DIcussions1

DIcussions : specialties

COS 451 :
In Discussion Forum 1, post your response to the following discussion questions. Reply to at least two classmates' responses by the date indicated in the course Calendar.
1. Exercise 1.10.
2. Exercise 1.11.

1.10) Is AI a science, or is it engineering? Or neither or both? Explain
1.10 : Artificial Intelligence is most certainly a science. But it would be nothing with engineering. Computer Scientists need somewhere to place their programs, such as computers, servers, robots, cars, etc. But without engineers they would have no outlet to test their Artificial Intelligence on. Science and Engineering go hand in hand, they both benefit each other. While the engineers build the machines, the scientists are writing code for their AI.
1.11) “Surely computers cannot be intelligent—they can do only what their programmers tell them.” Is the latter statement true, and does it imply the former?

1.11) The latter statement is true, in a sense. Yes computers only do what they’re told, but they also learn from what they do. After a certain period of time they know what works and what doesn’t. You can look at two children the same way. Child A is brought up in a good home, enrolled in school, taught right from wrong. Child B is raised in a less than favorable neighborhood, not enrolled in school, and does not have much parental guidance. Child A has a completely different view of the world from Child B. Children can only do what their parents (programmers) tell them to do. But does that mean Child B will never succeed in anything or that Child A will always do great things? The answer is no, There are outside factors that affect children (programs). The program performs its tasks and takes in knowledge and learns as it goes.

COS 352 :
1. When are caches useful? What problems do they solve? What problems do they cause? If a cache can be made as large as the device it is caching (for instance, a cache as large as a disk), why not do so and eliminate the device?

Discuss the cache mechanism. Try to address at least the following issues:
a. Describe the cache mechanism.
b. When are caches useful? Explain.
c. What problems do they solve? Explain.
d. What problems do they cause? Explain.
e. If a cache can be made as large as the device it is caching for (for instance, a cache as large as a disk) why not do so and eliminate the device?
Answer for question 2: a. Why are caches useful? Explain.

Caches are useful because they drastically reduce the time taken for a program to run by storing frequently used data or instructions in a localized memory separate from the main memory. By reducing the time taken for a memory cycle, cache memory improves the computer performance. a. What problems do they solve? Explain.
Caches can save money and time. Caching is based on the principle of using small amounts of expensive high speed cache memory to make a large cheaper main memory work faster.

b. What problems do they cause? Explain.

Since cache stores the frequently used instructions, there is a high probability of the instructions or data being outdated and might require updating periodically.
A mismatch between the data and the instructions can cause errors in the output.

c. If a cache can be made as large as the device it is caching for (for instance, a cache as large as a disk) why not do so and eliminate the device

Making the cache as large as the actual device or the main memory /disk defeats the whole purpose using a low cost option to increase performance of a computer.
On top of that the cache is volatile i.e. It is a temporary storage space for data , so it would be counterproductive to make it as large as the device.

The main advantage of the cache is that it offers high speed access at low cost per byte. If we substitute the low cost device with high speed, high cost cache, this advantage is lost.

COS 351 :
Compare and contrast the application software and product-line software categories described in section 1.1.2 of the text. Discuss the role of each type of software and give examples of software you have used in each category (as applicable).

Application software’s: are business specific stand-alone programs that solve a specific business need. They help collect and process business or technical data in real time, which enables the user to make decisions based on it. Cisco Network usage monitors and Heat levels monitoring software are a few examples of this type of software.
Product-line Software: is not business specific or customized software for one customer but rather enables the user to perform a specific function in regards to its use. Most software used among the general populace could be classified as product line software. PC games and Microsoft office suite are a few examples of this kind of software.

In regards to comparing them, the difference is rather grey. Both help the customer perform a specific function but I suppose the difference between them is the area’s in which they are used.

Application software is more prominent in the business area and is used to fulfill a requirement while product line software is prevalent among the general populace and in business fields and gives the user a specific capability.

Reference:
Pressman, Roger s Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, NY, McGraw-Hill 2010

1.10) Is AI a science, or is it engineering? Or neither or both? Explain
Artificial Intelligence is an amalgam of both science and engineering. Generally speaking science is the theoretical study by creating a hypothesis that needs to tested and to test such theories engineering plays a major in facilitating the testing process.

In the artificial intelligence field of study , the various theories of artificial intelligence from rational thinking to thinking like a human and it is absolutely essential that various engineering specialties like electrical , electronics and software engineering .. have made it possible to make our baby steps in making theories into a reality.
1.11) “Surely computers cannot be intelligent—they can do only what their programmers tell them.” Is the latter statement true, and does it imply the former?

The latter statement is true in a way . A computer is a tool that has protocols that it must follow in carrying out functions and these protocols are set by the programmer.
But on the flip side computing power and computers have progressed and evolved so much over the years that computers can adapt / learn and act according to varying situations and conditions. A simple example would be a PC game that adapts the difficulty of a game depending on the player skill , a high end example would the NSA super computers that are constantly going over hugs amounts of data to red flag specific people depending on their text and internet searches.

Generally computer intelligence is decided by software and limited by hardware and artificial intelligence can be portrayed as the end result of computer intelligence ,