自然科学の一分野であるコンピュータサイエンスは、分子生物学や認知科学と並び、第二次世界大戦後に著しい発展を遂げた新しい学問です。この60年間にコンピュータがもたらした科学技術の進展が驚異的であるのは誰の目にも明らかながら、これを裏打ちする技術は一般には解り難く、あまり知られていません。アルゴリズム、プログラミング、順次処理、並列処理といったコンピュータの概念的基礎に加え、バイオ・コンピュータや認知モデル化など、この分野でも新しい研究領域についても検討します。
　　　

• Introduces the essential idea of automatic computation in the form of the Turing machine
• Considers the core principles of computer science
• Traces the important conceptual developments in computer science over the course of the past century

  
Over the past sixty years, the spectacular growth of the technologies associated with the computer is visible for all to see and experience. Yet, the science underpinning this technology is less visible and little understood outside the professional computer science community. As a scientific discipline, computer science stands alongside the likes of molecular biology and cognitive science as one of the most significant new sciences of the post Second World War era. 
 
In this Very Short Introduction, Subrata Dasgupta sheds light on these lesser known areas and considers the conceptual basis of computer science. Discussing algorithms, programming, and sequential and parallel processing, he considers emerging modern ideas such as biological computing and cognitive modelling, challenging the idea of computer science as a science of the artificial.