Computer science or computing science (abbreviated CS or CompSci) is the scientific approach to computation and its applications.
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votes
0answers
69 views
Time complexity (in big-O notation) of the following recursive code? [closed]
public static int abc(int n) {
if (n <= 2) return n;
int sum = 0;
for (int j=1; j<n; j *= 2)
sum += j;
for (int k=n; k>1; k /= 2)
sum += k;
return abc(n ...
0
votes
4answers
213 views
What does it mean to perform an operation “In Place” for Interpreted Languages?
Programming question:
Reverse words in a string (words are separated by one or more spaces).
Now do it in-place.
What does "in-place" mean in the above context for an interpreted language ...
0
votes
4answers
249 views
Is there such a thing as truly random? [closed]
I saw a video about random numbers and how the programmer in that video was talking about computers generating pseudo random numbers and that they are not really random. I knew about this.
Then he ...
14
votes
6answers
938 views
What methods are there to avoid a stack overflow in a recursive algorithm?
Question
What are the possible ways to solve a stack overflow caused by an recursive algorithm?
Example
I'm trying to solve Project Euler problem 14 and decided to try it with a recursive ...
2
votes
1answer
361 views
The physical implementation of quantum annealing algorithm
From that question about differences between Quantum annealing and simulated annealing, we found (in comments to answer) that physical implementation of quantum annealing exists (D-Wave quantum ...
3
votes
1answer
182 views
What is the difference between Quantum annealing and simulated annealing?
In both algorithms objective functions, that will be executed with non quantum computers, are used. Both algorithms are methods for finding the global minimum of a given objective function.
From ...
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votes
0answers
52 views
Sophomore physics major with a lot of interest in CS. Is it better to double major, or just have experience? [closed]
I'm a sophomore, and I have a lot of my physics major requirements done.
I love physics, but I've figured out that I really don't want to go into academic physics. I am, however, quite interested in ...
6
votes
2answers
192 views
Does any well-known license require to make modifications available when only derived *output* is published?
Is there a way to make sure that modifications to free software are released even when no binaries of modified code are conveyed? Though it may sound odd and from what I understand, e.g., GPL requires ...
3
votes
2answers
362 views
Began with iOS development, skipped CS, and getting hit hard at interviews? [duplicate]
I'll start with a brief background: my degree is in Recording Arts, so mainly audio engineering and stuff relating to the music industry, with some synthesis and stuff which was my link into coding ...
1
vote
2answers
156 views
Class of problems solvable by sed or stream editors
I've came across a question transform this text with sed [sed only]
and it got me wondering what class of problems is solvable by stream editors or programs/computational models with similar ...
-2
votes
2answers
122 views
Where do I start? [closed]
I've been playing around with Javascript and python a little bit, but I still have no idea how to do any sort of programming. I'm only in highschool, and I really want to go to college for computer ...
-6
votes
2answers
208 views
the fact that computer science changes fast bothers me [closed]
I started with Visual Basic (the old one) for some months, after that I moved to Delphi, after noticing it's dead I started working with WPF, then I heard about the birth of WinRt (API that metro ...
0
votes
0answers
131 views
How to self study mathemathics / calculus required for MSc in Computer Science? [closed]
Currently I work for a company as a software engineer. We do embedded sw, application sw, etc... so I would rather categorize myself as a SW engineer, not a computer scientist.
I have an interest in ...
-2
votes
1answer
98 views
Non-obvious use of graph [closed]
What are the uses of graphs that can be considered non-obvious. For many graph examples, it is very clear for people who knows even a little about graph that it can be represented as a graph, like ...
3
votes
1answer
151 views
Best Traversing Strategy / Logic Help Needed
Background: Here is the scenario, imagine I have a little Robot. I give this robot a Map, and I want him to traverse the map, after doing so, I want the Robot to tell me the shortest possible path on ...
-2
votes
1answer
131 views
Should I go back to school to do computers if I have an MA degree? [closed]
I'm new to the forum so I will take this question down if it's not considered a good one. Thanks for your patience.
Can I do computer programming at a major company with an MA in Political Science if ...
9
votes
2answers
496 views
Is this statement from Knuth's fundamental algorithms still applicable today?
In a sense, 10! (ten factorial) represents an approximate dividing
line between things which are practical to compute and things which
are not.
This is from Knuth's TAOCP Fundamental ...
5
votes
3answers
423 views
How do we differentiate between a computer and a calculator?
In this SO Question there is a comment by starblue that
A computer without loops is a calculator
Is this true?
Is that the only difference?
Is there a set of criteria to differentiate or has ...
2
votes
3answers
482 views
How many bits' address is required for a computer with n bytes of memory?
How many bits of address is required (for the program counter for example) in a byte-addressed computer with 512 Mbyte RAM?
What does the formula look like?
How is this connected with the fact that ...
-1
votes
1answer
212 views
Differences between software engineering and other areas of computer science [closed]
If we take software engineering as a discipline and field of knowledge, how it differs from other areas of computer science?
Wikipedia only tells
"Major differences between software engineering and ...
1
vote
2answers
174 views
How should i organize my priorities for learning? [closed]
I could use some guidance on what would be more beneficial to learn as i pursue a computer science degree. I take computer science courses at a nearby college(i am in highschool) and code daily in my ...
4
votes
3answers
331 views
Prerequisites to compiler theory? [closed]
It's not meant to be subjective or get advice on what would be the best path to take, but an objective list of things that must be known in order for me to pick up a book on compiler theory and ...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
What is the difference between E-Science Infrastructures and Distributed Computing Infrastructures
What is the difference between eScience infrastructures and grid computing or distributed computing infrastructures? And what are some of their examples.
I can not distinguish them clearly. Is it ...
-3
votes
1answer
235 views
What Precalculus knowledge is required before learning Discrete Math Computer Science topics? [closed]
Below I've listed the chapters from a Precalculus book as well as the author recommended Computer Science chapters from a Discrete Mathematics book.
Although these chapters are from two specific ...
5
votes
4answers
546 views
What are graphs in laymen's terms
What are graphs, in computer science, and what are they used for? In laymen's terms preferably.
I have read the definition on Wikipedia:
In computer science, a graph is an abstract data type ...
2
votes
1answer
161 views
Tiling Problem Solutions for Various Size “Dominoes”
I've got an interesting tiling problem, I have a large square image (size 128k so 131072 squares) with dimensons 256x512... I want to fill this image with certain grain types (a 1x1 tile, a 1x2 ...
0
votes
2answers
214 views
What is the standard for describing functions and objects?
What is the standard for describing functions/methods (function name, number of arguments, argument type, return type, etc...) in a manner that is language independent?
EDIT: More specifically, how ...
0
votes
2answers
189 views
From where is a DES key generated? [closed]
GOing over a lecture on DES
I got most of it except WHERE DOES DES KEY COME FROM?
Does an authority give you the key or what?
Simple language please
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votes
1answer
151 views
Need to find a find a fast/multi-user database program [closed]
Our company is currently utilizing Excel and have been encountering a series of issues for starters we have multiple users sharing this application. We utilize it write our schedules for our employees ...
2
votes
1answer
444 views
Getting URLs from search results
After 1 months research I basically give up on getting all URL's from a search results programmatically,
I looked at Google Search API to find a way to get millions of search results "URL's" to be ...
4
votes
3answers
639 views
What's the best way to inject science into everyday programming? [closed]
I work better when I have some firm foundations. This helps me to solve everyday problems better, because I can generalize them. The thing I find in programming is so many things are black boxes. ...
0
votes
1answer
151 views
Good tutorial or book about creating a DSL and interpret it and explaining the computer language parsing and interpreting theory
I'm a seasoned Java dev. I would like to refresh my memory about a topic I was not so good with when I was at university: language parsing and interpreting.
I would like to write a quite basic and ...
0
votes
4answers
233 views
Good resources to understand how a program interacts with machine hardware
I never had any formal education in CS. So after being an average developer for 7 years now, I am feeling the need to understand questions like: What exactly happens when I write a java class. i.e. ...
4
votes
3answers
722 views
What Discrete Mathematics topics should the average computer science student know?
I know that Discrete Mathematics is a pretty broad topic that's used in a number of fields but I was just wondering what are some of the topics from it that you would expect an average computer ...
19
votes
6answers
1k views
How not to forget new and interesting information [closed]
The thing is that I read a lot of things over a period of time because it is interesting and I like to know it and secondly it will be helpful in my future job interviews.
For example I read about ...
4
votes
5answers
359 views
Is there a single book that covers the breadth of computer science fundamentals? [closed]
When I did my undergraduate studies in elecrical engineering, there was this book called "Basic Electricity" by Van Valkenburgh. If you read that book cover to cover, your fundamentals in electrical ...
21
votes
4answers
8k views
How do I completely-self-study Computer Science?
Being a completely self taught programmer, I would like it if I could better myself by self-learning the computer science course taught to a typical CS grad.
Finding different resources on internet ...
9
votes
7answers
1k views
I'm having trouble learning [closed]
I'm only 13 but i'm genuinely interested in CS and would really like it if I could actually accomplish it. I've read books on C++ and C#, but ALL of them are the same!! They all say "Ok so since you ...
6
votes
2answers
268 views
Quantum computers and Turing Machine
As far as I know, a Turing Machine is the widely used model in computational theory to know whether something could be computed and if computed can they can be computed in finite time (P, NP, ...
11
votes
2answers
326 views
Are there any scientific studies done on TDD that use total cost of ownership for a product as the measurement?
When I was reading the summary of previous work in Dogsa T, Batic D. The effectiveness of test-driven development: an industrial case study. Software Quality Journal. 2011;19(4):643-661. it struck me ...
16
votes
3answers
764 views
Why do trees grow downward?
Why do trees grow downward in computer science?
I have a feeling it goes back to a printer, and that a program traversing a tree first prints the root, and uses the notion of a bottomless stack of ...
-1
votes
2answers
120 views
Pub/Sub subscription forwarding [closed]
Does anyone know more about subscription forwarding in a publisher subscriber architecture? I am solving a problem where the production of values is an costly operation, thus the producer should not ...
3
votes
5answers
437 views
Why is CS never a topic of conversation of the layman? [closed]
Granted, every profession has it's technicalities. If you are an MD, you better know the anatomy of the human body, and if you are astronomer, you better know your calculus. Yet, you don't have to ...
2
votes
3answers
334 views
How to learn the math behind the code? [closed]
I have recently gotten into programming. (Although I know that the number of books you have read does not determine your programming competency or ability, just to paint a "map" of where I am in terms ...
6
votes
6answers
449 views
How does const storage work? (Item 2, Scott Myers Effective C++)
In Item2 on page 16, (Prefer consts, enums, and inlines to #defines), Scott says:
Also, though good compilers won't set aside storage for const objects of integer types...
I don't understand ...
5
votes
2answers
479 views
Why do computer architecture textbooks prefer MIPS architecture?
I have read a lot of computer architecture textbooks, and I wonder why most of them (if not all) used MIPS as the architecture to teach. Why MIPS and not Intel or AMD or something else? What makes the ...
3
votes
3answers
217 views
Should there be more scientific study of the effectiveness of various hyped-up ideas in software development?
Everyone seems to implicitly assume that the free market of ideas will eventually converge on the "right" solutions in software development. We don't assume that in medicine - we recognise that ...
3
votes
11answers
2k views
Where is the application of Calculus (of continuous quantities) in Computer Science or programming
I am a Software Engineer professional. I have studied calculus as a core course in my graduation studies. I want to ask question, that what/where is the implementation of calculus in computer science?
...
6
votes
2answers
753 views
normal order evaluation -vs- applicative order evaluation
I am going through Abelson and Sussman (Structure and Interpretation
of Computer Programs) and I am a little confused about when normal order evaluation is used and when applicative order evaluation ...
7
votes
13answers
4k views
What's the difference between computer science and programming?
I'm new at computer science and programming, and I was wondering, is there a difference between computer science and programming? and do you get to choose to study only one of them at the university, ...
