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1 Fields of computer science 2 Theoretical computer science 3 Applied computer science 4 Computer systems
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Unit 2 Theoretical computer science

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit you should:

  • be familiar with the subfields within theoretical computer science
  • have more idea of the content of the subfields of algorithms, mathematical theory of computation and coding theory.
Rubik

Introduction to theoretical computer science

Theoreticl computer science tends to focus on mathematics and understanding computation. Improvements in theoretical understanding may, indirectly or directly, lead to practical improvements.

Theoretical computer science can be subdivided into a number of subfields:

  • theory of computation
  • data structures and algorithms
  • programming language theory
  • formal methods
  • information theory (coding theory)

Watch the presentations, videos and read the posters to get a better understanding of these subfields.

Theory of computation

This deck of 3 slides introduces some mathematical concepts relevant to computer science.

Maths.pptx from john6938

Algorithms

This deck of 4 slides introduces some of the different types of algorithms.

Algorithms.pptx from john6938

Coding theory

This video (1 of 5) introduces lattice coding theory in just under 6 minutes. If you are interested in this, study in a mathematically focussed lab.

Review

Do you know:

  1. which subfield you want to study in more depth?
  2. which professors can supervise that subfield?