Over the past sixty years the spectacular growth of the technologies associated with the computer is visible for all to see & experience Yet the science underpinning this technology is less visible & little understood outside the professional computer science community As a scientific discipline computer science stands alongside the likes of molecular biology & 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 & considers the conceptual basis of computer science Discussing algorithms programming & sequential & parallel processing he considers emerging modern ideas such as biological computing & cognitive modelling challenging the idea of computer science as a science of the artificial ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable