Computer science or computing science (abbreviated CS or CompSci) is the scientific approach to computation and its applications.
Questions tagged [computer-science]
197 questions
62
votes
29 answers
Why does a computer science degree matter to a professional programmer?
I have a degree in computer science. It has been great for opening doors, getting a job. As far as helping me in the professional field of C# .NET programming (the most popular platform and language in the area I work if not the entire united…
P.Brian.Mackey
- 11,103
23
votes
17 answers
Is "Computer Science != Software Engineering" an excuse to teach programming poorly?
We've all heard it; whenever there's a discussion about CS grads having poor development skills someone eventually says,
Computer science isn't software engineering.
The problem that I see is that programming and software development are taught in…
Steven Evers
- 28,180
17
votes
26 answers
Most difficult subject/theory in Computer Science?
Which is the most difficult CS subject/theory that you studied but important to the field? And the reason please?
Abimaran Kugathasan
- 1,083
17
votes
1 answer
Can all code be represented as a series of Map / Filter / Reduce operations?
I have recently been refactoring large chunks of code and replacing them with Linq queries.
Removing the language bias - Linq is essentially a set of Map / Filter and Reduce operations that operate on a sequence of data.
This got me thinking, how…
Mongus Pong
- 1,418
10
votes
17 answers
Do you count a Masters in CS as a negative?
In my experience interviewing developers I feel like candidates who've achieved a Masters in Comp Sci tend to be worse programmers on average that those who don't have a Masters.
Is that just me, or have others noticed this phenomenon? If so, why…
Pete Hodgson
- 289
9
votes
2 answers
Masters vs. PhD - long
I'm 21 years old and a first year master's computer science student. Whether or not to continue with my PhD has been plaguing me for the past few months. I can't stop thinking about it and am extremely torn on the issue. I have read…
Sterling
- 225
8
votes
6 answers
Bridging the gap between computer science research and software engineering
Do you believe there is a gap between computer science research and software engineering problems? For example, do software engineers ever have to worry about "factoring and graph isomorphism" or some complex computer science problems if they have…
berlinbrown2
- 525
6
votes
12 answers
Was getting a computing science degree easier 10 years ago
I am currently a 3rd year computing science student at a Canadian University. I find it quite challenging, and extremely interesting. One thing that i have noticed is that each person i speak to that took a class 3 or so years ago learned much less…
Dustin Gamester
- 171
5
votes
8 answers
Usefull skills from a computer science degree
I did my degree in physics and moved later into programming. I have two and a half years experience under my belt and like to think I write good code. I am, however, concerned that not doing a compsci degree has left holes in my knowledge. I would…
Tom Squires
- 17,755
- 11
- 67
- 88
5
votes
3 answers
What's the best way to inject science into everyday programming?
I work better when I have some firm foundations. This helps me to solve everyday problems better, because I can generalize them. The thing I find in programming is so many things are black boxes. Logic is scientific, but commands are not. A command…
Eric Vi4ing
- 249
4
votes
5 answers
Why is CS never a topic of conversation of the layman?
Granted, every profession has it's technicalities. If you are an MD, you better know the anatomy of the human body, and if you are astronomer, you better know your calculus. Yet, you don't have to know these more advance topics to know that…
Chad Harrison
- 897
3
votes
1 answer
What are the most common algorithms in the field of computational geometry?
So far I've touched on various aspects of computational geometry including constructive planar geometry (locus intersections), algorithms for planar graph topologies, 3D DDA, and most recently a 2D convex hull implementation using Graham's Scan and…
Engineer
- 767
2
votes
2 answers
How is indirection different from aliasing?
Take from wikipedia, aliasing is defined as accessing a data location through different names.
Also taken from wikipedia, indirection is defined as referencing something "using a name, reference, or container instead of the value itself". Am I…
George Newton
- 179
1
vote
5 answers
What is the true meaning of "natural ordering"?
I've found two definitions – roughly:
the order of things that feels natural or standard to humans (like alphabetic order)
the order of things that is natural or intrinsic to the data type in question (like ordering numbers from smaller to…
Wes
- 842
1
vote
3 answers
Reading an external variable turn out an impure function?
I was reading about "Referential Transparency" that says how to program thinking about purity and determinism. It's said that a function that modifies an outside state is unpure.
But what about a function that only read an outside state (such as…
