the human condition.

Its members have attained a higher average standard of
education comparison to other societies and a growing
proportion of its labour force are employed as knowledge
workers i.e. researchers,scientists, information specialists,
knowledge managers and related workers;

Its industry produces products with integrated artificial
intelligence;

There is increased organized knowledge in the form of
digitized expertise, stored in data banks,expert systems,
organizational plans,and other media.
Pillars of Knowledge society

EDUCATION ICT INNOVATION SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
Cont

Difference between information society and knowledge
society is that the former serves to transform information
into resources that allow society to take effective action
while the latter creates and disseminates the raw data.
What is Computer Science?

The study of the theory, design, and implementation of algorithms for
manipulating data and information.

Computer scientists create abstractions of real world problems that can
be understood by computer users and at the same time, that can be
represented and manipulated inside a computer.

Abstraction in computing is the simplification , the replacement of a
complex and detailed real world situation by an understandable model
within which we can solve a problem.
Computer Generations-history of
computers

A generation refers to a state of improvement in the
development of a product.

May also refer to different advancements of computer
technology.

With each new generation, the circuitry has significantly
changed both in size and design than its predecessor.
Cont

Rapid changes

Four generations over 50 years

Trends across generations
Decrease size
Increase speed
First generation (1946-1958)

Huge , slow, expensive and unreliable.

Made use of vacuum tubes
Required a lot of power
Produced a lot of heat
Needed air conditioning to protect the parts from
overheating.
They expensive because of material and skill needed to
make them.

Made 2000-16000 additions per second.

Main memory from 128bytes to 2 kilobytes(2048 bytes)

Very large machines filled the whole room.
Cont

Required special trained technicians to run and maintain
them.

The software used in this generation was unsophisticated
and machine oriented. (Machine language programming)

The programmers had to keep track of where the
instructions and data were stored in memory. Using
assembly language was efficient for the computer and
difficult for the programmer.

Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and
output was displayed on printouts.
UNIVAC
Universal Automatic Computer
First computer built for business.
Second generation(1959-1964)

Used transistors instead of vacuum tubes.
 Smaller
 Faster
 Increased the switching speed (speed of processing).

Storage improved with introduction of magnetic disk storage and magnetic
cores for memory.

High speed card readers, printers and magnetic tapes were introduced.

Just with first gen computers, a particular computer was designed to process
either scientific or business oriented problems but not both.

Programming the computer improved from machine language to assembly
language. This allowed the programmers to use mnemonics(natural language
like instructions) operation codes for instruction operation and symbolic names
for storing variables.

Compilers were also introduced.
Cont

Languages like COBOL and FORTRAN were introduced

6,000 to 3,000,000 operations per second.

6 kilobytes to 1.3 megabytes of main memory.

Computers became common in larger businesses and
universities.

Still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for
output.
Third generation


1965-1970 
Family of computers

Integrated Circuit 
Software
Electronic circuit on Upward compatibility
small silicon chip Unbundled software
Reliability Several programs
Compactness share computer’s
Low cost resources
Inexpensive – mass- Interactive processing
produced
Cont

New mass storage like the data cell introduced boosting
storage capacities to megabytes.

Portable disk pack and high density magnetic tapes came
into use.

100000 to 400,000,000 operations per second.

Size of a stove or refrigerator, some could fit on desktops.

Computers became very common in medium to large
businesses.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted
with the third generation computers through keyboards and
monitors and interfaced with an operating system.

The Fourth Generation


1971-Present

Microprocessor
General-purpose processor on a chip

Explosive growth
Digital watches
Pocket calculators
Personal computers
Cars
Copy machines
Television sets

Personal Computer History

Apple (1975)

Home use

Keyboard

Screen

VisiCalc spreadsheet software

Personal Computer History
IBM (1981)

Became industry standard

Improved keyboard

80-character screen

Add memory

Expansion slots

Encouraged hardware and software development
by others

Nonproprietary parts

Clones

Personal Computer History

Microsoft/Intel

Wintel
Microsoft supplies operating system for PC

MS-DOS

Windows
Intel supplies microprocessor

Continually challenged – others making inroads
Personal Computer History

The Internet Revolution


Started as ARPANet – a network of computers that
could survive a nuclear attack

Attractive to the average user
Links
Graphical browser

The Fifth Generation


Mid 1990’s

Intelligent computers
Artificial intelligence
Expert systems
Natural language
The Fifth Generation

AI – Artificial Intelligence


How computers can be used for tasks that required
human characteristics

How to make computers do things that people currently
do better

Evolving science

Robotics


Problem Solving

Natural languages

Expert systems
The Fifth Generation

AI – How Computers Learn


Improve performance based on past errors

Knowledge base – set of facts and rules

Inference engine – applies rules to the facts to
create new facts

Example
Fact: Amy is Ken’s wife
Rule: If X is Y’s wife, then Y is X’s husband
Created Fact: Ken is Amy’s husband
The Fifth Generation

Data Mining


Extracting previously unknown information from existing
data
Relationships
Trends

Look for hidden information that cannot be found
because of the size of the database
The Fifth Generation

Natural Language


Humans communicate with computers in the language
they use on a daily basis

Ambiguities of natural language
The Fifth Generation

Expert Systems


Software used with an extensive set of organized
data that presents the computer as an expert on a
particular topic

User
Knowledge seeker
Asks questions in English-like format

Computer responds with an answer and
explanation
The Fifth Generation

Building an Expert System

Expert system shell

Software that contains the basic structure used to
find answers to questions
Build knowledge base
Knowledge engineer writes rules
The Fifth Generation

Robotics


Computer-controlled device that can physically
manipulate its surroundings

Primarily found in factories

Field robots
Dangerous work
“Dirty” jobs
The Fifth Generation

VR – Virtual Reality

Engage a user in a computer-created environment
User physically interacts with computer-created
environment
Immersion – user becomes absorbed in the VR interaction

How it works
Alters perceptions
Appeals to several senses at once
Presents images that respond immediately to users
movements
The Fifth Generation

VR – Virtual Reality


The future of VR
Virtual showroom
Try new medical procedures on simulated patients

Problem
Simulator sickness
Costs