The right Course in Computers : Engineering or Science?
As soon as the computer was invented there are already people who want to learn about these machines and how to use them. But it wasn’t until the advent of the personal computer that interest in these devices spiked in the general public. In the present world, the computer industry holds a lot of opportunities for those who hold the right skills and knowledge in certain aspects. But for those who are at the crossroads of college, the right course could determine whether you finish college quickly or you waste a couple of years. Here are some information to help you decipher between the two and hopefully let you choose which one you are most suited to.
Although both courses deal with computers in it’s entirety, computer engineering and computer science tackles two very different aspects of computers. To put it in simplest terms, computer science tackles the software side of computers while computer engineering takes on the design and build of computer hardware.
In computer science, it is essential to learn the basic structure of how the software performs it tasks. It is their task to make sense of the Mathematica formulas of the real world and convert it into a series of steps that the computer can follow. The areas that were considered to be major parts of computer science was initially set to:
Programming Languages and Methodology
Data Structures
Algorithms
Computer Architecture and Elements
And theories in computation
Computer Engineering, on the other hand, is deeply rooted from the field of electronics and deals with how the computer and its devices interact regardless of the software that is installed. It is up to them to design and create devices that can actually communicate with established hardware. Here are a few samples on topics that computer engineering deals with:
Digital Logic
Electronics
Microprocessor Programming
Algorithms
Digital Signal Processing
Embedded Systems
VLSI Design and Manufacture
Each of these two aspects work in the design and production of computer hardware and software and should not be mistaken for other courses that usually handles the servicing and maintenance of computers like Information Technology, or Computer Repair. Computer Science and Engineering can be considered as two sides to the same coin. Each dealing with a certain aspect to create a greater whole that is better than its predecessor.