Computer science

Computer science (abbreviated CS or compsci) encompasses a variety of topics that relates to computation, like abstract analysis of algorithms, formal grammars, and subjects such as programming languages, program design, software, computer hardware, artificial intelligence, and numerical analysis. By definition, computer science is the accumulated knowledge through scientific methodology by computation or by the use of the computer.

Related fields

Computer science is closely related to a number of fields. These fields overlap considerably, though important differences exist:

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• Artificial intelligence (AI) is the implementation and study of systems that exhibit (either behaviourally or seemingly) an autonomous intelligence or behaviour of their own, sometimes inspired by the characteristics of living beings. Computer science is closely tied with AI, as software and computers are primary tools for the development and progression of artificial intelligence.
• Bioinformatics Bioinformatics or computational biology is the use of techniques from applied mathematics, informatics, statistics, and computer science to solve biological problems.
• Computer engineering is the analysis, design, and construction of computer systems (including computer hardware, software, and computer networks).
• Computer graphics is the field of visual computing, where one uses computers both to generate visual images synthetically and to integrate or alter visual and spatial information sampled from the real world.
• Computer programming is the act of writing program code.
• Computing is an overarching term for all of these related fields with CS.
• Information science or Informatics is the study of data and information, which includes how to create, interpret, analyze, store, retrieve, transfer, and manage it. Information science started as the scientific foundation for communication and databases. It also concerns about the ways people generate, use and find information (see cognitive science).
• Information security is the analysis and implementation of information system security, like cryptography.
• Information retrieval (IR) is the art and science of searching for information in documents, searching for documents themselves, searching for metadata which describes documents, or searching within databases, whether relational stand alone databases or hypertext networked databases such as the Internet or intranets, for text, sound, images or data.
• Information systems (IS) is the application of computing to support the operations of an organization: operating, installing, and maintaining the computers, software, and data.
• Information technology (IT) is an overarching term for all of these related fields with CS.
• Lexicography focus on the study of lexicographic reference works and include the study of electronic and Internet-based dictionaries.
• Linguistics is the study of languages; it converges with computer science in such areas as programming language design and natural language processing.
• Logic is a formal system of reasoning, and studies principles that lay at the basis of computing machines, whether it be the hardware (digital logic) or software (verification, AI etc.) levels.
• Management information systems (MIS) is a subfield of information systems, that emphasizes financial and personnel management.
• Mathematics shares many techniques and topics with computer science, but is more general. Theoretical computer science is the mathematics of computing.
• Software engineering emphasizes analysis, design, construction, and testing of useful software applications. Software engineering includes development methodologies (such as the waterfall model and extreme programming) and project management.