The National Challenge in Computer Science and Technology (1988) / Chapter Skim
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6 Machines, Systems, and Software
6 Machines, Systems, and Software
Pages 39-50
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From page 39... ...
Here we provide more detail about their potential uses as weld as some of the associated problems and prospects. Again, we remand the reader to keep in mind two important points: first, there are at least four technologies relevant to the link between computers and productivity—computer technology, communication technology, semiconductor technology, and packaging and manufacturing technology.
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From page 41... ...
Generational advances in VEST design have made it possible to fabricate powerful microprocessors relatively cheaply; today, for example, a single silicon chip capable of executing 1 million instructions per second costs less than $100 to make. But the cost of manufacturing a very high-speed single processor, using a number of chips and other high-speed components, has not declined correspondingly.
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From page 42... ...
The potential uses of multiprocessors are numerous and significant. The massive qualitative increase in computing power expected of multiprocessors promises to make these systems ideally suited to large problems of numerical and scientific computing that are characterized by inherent parallelism, e.g., weather forecasting, hydra- and aerodynamics, weapons research, and high-energy physics.
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From page 43... ...
Most promising of ad, multiprocessors are viewed by many computer scientists as a prerequisite to the achievement of artificial intelligence applications involving the use of machines-for sensory functions, such as vision and speech understanding, and cognitive functions, such as learning, natural language understanding, and reasoning. This view is based on the large computational requirements of these problems and on the recognition that multiprocessor systems may imp ate in some primitive way human neurological organ~zation: human vision relies on the coordinated action of millions of retinal neurons, while higher-level human cognition makes use of more than a trillion cells in the cerebrum.
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From page 44... ...
Networking making it possible for these scattered machines to communicate with one another—opens up the possibility of using resources more efficiently; more important, it connects the users into a community, making it possible to share knowledge, improve current business, and transact it in new ways, for example, by purchase and sale of information and informational labor. Networking also raises new concerns about job displacement; the potential for the invasion of privacy; the dissemination and uncritical acceptance of unreliable, undesired, and damaging information; and the prospect of theft on a truly grand scale.
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From page 45... ...
Geographically separated individuals can pool resources for joint work: a manual for a new product can be assembled with input from the technical people on one coast and from the marketing staff on the other; a proposal can be circulated widely for comments and rebuttals from many contributors electronically. Homebound and disabled individuals can participate more actively in the economy, liberated by networking from the constraints of geographical isolation or physical handicap.
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From page 46... ...
The ongoing proliferation of these computer networks provides a test bed for research and a powerful incentive for developing an understanding of their underlying principles. Beyond the need for Attributed system semantics, other important aspects include the development of innovative and robust system architectures that can survive computer and communication failures without unacceptable losses of information, the development of network management systems to support reliable network service on an ever growing scale, and the creation and evaluation of algorithms specifically tailored to Attributed systems.
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From page 47... ...
Beyond design, and after a program is put to use, modifications are often required to repair errors, add new capabilities, or adapt it to changes in other programs with which it interacts. This activity is called software maintenance a misleading term since it involves continued system design and development rather than the traditional notion of fending oE the ravages of wear and age.
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From page 48... ...
There was little widespread systematic understanding of program organization or of ways to reason about programs. A1gorithms and data structures were originally created in an ad hoc fashion, but regular use and research led to an increased fundamental understanding of these entities for certain problem domains: we can now analyze and compare the performance of several proposed algorithms and data structures and, for several kinds of problems, we often know in advance theoretical limits on performance (see Chad ter 8~.
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From page 49... ...
to use emerging artificial intelligence techniques for the development of tools that wait help software developers manage the complexity of such software. Other directions and opportunities for future software progress include: (3)
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From page 50... ...
so tools and resources, such as electronic software distribution systems; and (6) addressing the new multiprocessor software problems that will inevitably arise from the new multiprocessor architectures discussed above.
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