CS1428 Foundations of Computer Science I The Basics

Computers “If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.” (Robert X. Cringely) “There are only two industries that refer to their customers as ‘users’.” (Edward Tufte)

Programmers & Programming Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand. ~ Martin Fowler I really hate this darn machine; I wish that they would sell it. It won't do what I want it to, but only what I tell it. ~ Author Unknown The magic of myth and legend has come true in our time. One types the correct incantation on a keyboard, and a display screen comes to life, showing things that never were nor could be.... The computer resembles the magic of legend in this respect, too. If one character, one pause, of the incantation is not strictly in proper form, the magic doesn't work. Human beings are not accustomed to being perfect, and few areas of human activity demand it. Adjusting to the requirement for perfection is, I think, the most difficult part of learning to program. ~ Frederick Brooks

Computers: Hardware & Software Hardware: “Hardware: The parts of a computer system that can be kicked.” (Jeff Pesis) Software: “Computers are good at following instructions, but not at reading your mind.” – Donald Knuth Hardware & Software: “It’s hardware that makes a machine fast. It’s software that makes a fast machine slow.” – Craig Bruce

1946 – John von Neumann along with Arthur Burks and Herman Goldstine published a paper “Preliminary Discussion of the Logical Design of an Electronic Computer Instrument” which is often referred to as the birth of computer science. Von Neumann introduced the concept of ‘stored programs’.

Computer Components CPU (system) Memory (RAM) Secondary Memory (storage) Input devices Output devices

Organization of a Computer Fetch Decode Execute

Input Devices

Output Devices Others?