computer science

Information and Computation

Information and Computation is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Information and Computation rather than just read about it. In short: Information and Computation is a closed-access computer science journal published by Elsevier (formerly Academic Press). The journal was founded in 1957 under its former name Information and Control and given its current title in 1987.

Key takeaways

Information and Computation belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Information and Computation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Information and Computation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Information and Computation is a closed-access computer science journal published by Elsevier (formerly Academic Press). The journal was founded in 1957 under its former name Information and Control and given its current title in 1987. As of July 2022, the current editor-in-chief is David Peleg. The journal publishes 12 issues a year.

History Information and Computation was founded as Information and Control in 1957 at the initiative of Leon Brillouin and under the editorship of Leon Brillouin, Colin Cherry and Peter Elias. Murray Eden joined as editor in 1962 and became sole editor-in-chief in 1967. He was succeeded by Albert R. Meyer in 1981, under whose editorship the journal was rebranded Information and Computation in 1987 in response to the shifted focus of the journal towards theory of computation and away from control theory. In 2020, Albert Mayer was succeeded by David Peleg as editor-in-chief of the journal.

Indexing All articles from the Information and Computation journal can be viewed on indexing services like Scopus and Science Citation Index. They are also reviewed cover-to-cover by the AMS Mathematical Reviews and zbMATH and included in the computer science database DBLP. According to the Journal Citation Reports, Information and Computation has a 2021 impact factor of 1.24.

Landmark publications

On certain formal properties of grammars Chomsky, N. (1959). "On certain formal properties of grammars". Information and Control. 2 (2): 137–167. doi:10.1016/S0019-9958(59)90362-6. Description: This article introduced what is now known as the Chomsky hierarchy, a containment hierarchy of classes of formal grammars that generate formal languages.

A formal theory of inductive inference Solomonoff, R.J. (1964). "A formal theory of inductive inference. Part II". Information and Control. 7 (2): 224–254. doi:10.1016/s0019-9958(64)90131-7. ISSN 0019-9958. Description: This was the beginning of algorithmic information theory and Kolmogorov complexity. Note that though Kolmogorov complexity is named after Andrey Kolmogorov, he said that the seeds of that idea are due to Ray Solomonoff. Andrey Kolmogorov contributed a lot to this area but in later articles.

Fuzzy sets Zadeh, L.A. (1965). "Fuzzy sets". Information and Control. 8 (3): 338–353. doi:10.1016/s0019-9958(65)90241-x. ISSN 0019-9958. Description: The seminal paper published in 1965 provides details on the mathematics of fuzzy set theory. As of July 2022, it is the most cited paper published in the journal.

On the translation of languages from left to right Knuth, D. E. (July 1965). "On the translation of languages from left to right". Information and Control. 8 (6): 607–639. doi:10.1016/S0019-9958(65)90426-2. Description: LR parser, which does bottom up parsing for deterministic context-free languages. Later derived parsers, such as the LALR parser, have been and continue to be standard practice, such as in Yacc and descendants.

Language identification in the limit Gold, E Mark (1967). "Language identification in the limit". Information and Control. 10 (5): 447–474. doi:10.1016/s0019-9958(67)91165-5. ISSN 0019-9958. Description: This paper created algorithmic learning theory. As of July 2022, it is the second most cited paper published in the journal.

A Calculus of Mobile Processes, I Milner, Robin; Parrow, Joachim; Walker, David (1992-09-01). "A calculus of mobile processes, I". Information and Computation. 100 (1): 1–40. doi:10.1016/0890-5401(92)90008-4. hdl:20.500.11820/cdd6d766-14a5-4c3e-8956-a9792bb2c6d3. ISSN 0890-5401. Description: This paper first introduced the π-calculus. As of July 2022, it is the third most cited paper published in the journal and the most cited paper published since the journal assumed its current name.

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Information and Computation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Information and Computation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Information and Computation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Information and Computation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Information and Computation

In research: Information and Computation appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Information and Computation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Information and Computation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic journals established in 1957, Computer science journals, Elsevier academic journals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Information and Computation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Information and Computation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Information and Computation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Information and Computation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Information and Computation in simple terms?

Why does Information and Computation matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Information and Computation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Information and Computation.