Computation Works

Computation Works PDF Author: Xavier De Kestelier
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119952867
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Architects are now taking advantage of the computer in new ways through experimentation with algorithmic and simulation-driven design. Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought focuses on this emerging theme in design practice, showcasing built and soon-to-be-built projects and providing a state of the art in computational design. Computational design is considered to be first a design tool, and second a series of instruments that can be applied in the creation of architecture. It allows architects to incorporate performance analysis and knowledge about material, tectonics and the parameters of production machinery. Moving towards a new role as hybrid practitioners, architects are taking concepts from other disciplines and customising architectural and other CAD software. In addition to the discussion of built projects, a further series of texts examines new custom software instruments. New digital tools provide new modes of representation, new methods of evaluation, and new techniques for design exploration. The development of new computational tools can create more responsive designs, allowing architects to explore new design options and to analyse architectural decisions during the design process. This issue raises important questions such as: How is computation changing the way architects design? Are the design tools and methods related to the result? What is computational design in the context of architectural practice? and How is computation changing the processes of design and construction?

Computation Works

Computation Works PDF Author: Xavier De Kestelier
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119952867
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 155

Get Book Here

Book Description
Architects are now taking advantage of the computer in new ways through experimentation with algorithmic and simulation-driven design. Computation Works: The Building of Algorithmic Thought focuses on this emerging theme in design practice, showcasing built and soon-to-be-built projects and providing a state of the art in computational design. Computational design is considered to be first a design tool, and second a series of instruments that can be applied in the creation of architecture. It allows architects to incorporate performance analysis and knowledge about material, tectonics and the parameters of production machinery. Moving towards a new role as hybrid practitioners, architects are taking concepts from other disciplines and customising architectural and other CAD software. In addition to the discussion of built projects, a further series of texts examines new custom software instruments. New digital tools provide new modes of representation, new methods of evaluation, and new techniques for design exploration. The development of new computational tools can create more responsive designs, allowing architects to explore new design options and to analyse architectural decisions during the design process. This issue raises important questions such as: How is computation changing the way architects design? Are the design tools and methods related to the result? What is computational design in the context of architectural practice? and How is computation changing the processes of design and construction?

Mathematics and Computation

Mathematics and Computation PDF Author: Avi Wigderson
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691189137
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
From the winner of the Turing Award and the Abel Prize, an introduction to computational complexity theory, its connections and interactions with mathematics, and its central role in the natural and social sciences, technology, and philosophy Mathematics and Computation provides a broad, conceptual overview of computational complexity theory—the mathematical study of efficient computation. With important practical applications to computer science and industry, computational complexity theory has evolved into a highly interdisciplinary field, with strong links to most mathematical areas and to a growing number of scientific endeavors. Avi Wigderson takes a sweeping survey of complexity theory, emphasizing the field’s insights and challenges. He explains the ideas and motivations leading to key models, notions, and results. In particular, he looks at algorithms and complexity, computations and proofs, randomness and interaction, quantum and arithmetic computation, and cryptography and learning, all as parts of a cohesive whole with numerous cross-influences. Wigderson illustrates the immense breadth of the field, its beauty and richness, and its diverse and growing interactions with other areas of mathematics. He ends with a comprehensive look at the theory of computation, its methodology and aspirations, and the unique and fundamental ways in which it has shaped and will further shape science, technology, and society. For further reading, an extensive bibliography is provided for all topics covered. Mathematics and Computation is useful for undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics, computer science, and related fields, as well as researchers and teachers in these fields. Many parts require little background, and serve as an invitation to newcomers seeking an introduction to the theory of computation. Comprehensive coverage of computational complexity theory, and beyond High-level, intuitive exposition, which brings conceptual clarity to this central and dynamic scientific discipline Historical accounts of the evolution and motivations of central concepts and models A broad view of the theory of computation's influence on science, technology, and society Extensive bibliography

How Computers Really Work

How Computers Really Work PDF Author: Matthew Justice
Publisher: No Starch Press
ISBN: 171850067X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
An approachable, hands-on guide to understanding how computers work, from low-level circuits to high-level code. How Computers Really Work is a hands-on guide to the computing ecosystem: everything from circuits to memory and clock signals, machine code, programming languages, operating systems, and the internet. But you won't just read about these concepts, you'll test your knowledge with exercises, and practice what you learn with 41 optional hands-on projects. Build digital circuits, craft a guessing game, convert decimal numbers to binary, examine virtual memory usage, run your own web server, and more. Explore concepts like how to: Think like a software engineer as you use data to describe a real world concept Use Ohm's and Kirchhoff's laws to analyze an electrical circuit Think like a computer as you practice binary addition and execute a program in your mind, step-by-step The book's projects will have you translate your learning into action, as you: Learn how to use a multimeter to measure resistance, current, and voltage Build a half adder to see how logical operations in hardware can be combined to perform useful functions Write a program in assembly language, then examine the resulting machine code Learn to use a debugger, disassemble code, and hack a program to change its behavior without changing the source code Use a port scanner to see which internet ports your computer has open Run your own server and get a solid crash course on how the web works And since a picture is worth a thousand bytes, chapters are filled with detailed diagrams and illustrations to help clarify technical complexities. Requirements: The projects require a variety of hardware - electronics projects need a breadboard, power supply, and various circuit components; software projects are performed on a Raspberry Pi. Appendix B contains a complete list. Even if you skip the projects, the book's major concepts are clearly presented in the main text.

The Energetics of Computing in Life and Machines

The Energetics of Computing in Life and Machines PDF Author: Chris Kempes
Publisher: Seminar
ISBN: 9781947864184
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 500

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Book Description
Why do computers use so much energy? What are the fundamental physical laws governing the relationship between the precise computation run by a system, whether artificial or natural, and how much energy that computation requires? This volume integrates concepts from diverse fields, cultivating a modern, nonequilibrium thermodynamics of computation.

Scientific Programming and Computer Architecture

Scientific Programming and Computer Architecture PDF Author: Divakar Viswanath
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262036290
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 625

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Book Description
A variety of programming models relevant to scientists explained, with an emphasis on how programming constructs map to parts of the computer. What makes computer programs fast or slow? To answer this question, we have to get behind the abstractions of programming languages and look at how a computer really works. This book examines and explains a variety of scientific programming models (programming models relevant to scientists) with an emphasis on how programming constructs map to different parts of the computer's architecture. Two themes emerge: program speed and program modularity. Throughout this book, the premise is to "get under the hood," and the discussion is tied to specific programs. The book digs into linkers, compilers, operating systems, and computer architecture to understand how the different parts of the computer interact with programs. It begins with a review of C/C++ and explanations of how libraries, linkers, and Makefiles work. Programming models covered include Pthreads, OpenMP, MPI, TCP/IP, and CUDA.The emphasis on how computers work leads the reader into computer architecture and occasionally into the operating system kernel. The operating system studied is Linux, the preferred platform for scientific computing. Linux is also open source, which allows users to peer into its inner workings. A brief appendix provides a useful table of machines used to time programs. The book's website (https://github.com/divakarvi/bk-spca) has all the programs described in the book as well as a link to the html text.

Computation Structures

Computation Structures PDF Author: Stephen A. Ward
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262231398
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 826

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Book Description
Computer Systems Organization -- general.

Understanding Computation

Understanding Computation PDF Author: Tom Stuart
Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."
ISBN: 144933010X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 389

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Book Description
Finally, you can learn computation theory and programming language design in an engaging, practical way. Understanding Computation explains theoretical computer science in a context you’ll recognize, helping you appreciate why these ideas matter and how they can inform your day-to-day programming. Rather than use mathematical notation or an unfamiliar academic programming language like Haskell or Lisp, this book uses Ruby in a reductionist manner to present formal semantics, automata theory, and functional programming with the lambda calculus. It’s ideal for programmers versed in modern languages, with little or no formal training in computer science. Understand fundamental computing concepts, such as Turing completeness in languages Discover how programs use dynamic semantics to communicate ideas to machines Explore what a computer can do when reduced to its bare essentials Learn how universal Turing machines led to today’s general-purpose computers Perform complex calculations, using simple languages and cellular automata Determine which programming language features are essential for computation Examine how halting and self-referencing make some computing problems unsolvable Analyze programs by using abstract interpretation and type systems

Urban Operating Systems

Urban Operating Systems PDF Author: Andres Luque-Ayala
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262360993
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
An exploration of the modest potentials and serious contradictions of reconfiguring urban life through computational operating systems. A new wave of enthusiasm for smart cities, urban data, and the Internet of Things has created the impression that computation can solve almost any urban problem. Subjecting this claim to critical scrutiny, in this book, Andrés Luque-Ayala and Simon Marvin examine the cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts in which urban computational logics have emerged. They consider the rationalities and techniques that constitute emerging computational forms of urbanization, including work on digital urbanism, smart cities, and, more recently, platform urbanism. They explore the modest potentials and serious contradictions of reconfiguring urban life, city services, and urban-networked infrastructure through computational operating systems.

Natural and Artificial Models in Computation and Biology

Natural and Artificial Models in Computation and Biology PDF Author: Jose Manuel Ferrandez Vicente
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3642386377
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
The two volume-set, LNCS 7930 and LNCS 7931, constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Work-Conference on the Interplay between Natural and Artificial Computation, IWINAC 2013, held in Mallorca, Spain, in June 2013. The 92 revised full papers presented in LNCS 7930 and LNCS 7931 were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The first part, LNCS 7930, entitled "Natural and Artificial Models in Computation and Biology”, includes all the contributions mainly related to the methodological, conceptual, formal, and experimental developments in the fields of neurophysiology and cognitive science. The second part, LNCS 7931, entitled “Natural and Artificial Computation in Engineering and Medical Applications”, contains the papers related to bioinspired programming strategies and all the contributions related to the computational solutions to engineering problems in different application domains, specially Health applications, including the CYTED “Artificial and Natural Computation for Health” (CANS) research network papers. In addition, this two volume-set reflects six interesting areas: cognitive robotics; natural computing; wetware computation; quality of life technologies; biomedical and industrial perception applications; and Web intelligence and neuroscience.

Human Computation

Human Computation PDF Author: Edith Law
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
ISBN: 1608455165
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
Human computation is a new and evolving research area that centers around harnessing human intelligence to solve computational problems that are beyond the scope of existing Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. With the growth of the Web, human computation systems can now leverage the abilities of an unprecedented number of people via the Web to perform complex computation. There are various genres of human computation applications that exist today. Games with a purpose (e.g., the ESP Game) specifically target online gamers who generate useful data (e.g., image tags) while playing an enjoyable game. Crowdsourcing marketplaces (e.g., Amazon Mechanical Turk) are human computation systems that coordinate workers to perform tasks in exchange for monetary rewards. In identity verification tasks, users perform computation in order to gain access to some online content; an example is reCAPTCHA, which leverages millions of users who solve CAPTCHAs every day to correct words in books that optical character recognition (OCR) programs fail to recognize with certainty. This book is aimed at achieving four goals: (1) defining human computation as a research area; (2) providing a comprehensive review of existing work; (3) drawing connections to a wide variety of disciplines, including AI, Machine Learning, HCI, Mechanism/Market Design and Psychology, and capturing their unique perspectives on the core research questions in human computation; and (4) suggesting promising research directions for the future. Table of Contents: Introduction / Human Computation Algorithms / Aggregating Outputs / Task Routing / Understanding Workers and Requesters / The Art of Asking Questions / The Future of Human Computation