Lecture #1 Introduction

Why to study this lesson?
Goal of this lesson is:
Introduce computer science as a profession
What are the perspectives of profession
Introduction to basic principles of different topics in computer science

What is computer science?
CS is the science of using computers to solve problems
Mostly, designing software (computer programs)
Addressing fundamental scientific questions about the nature of computation
Also involves aspects of hardware and architecting the large computer systems that form the infrastructure of commercial and government enterprises

What is NOT computer science?
CS is not about using software, such as:
spreadsheets (like Excel)
word processors (like Word)
image tools (like Photoshop)
Many software packages are complicated to master (such as Photoshop or Excel) and it is true that many jobs depend on expertise in using such tools, but computer science is not about using the tools.

What is NOT computer science (2)
It is not about expertise in computer games
it is not about writing content in websites
it is not about assembling computers or knowing which computers are best buys
Edsger Dijkstra, a famous computer scientist once said, "Computer Science is no more about computers than Astronomy is about telescopes".

What is computer science about
Computer Science is:
about the principles behind building software packages
about the algorithms used in computer games
about the technology behind the internet
about the architecture of computing devices.

What is programming?
Computer is a simple device that knows:
how to remember things
how to look up those memories
A computer program is a set of instructions for managing memory.
Whatever you want to do with a computer, you're manipulating a set of electrical symbols the computer understands in a particular way.

Why to learn programming? Programming is Automation
At the heart of programming and writing code is one central idea: automation.
When someone writes a software program, what they are really doing is taking some manual process and making it automatic.
Think how can your life may be automated
The real benefit to learning how to program is being able to automate simple tasks and find new ways of solving problems.

Why to learn programming? Teaches breaking down problems
Want to be better at solving problems? Learning to program is all about learning how to take complex problems and break them down into smaller parts.
Most of the work of programming is taking some set of steps, also known as an algorithm, and translating that set of steps into smaller and smaller steps until you get to a single line of code.
Programming trains your mind

Why to learn programming? Programming jobs are abundant
Today, more than ever, the number of development jobs is increasing to a point where it is impossible to fill the demand.
- in US big companies like Google, Microsoft request more visas for foreign employees
It is pretty reasonable to expect that as more and more of our world runs on computers and more and more computing devices are created and used, we’ll need more and more developers to write software for those computers and devices.

Situation in Kazakhstan

Why to learn programming? Programming is fun
There is a certain thrill and feeling of satisfaction that I have felt no other place than when I have written some code to do some complex task and I finally see it work.
Programming isn’t always easy and it can be a real headache sometimes, but I can’t really think of a more rewarding job.

What can you do if you learn programming?
Curing diseases
Self-driving cars
Design robots
Making games
Making websites
e.t.c.

Do programmer need to know math?
Not all programming jobs requires math Math is essential:
in computer graphics in 3d technologies
But math helps to think logically