入门¶
自从第一台电子计算机需要跳线和开关来将指令从人传递到机器以来，多年来我们对编程的思考方式已经发生了许多变化。 与社会许多方面的情况一样，计算技术的变化为计算机科学家提供了越来越多的工具和平台来实践他们的技能。 更快的处理器、高速网络和大容量内存等进步已经造成了计算机科学家必须应对的复杂性螺旋式上升。 在所有这些快速发展过程中，计算机科学的一个基本原理始终保持不变：它关注的是使用计算机来解决问题。
毫无疑问，您花费了大量时间学习解决问题的基础知识，并希望对自己提出问题并制定解决方案的能力充满信心。 您还了解到，编写计算机程序通常很困难。 大问题的复杂性以及相应的解决方案的复杂性往往会掩盖与问题解决过程相关的基本思想。
本章强调了文本其余部分的两个重要领域。 首先，我们将回顾计算机科学以及算法和数据结构研究必须适应的框架。 特别是，我们将探讨我们需要研究这些主题的原因以及理解这些主题如何帮助我们成为更好的问题解决者。 其次，我们将回顾一下 Python 编程语言。 尽管我们无法提供详细、详尽的参考，但我们将为其余章节中出现的基本结构和想法提供示例和解释。
原文
Getting Started
The way we think about programming has undergone many changes in the years since the first electronic computers required patch cables and switches to convey instructions from human to machine. As is the case with many aspects of society, changes in computing technology provide computer scientists with a growing number of tools and platforms on which to practice their craft. Advances such as faster processors, high-speed networks, and large memory capacities have created a spiral of complexity through which computer scientists must navigate. Throughout all of this rapid evolution, a basic principle of computer science has remained constant: it is concerned with using computers to solve problems.
You have no doubt spent considerable time learning the basics of problem-solving and hopefully feel confident in your ability to take a problem statement and develop a solution. You have also learned that writing computer programs is often hard. The complexity of large problems and the corresponding complexity of the solutions can tend to overshadow the fundamental ideas related to the problem-solving process.
This chapter emphasizes two important areas for the rest of the text. First, we'll review the framework within which computer science and the study of algorithms and data structures must fit. In particular, we'll look at the reasons why we need to study these topics and how understanding these topics helps us to become better problem solvers. Second, we'll review the Python programming language. Although we cannot provide a detailed, exhaustive reference, we will give examples and explanations for the basic constructs and ideas that will occur throughout the remaining chapters.
创建日期: 2023年10月10日