CX 103 : Introduction to Computers

Spring 2001

Assignment 2

Due: Friday, February 16

Read Chapter 2 "Introduction to Internet Explorer 5 and the World Wide Web" in Deitel, Deitel & Nieto, Internet & World Wide Web: How to Program. As you read, test out the features of .Explorer described in the book by actually trying out the indicated commands with your computer. If you prefer to use Netscape rather than Explorer, you should be able to figure out fairly easily which features of Netscape parallel those of Explorer; for example, Explorer’s "Favorites" compares with Netscape’s "Bookmarks" while :refresh" and "reload" produce similar responses.

Finish reading Chapter 1: "Tinder for the Fire" in Freiberger & Swaine, Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer. The work of many of the pioneers in the field of computing (Babbage, Lovelace, Turing, Von Neumann to name but a few) is only briefly discussed. There are full length studies of the lives and achievements of many of the people mentioned in this chapter.

One of the key figures for us will be Alan Turing. See Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges (1983) for a major biography. There’s even a fascinating play about Turing: Breaking the Code by Hugh Whitemore.(1987) A two volume collection of essays on his contributions is The Legacy of Alan Turing , edited by P. Millican and A. Clark.(1996).

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Go over the "Self-Review Exercises" and "Exercises" at the end of Chapter 1 of Deitel, Deitel and Nieto. Write up a short one or two paragraph answer to Exercise 1.5 on Page 35.