COMS12303: Origins of Computer Science

Lecturers

Director

Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Weeks

None
None
1-12, from 2007/08 onward.

Certificate level
10 credits.

Aims

There is an increasing amount of important historical background to modern Computer Science. Far from being an interesting aside, this background often offers insight into why the subject has developed in a given direction, for example as a result of economic, social or technical factors. The aim of this unit is to overview of the origins of Computer Science as a subject, focusing on prominent figures, theories and events in history.

Learning Outcomes

Successful completion of this unit will enable you to:

appreciate prominent figures, theories and events which have shaped the subject of Computer Science.
reason about the impact and sense of technical decisions in relation to the historic, social, economic and technological factors of the time.
access, read and précis research level literature.

Syllabus

The material covered is diverse in subject, a fact that underlines the breadth of Computer Science and its numerous links with related disciplines; example topics include:

Computer Architecture: Babbage; Turing; von Neumann; Colossus; EDVAC; ENIAC; EDSAC; RISC/CISC design.

Programming Languages: structured programming; Fortran; Lisp; C; Smalltalk; PostScript.

Operating Systems: Multics; Unix; Linux; DOS; OS/2; Windows; semaphors and monitors.

Communication and Networks: Ethernet; ARPANET and Internet; error correcting codes; TCP/IP; WWW; FTP; SMTP; search engines.

Security and Law: Bletchley Park; worms; virii; DES; RSA; export restrictions; DRM.

Books

A full reading list of material available online (for example online journals) is available via the unit web-page.

Teaching and Learning Methods

24 hours of lecture/seminar time, 80-100 hours of individual study. Presentation of material during lecture/seminar time will be split between (invited) staff and students, the later of which will be expected to present an overview of the reading matter assigned to that slot.

Assessment Methods

Coursework (100%). Final marks to be derived from a combination of presentation of material during lecture/seminar slots (e.g.) oral presentations, and written material (e.g.) essays and précis.