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Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer technology, computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology. Computer science (or computing science) is the study and the science of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems.
In a general way, we can define computing to mean any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computers. Thus, computing includes designing and building hardware and software systems for a wide range of purposes; processing, structuring, and managing various kinds of information; doing scientific studies using computers; making computer systems behave intelligently; creating and using communications and entertainment media; finding and gathering information relevant to any particular purpose, and so on. The list is virtually endless, and the possibilities are vast.
A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a set of instructions called a computer program. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute the instructions. The same program in its human-readable source code form, enables a programmer to study and develop the algorithm. Because the instructions can be carried out in different types of computers, a single set of source instructions converts to machine instructions according to the central processing unit type.
The execution process carries out the instructions in a computer program. Instructions express the computations performed by the computer. They trigger sequences of simple actions on the executing machine. Those actions produce effects according to the semantics of the instructions.
Computer programming in general is the process of writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code and documentation of computer programs. This source code is written in a programming language, which is an artificial language, restrictive, demanding, and unforgiving to humans but easily translated by the computer. The purpose of programming is to invoke the desired behaviour (customization) from the machine. The process of writing high quality source code requires knowledge of both the application's domain and the computer science domain. The highest quality software is thus developed by a team of various domain experts, each person a specialist in some area of development. But the term programmer may apply to a range of program quality, from hacker to open source contributor to professional. And a single programmer could do most or all of the computer programming needed to generate the proof of concept to launch a new "killer" application.
Numeracy is the ability to reason with numbers and other mathematical concepts. To be numerically literate, a person has to be comfortable with logic and reasoning. Some of the areas that are involved in numeracy include: basic numbers, orders of magnitude, geometry, algebra, probability and statistics.
The portmanteau of "numerical literacy" was coined in 1959 by the UK Committee on Education, presided over by Sir Geoffrey Crowther.[1]Innumeracy is a lack of numeracy.[2]
Numeracy is a proficiency which is developed mainly in mathematics, but also in other subjects. It is more than an ability to do basic arithmetic. It involves developing confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires understanding of the number system, a repertoire of mathematical techniques, and an inclination and ability to solve quantitative or spatial problems in a range of contexts. Numeracy also demands understanding of the ways in which data are gathered by counting and measuring, and presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables.
The knowledge and skills required to apply arithmetic operations, either alone or sequentially, using numbers embedded in printed material (e.g., balancing a checkbook, completing an order form).
The latter definition captures the sense of proficiency in the application mathematical knowledge to everyday tasks implicit in the former definition of numeracy, but it lacks the depth of "a repertoire," and the sense that an "inclination" to apply mathematics is a central part of numeracy/quantitative literacy. The differences in depth and extent in these definitions is natural; just as with literacy, numeracy measurements vary depending on the context.
Others have drawn a distinction between numeracy and mathematics as a language or system of thought, arguing that too narrow a focus on working with numbers neglects abstract reasoning.[4]
Also
known as personal computers. Although there is no rigid
definition, a Microcomputer (sometimes
shortened to micro) is most often taken to mean
a computer with
a microprocessor (µP)
as its CPU.
Another general characteristic of these computers is
that they occupy physically small amounts of space.
The
microcomputer came after the minicomputer,
most notably replacing the many distinct components that
made up the minicomputer's CPU with a single integrated
microprocessor chip.
Such early models were primitive, the earliest microprocessors
being little more than general-purpose calculator chips.
However, as microprocessor design advanced rapidly from
the early 1970s onwards, microcomputers in turn grew
faster and cheaper, resulting in an explosion in their
popularity.
Whilst
the microcomputer may have taken over from older-style
designs in many cases, its most significant effects are
to have widened access to computers, and to have expanded
their usage into completely new areas.
Database design is the process of producing a detailed data model of a database. This logical data model contains all the needed logical and physical design choices and physical storage parameters needed to generate a design in a Data Definition Language, which can then be used to create a database. A fully attributed data model contains detailed attributes for each entity.
The term database design can be used to describe many different parts of the design of an overall database system. Principally, and most correctly, it can be thought of as the logical design of the base data structures used to store the data. In the relational model these are the tables and views. In an object database the entities and relationships map directly to object classes and named relationships. However, the term database design could also be used to apply to the overall process of designing, not just the base data structures, but also the forms and queries used as part of the overall database application within the database management system (DBMS).[1]
The process of doing database design generally consists of a number of steps which will be carried out by the database designer. Usually, the designer must:
Determine the relationships between the different data elements.
Superimpose a logical structure upon the data on the basis of these relationships.[2]
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper, accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells that together make up a grid consisting of rows and columns, each cell containing alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas. A formula defines how the content of that cell is to be calculated from the contents of any other cell (or combination of cells) each time any cell is updated. Spreadsheets are frequently used for financial information because of their ability to re-calculate the entire sheet automatically after a change to a single cell is made.
Visicalc is usually considered the first electronic spreadsheet (although this has been challenged), and it helped turn the Apple II computer into a success and greatly assisted in their widespread application. Lotus 1-2-3 was the leading spreadsheet when DOS was the dominant operating system. Excel now has the largest market share on the Windows and Macintosh platforms.[1][2][3]
A visual programming language (VPL) is any programming language that lets users create programs by manipulating program elements graphically rather than by specifying them textually (also known as dataflow or diagrammatic programming[1]). A VPL allows programming with visual expressions, spatial arrangements of text and graphic symbols, used either as elements of syntax or secondary notation. Many VPLs are based on the idea of "boxes and arrows," where boxes or other screen objects are treated as entities, connected by arrows, lines or arcs which represent relations.
VPLs may be further classified, according to the type and extent of visual expression used, into icon-based languages, form-based languages, and diagram languages. Visual programming environments provide graphical or iconic elements which can be manipulated by users in an interactive way according to some specific spatial grammar for program construction.
A visually transformed language is a non-visual language with a superimposed visual representation. Naturally visual languages have an inherent visual expression for which there is no obvious textual equivalent[citation needed].
Current developments try to integrate the visual programming approach with dataflow programming languages to either have immediate access to the program state resulting in online debugging or automatic program generation and documentation (i.e. visual paradigm). Dataflow languages also allow automatic parallelization, which is likely to become one of the greatest programming challenges of the future.[1]
Information
goods - from movies and music to software code
and stock quotes - have supplanted industrial goods
as the key drivers of world markets. Confronted
by this New Economy, many instinctively react by
searching for a corresponding New Economics to
guide their business decisions. Executives charged
with rolling out cutting-edge software products
or on-line versions of their magazines are tempted
to abandon the classic lessons of economics, and
rely instead on an ever-changing roster of trends,
buzzwords, and analogies that promise to guide
strategy in the information age.
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