What is Computer Science? If you ask this to a number of people, you will get a multiplicity of answers. Some people often think that Computer Programming is the same as Computer Science, however, it is only one element of the field. Computer Science is a general concept to describe the study of computation and its application through the use of computers, including the study of algorithmic processes.
Principal areas of study within Computer Science scope, are:
Computer architecture and organization
Software Engineering
Programming Languages
Computer security and cryptography
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Systems and Networks
Databases and data mining
Human-Computer Interaction
Graphics and Visualization
Computational science
I'll talk about some of these areas of study in future articles, but for now let's focus on the history of Computer Science.
History of Computer Science💻
Some people think that Computer Science was born with the invention of the modern digital computer, however, machines for performing calculations, such as the abacus, have existed since ancient times.
The evolution of Computer Science was made possible by some of the most important computer scientists of all time, such as Gottfried Leibniz, that in 1673 invented the Stepped Reckoner, a digital mechanical calculator, or Charles Babbage that invented the first programmable mechanical calculator, called Analytical Engine, in 1822. He is also known as the father of computing. Another person who played a key role in Computer Science was Ada Lovelace, who wrote an algorithm to compute the Bernoulli numbers. Thanks of that, she is often considered as the first computer programmer.
Another important historical event, was when Howard Aiken, in 1937, convinced IBM to develop the ASSC(Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator), a programmable calculator based on Babbage's Analytical Engine, used during the last part of World War II. Some years later, during 1940s, John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry, developed the Atanasoff-Berry-Computer(ABC), that was the first automatic, electronic, digital computer. In the same years, The United States Army, financed the design and development of ENIAC(Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), that was the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose, digital computer. As a result ot these inventions, the term computer began to refer to machines rather than their human predecessors.
Two decades later, in 1960, Computer Science emerged as an independent discipline, and we can find its roots in the fields of mathematics, electrical engineering, physic and management information systems.
In closing..
Nowadays we have desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones and many other devices that have the ability to connect with each other, through the use of Internet, which has revolutionized communications and led to the birth of many companies, which they provide fundamental services for the human being.
By this, I meant that Computer Science is constantly updated and these updates will improve our lives in many ways.