| Block
1: DATA |
 |
The
idea of representation |
| |
Just
as letters of the alphabet represent (if somewhat roughly)
the sounds of a language, data has to be represented
in some way. For example, how is the genetic information
within a biological database represented in such a way
that scientists can use it to predict the susceptibility
of someone to a particular disease? |
|
How
real world data are related to the data that are stored
in the computer |
| |
Real
world data such as geographic measurements taken from
satellites needs to be transformed into a form that
can be processed by the computer. The computer (and
its program) then needs to transform it to something
the user can understand: a map, a picture of a storm
system, your exact location if you’re sailing
out of sight of land. Most of us are used to typing
in text. Under this topic we also discuss handwriting
recognition, speech recognition and gesture recognition. |
|
How
data are stored in a computer. |
| |
A
computer relies on stored data. For example your bank
account details are stored within your bank’s
computers. How is this data structured in such a way
that it can be accessed efficiently? How is the data
transformed so that it occupies as small a space as
possible on the computer? What exactly makes up a commercial
database? |
| Block
2: COMPUTING |
|
How
the hardware of a computer processes data. |
| |
At the heart
of every computing system there is a large electronic
device known as the computer. Despite the dizzying pace
of change in what computers can do, their basic architecture
has hardly changed since the 1950s. This course looks
at the architecture of the computer and describes how
the set of instructions comprising a computer program
is executed. It looks at the ‘brain’ of
the computer: the processor; the main memory of the
computer where data is held temporarily; the various
devices such as scanners, printers, mice, light pens
that form a computing system’s interface to the
outside world; and it also looks at its file store where
data is held permanently. |
|
What
software is and how is it programmed. |
| |
A
program is a set of instructions which process data.
To develop a program requires a programming language.
The programming language which we use in the course
is known as JavaScript. It contains all the features
you would expect in a modern programming language. JavaScript
is associated with the World Wide Web in that programs
written in it can be embedded within a web page to make
the pages behave dynamically. For example, when you
pass a mouse over a link to another web page it will
often change its appearance, usually by changing colour;
this provides some visual cue that it is a link. This
sort of processing is carried out using a short JavaScript
program. |
|
How
we develop software. |
| |
One of the major
components of software development is that of design.
This consists of identifying the individual components
of a program, programming them and bringing them together.
The course describes the software design process and
provides you with initial skills for this. There is
a common misconception that, in order to develop a computer
system, all you need to is to program it. The course
looks at how a system is specified in terms of identifying
and understanding user requirements, how the system
is defined in terms of the components it will need to
make it work, and how it is tested to ensure that everything
works correctly. These activities are not trivial and
are at least as important as programming. |
| Block
3: INFORMATION |
|
The
boundary between the computer and the user. |
| |
There are two boundaries
that are associated with a computer system. There is a
boundary between data from the outside world and the computer,
and a boundary between the computer and the outside world
to which it will send information. The initial block of
this course concentrates on the first boundary. The final
block of the course looks at the second boundary. This
introduces some of the major aspects of human–computer
interaction. This discipline studies how to analyse the
visual information needs of the user; how to design the
interface between the user and the computer so that information
is presented clearly in such a way that the user will
not misinterpret the information and press a wrong button.
|
|
The
computer and non-visual information. |
| |
The
latter part of the course also looks at the presentation
of non-visual information – using sound or tactile
information such as Braille – and examines where,
for example, this can be used and where it is superior
to visual forms of information presentation. Topics dealt
with which come under this banner include tactile computing,
for example Braille reading; the communication of human
emotions; the combination of sound and pictures in order
to make sense of large quantities of unstructured data
and auditory output (including speech production from
text). |
|
The
computer, surveillance, privacy and security. |
| |
How much information
about you is available to anyone over the Internet? Who
collects information about you and why? Does the doctor,
the health authority, the NHS or the patient own patient
information? What rights might you have to see information
about you, or about a topic of interest to you? What rights
might you have to correct erroneous information or insert
an explanation? Is buying on the Internet secure? What
is cyber crime and how do we seek to prevent it? The course
examines these questions in some detail. It looks at computer
security and examines the main techniques used to reduce
the risk of crime, including cryptography, the process
of devising and sending secret, coded messages which cannot
be read by anyone except the sender and recipient. |
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