Port 25 - Communications from the open source community at Microsoft
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Why is it called Computer Science? by admin on March 31, 2006 04:00PM

I’ve often wondered why the principles of software and computing were called “Computer Science”. Science to me is the methodical and inspiring process of discovering the natural laws of things you don’t fully understand – unveiling mysteries about the environment, finding consistent patterns or isolating details you never knew before. But in Computer Science nearly everything studied is known because it was invented by people – so why not call it Computer Philosophy?

But in the Open Source Software Lab we actually do practice science. What’s in a given Open Source package or Linux distribution? How was it written? How has it changed over time? What are the limits of its scope and performance? This is the fun stuff. We get to explore things we don’t understand, learn about them, and document the results. We also contribute to the cause of interoperability through testing various technologies.

Taking over the Lab from Bill Hilf, I’ve been lucky to inherit a strong team, hundreds of servers and software packages, and a lot of momentum. Where I want to go with the lab in the future is to open our processes and our research schedule, get critical feedback on our methodologies and findings, and share our learnings with this community.

We have a number of exciting projects in the lab right now (52, at last count). They range from IPSEC interoperability testing to analyzing deployment and performance of Linux-based HPC clusters, from driver support to power consumption. We’ll cover these projects on Port 25 and invite your thoughts on the projects, what you think we should be researching, and why all this matters.

I am looking forward to creating the next phase of the lab with you!

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  1. Peter said:

    The understanding of time complexity and computability is in fact very much science and not something invented. The same goes for reasoning about algorithms and understanding of them... Its pretty much science for me.

    posted at 07:01AM 04/06/2006
  2. Môshe said:

    Open Source is just as invented as everything in computer science. :)
    As for science, i don't think invention has anything to do with the definition.
    I do think knowledge has to do with it, i'm not nearly as familiar with windows as with some opensource packages.
    For me, investigating windows is like science, looking for differences, and why they exist, it makes me not only understand the inner workings of windows, but also the decisions made by both open and closed software developers.

    Yesterday i was investigating the Windows IFS, altrough i am pretty familiar with the Linux VFS and LUFS drivers, and the likelyhood of needing any knowledge about IFS for me is close to zero. But it is science, and studying IFS has influence on my level of understanding VFS and LUFS.

    I think, because these ways of science, the OSS lab at microsoft is a valuable initiative for the complete software industry, both closed and open.

    posted at 08:39AM 04/06/2006
  3. Hans said:

    In German language it is called "Informatik" - a word created out of information and mathematics. Note that the term "science" (Naturwissenschaft) does not appear at all. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science) it is not absolutely correct to claim that mathematics is a science ("Mathematics is often referred to as a science, but the fruits of mathematical sciences, known as theorems, are obtained by logical derivations, which presume axiomatic systems rather than a combination of observation and reasoning."). Since CS originates from maths, the same arguments hold for it as well. This topic is also discussed in another Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_of_computer_science). Beyond that, isn't CS mostly educated and practiced as an "engineering science". Engineers invent things rather than discover them. So term engineering "science" does not suit either here. So don't worry. If you study English as a non native speaker you'll find more of these obscurities, just like with any other foreign language :)

    posted at 12:11PM 04/06/2006
  4. Richard said:

    There are aspects of Computer Science that are indeed a science.  These include the study of information (both representations and meaning) and computation.  One example that comes to mind is analyzing music to determine if two pieces of music are similar.  This may not sound like computer science, but it is.

    There are also aspects of computer science that are mathematical in nature.  This includes the study of programming languages and algorithms, among other things.

    And finally, there's software engineering, which is of course an important part of computer science.  Software engineering is the process of using the tools from computer science to write software, and in such a sense is a very traditional engineering task.

    Note also that some people who "do software engineering" are studying the process itself.  This is not really engineering, but rather science.

    Of course, the lines are blurred in most of these areas.

    posted at 05:47PM 04/06/2006
  5. Mike C said:

    Just keeping applications running on different versions and hardware platforms is a "Science" in itself.

    posted at 06:43PM 04/06/2006
  6. Benad said:

    "There are aspects of Computer Science that are indeed a science.  These include the study of information (both representations and meaning) and computation.  One example that comes to mind is analyzing music to determine if two pieces of music are similar.  This may not sound like computer science, but it is."

    Not it's not. That's engineering, i.e. practical applications of mathematics in the fields of signal processing (usually part of electrical engineering).

    posted at 09:17PM 04/06/2006
  7. billg said:

    Have you asked Richard Feynman  if he ever used Windows as a OS?

    posted at 09:21PM 04/06/2006
  8. bob dagit said:

    because science is neither the servant of business, nor business the servant of science. computers must be free for business AND science. it's either business or scence. so why not a program in computer business separate from the program in computer science?

    posted at 01:53AM 04/07/2006
  9. Sébastien Le Gall said:

    Just a comment. Can you read those words, in the bottom : "Copyright 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved"?
    Of course you can ! Everybody can read it, everywhere ! Is it what you call a "Computer Philosophy"? Do you really think that can be a "Philosophy" to cut the users' freedom?
    Software owner is NOT au computer philosophy, it's just about commercial philosophy ! And commercial philosophy has been "invented by people". So before talking about "explore things we don’t understand", begin to give us back our freedom !

    posted at 05:49AM 04/07/2006
  10. simon said:

    I wonder why you try to become compatible to open source software. It would be easier if you respected standards when you *start* to develop your products and not afterwards.

    posted at 06:22AM 04/07/2006
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