Inside the World of Computing

Jean-Loïc Delhaye has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. He directed the Centre National Universitaire Sud de Calcul, France, before piloting partnerships and the valorization of research at the Centre Inria Rennes–Bretagne Altlantique, France. He has also been very active in national and European collaborations on high performance computing.

• Foreword xiJean-Pierre BANÂTREPreface xvAcknowledgments xxiChapter 1. From the Calculator to the Supercomputer 11.1. Introduction 11.2. Some important concepts 11.2.1. Information and data 11.2.2. Binary system 31.2.3. Coding 31.2.4. Algorithm 51.2.5. Program 71.3. Towards automation of calculations 71.3.1. Slide rule 71.3.2. The Pascaline 81.3.3. The Jacquard loom 91.3.4. Babbage’s machine 91.3.5. The first desktop calculators 101.3.6. Hollerith’s machine 111.4. The first programmable computers 121.4.1. Konrad Zuse’s machines 121.4.2. Colossus 131.4.3. ENIAC 131.5. Generations of computers 141.5.1. First generation: the transition to electronics 151.5.2. Second generation: the era of the transistor 171.5.3. Third generation: the era of integrated circuits 201.5.4. Fourth generation: the era of microprocessors 241.6. Supercomputers 281.6.1. Some fields of use 281.6.2. History of supercomputers 291.6.3. Towards exaflops 331.7. What about the future? 351.7.1. An energy and ecological challenge 351.7.2. Revolutions in sight? 36Chapter 2. Computer Networks and Their Applications 372.1. Introduction 372.2. A long history 382.3. Computer network infrastructure 422.3.1. Geographic coverage: from PAN to WAN 432.3.2. Communication media 442.3.3. Interconnection equipment and topologies 482.3.4. Two other characteristics of computer networks 522.3.5. Quality of service 542.4. Communication protocols and the Internet 552.4.1. The first protocols 552.4.2. The OSI model 562.4.3. The history of the Internet 572.4.4. The TCP/IP protocol 582.4.5. IP addressing 592.4.6. Management and use of the Internet 602.4.7. Evolving technologies 612.4.8. What future? 622.5. Applications 632.5.1. The World Wide Web 642.5.2. Cloud computing 672.5.3. The Internet of Things 682.5.4. Ubiquitous computing and spontaneous networks 722.6. Networks and security 742.6.1. Vulnerabilities 742.6.2. The protection of a network 762.6.3. Message encryption 762.6.4. Checking its security 77Chapter 3. Software 793.1. Introduction 793.2. From algorithm to computer program 803.2.1. Programs and subprograms 823.2.2. Programming languages 833.3. Basic languages and operating systems 853.3.1. Basic languages 853.3.2. Operating system functions 863.3.3. A bit of history 883.3.4. Universal operating systems 913.3.5. Targeted operating systems 933.4. “High-level” programming and applications 963.4.1. Imperative languages 963.4.2. Functional languages 983.4.3. Object programming 993.4.4. Other programming languages 1003.4.5. The most used languages 1013.5. Software development 1023.5.1. Software categories 1023.5.2. Software quality 1033.5.3. Development methods 1043.5.4. Software engineering 1073.6. Software verification and validation 1073.6.1. Errors with sometimes tragic consequences 1073.6.2. Software testing 1093.6.3. Formal methods 1113.6.4. Software certification 1143.7. Legal protection and distribution of software 1153.7.1. Legal protection of software 1153.7.2. Licenses 1163.7.3. Free software and open source 1173.8. The software market 118Chapter 4. Data: From Binary Element to Intelligence 1214.1. Introduction 1214.2. Data and information 1224.2.1. Digitization of data 1224.2.2. Data compression 1254.3. The structuring of data towards information 1254.3.1. Structured data 1264.3.2. Semi-structured data and the Web 1274.4. Files and their formats 1284.5. Databases 1294.5.1. The main characteristics 1294.5.2. DBMS models 1314.5.3. Database design 1334.5.4. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems 1334.5.5. Other types of databases 1344.5.6. Data protection in a DB 1374.6. Intelligence and Big Data 1374.7. Data ownership and Open Data 1414.7.1. Personal data 1414.7.2. Opening up public data: Open Data 142Chapter 5. Technology Building Blocks 1455.1. Embedded systems 1455.1.1. Specific architectures 1465.1.2. Some fields of use 1475.2. Artificial intelligence (AI) 1505.2.1. A bit of history 1505.2.2. Intelligence or statistics? 1525.2.3. Important work around automatic learning 1525.2.4. A multiplication of applications 1545.2.5. The challenges of AI 1555.2.6. What about intelligence? 1565.3. The Internet 1575.3.1. Mobility 1575.3.2. Social networks 1585.3.3. The Internet of Things 1595.3.4. The Cloud 1595.3.5. Blockchain 1595.3.6. Vulnerabilities 1605.4. Image processing and vision 1605.4.1. A bit of history 1605.4.2. Image sources and their uses 1615.4.3. The digital image 1625.4.4. Image storage and compression 1635.4.5. Computing and images 1645.4.6. Some applications 1655.5. Conclusion 166Chapter 6. Some Areas of Application 1676.1. Robots 1676.1.1. A bit of history 1686.1.2. Fields of use regarding robots today 1696.1.3. Communication in the world of robots 1736.1.4. Fear of robots 1746.1.5. Challenges for researchers 1756.2. Virtual reality and augmented reality 1756.2.1. A bit of history 1766.2.2. Hardware configurations of virtual reality 1776.2.3. Fields of use of virtual reality 1796.2.4. Augmented reality 1806.3. Health 1816.3.1. Health informatics 1826.3.2. Information technology at the service of our health 1846.4. The connected (and soon autonomous?) car 1856.4.1. Levels of autonomy 1866.4.2. Challenges associated with the autonomous car 1876.4.3. Advantages and disadvantages of the autonomous car 1886.5. The smart city 1896.5.1. Smart energy 1906.5.2. Smart buildings 1906.5.3. Smart infrastructure 1916.5.4. Smart governance 1926.5.5. Dangers 1936.6. Smart mobility 1936.7. The factory of the future 1956.7.1. Technologies 1956.7.2. Issues 1976.7.3. The place of the human 198Chapter 7. Societal Issues 1997.1. Security 1997.1.1. Specific characteristics 2007.1.2. Some great threats 2007.1.3. Acting to protect oneself 2027.2. The respect of private life 2027.2.1. Our personal data 2027.2.2. Uses of our data 2047.2.3. What about the future? 205x Inside the World of Computing7.3. Influence on social life 2067.3.1. The development of social ties 2067.3.2. Citizen participation 2077.3.3. The socialization of knowledge 2077.4. Dangers to democracy 2087.4.1. The liberation of speech 2087.4.2. Private life under surveillance 2087.4.3. Job insecurity 2097.4.4. The power of the big Internet firms 2097.5. The digital divide 2107.5.1. From division to exclusion 2107.5.2. Digital technology and education 2117.6. Mastering the use of artificial intelligence 2127.7. The intelligent prosthesis and the bionic man 2137.8. Transhumanism 2147.9. What kind of society for tomorrow? 215Bibliography 217Index 219