COS-101 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING
Lecture 5
By Nur Bala Rabiu
Department of Maths and Computer Science
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Learning Outcome
● Explain the different areas of Computing
discipline and its specializations.
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Different Areas/Programs of Computing
Discipline
• Computing is the study of computers, including their
hardware and software. It is a broad field that encompasses
all aspects of computing, including figuring out new ways to
solve problems using computers and improving how
computers work.
• As a field of study, computing encompasses many
disciplines, from studying hardware to theories of artificial
intelligence and computational limitation.
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Artificial Intelligence
The following are some fields of study in computing:
● Artificial intelligence, or AI, is the study and design of systems
that can function autonomously (independent) from human
input. It is the simulation of human intelligence processes by
machines, especially computer systems.
● Some AI studies focus on creating machines that can perform
human tasks like visual perception or speech recognition.
● Machine learning is a subset of AI that focuses specifically on
the possibility of creating a machine that can use algorithms
and programming to mirror the processes of the human mind.
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Programming language and logic
● Programming languages are an integral part of computing
because most other disciplines use programming languages
to function. To use a computer, the programmer translates
commands into a specific programming language that the
computer can read.
● The study of programming languages and logic focuses on
designing these languages as well as analyzing them and
characterizing and classifying their individual features.
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Web Development
● Web development refers to the creating, building, and
maintaining of websites. It includes aspects such as web
design, web publishing, web programming, and database
management. It is the creation of an application that works
over the internet i.e. websites.
● The word Web Development is made up of two words, that
is:
➢ Web: It refers to websites, web pages or anything that works
over the internet.
➢ Development: It refers to building the application from scratch
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Computer Architecture and Organization
● This discipline focuses on the study, design, implementation and
operation of a computer system.
● Architecture focuses on how the design of hardware like
computers, storage devices and network connection components
store programs, transmit data and facilitate connections with other
devices.
● Organization is how those components connect and how to
optimize those connections.
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Software Engineering
● Software engineering focuses on using engineering approaches to the
theory and practice of building software systems. The cost and time
involved in developing complex software includes teams of computer
scientists.
● The process of software engineering consists of:
➔ Development of requirements
➔ Analysis of possibilities
➔ Design
➔ Construction
➔ Validation or checking to make sure it meets requirements
➔ Deployment of the software
➔ Operation
➔ Maintenance
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Computer Networks
● The study of computer networks focuses on the analysis,
design and implementation of networks that link
computers together. For example, the internet is a type
of network that links computers together.
● Computer scientists study how to develop these links
using different connections, like light signals or radio
waves. They also work to develop protocols that
establish limitations and protections for these networks.
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Computer Security and Cryptography
● This discipline of computing focuses on how to protect
information stored on computers. This can include creating
hardware that is more difficult to tamper with but mostly
includes creating software that is invulnerable to theft,
destruction, fraud or access by an unauthorized user.
● Cryptography is a part of computer security developed to
protect data. It is the practice of using algorithms to encrypt
information by translating it from its natural state into a hard-
to-decipher pattern using a set of rule-based computations,
as well as using algorithms to decrypt data.
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Thank you
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