Demo (computer programming)

Within the computer subculture known as the demoscene, a non-interactive multimedia presentation is called a demo (or demonstration). Demogroups create demos to demonstrate their abilities in programming, music, drawing, and 3D modeling. The key difference between a classical animation and a demo is that the display of a demo is computed in real time, making computing power considerations the biggest challenge. Demos are mostly composed of 3D animations mixed with 2D effects and full screen effects.

The boot block demos of the 1980s, demos that were created to fit within the small (generally 512 to 4096 bytes) first block of the floppy disk that was to be loaded into RAM, were typically created so that software crackers could boast of their accomplishment prior to the loading of the game. What began as a type of electronic graffiti on cracked software became an art form unto itself. The demoscene both produced and inspired many techniques used by video games and 3D rendering applications today - for instance, light bloom, among others.

Computer programming

Computer programming (often shortened to programming) is a process that leads from an original formulation of a computing problem to executable computer programs. Programming involves activities such as analysis, developing understanding, generating algorithms, verification of requirements of algorithms including their correctness and resources consumption, and implementation (commonly referred to as coding) of algorithms in a target programming language. Source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to find a sequence of instructions that will automate performing a specific task or solving a given problem. The process of programming thus often requires expertise in many different subjects, including knowledge of the application domain, specialized algorithms and formal logic.

Related tasks include testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code, implementation of the build system, and management of derived artifacts such as machine code of computer programs. These might be considered part of the programming process, but often the term software development is used for this larger process with the term programming, implementation, or coding reserved for the actual writing of source code. Software engineering combines engineering techniques with software development practices.

Human computer

The term "computer", in use from the early 17th century (the first known written reference dates from 1613), meant "one who computes": a person performing mathematical calculations, before electronic computers became commercially available. "The human computer is supposed to be following fixed rules; he has no authority to deviate from them in any detail." (Turing, 1950) Teams of people were frequently used to undertake long and often tedious calculations; the work was divided so that this could be done in parallel.

The first time the term "Computer" appeared in The New York Times was February 3, 1853; an obituary stated:

Since the end of the 20th century, the term "human computer" has also been applied to individuals with prodigious powers of mental arithmetic, also known as mental calculators.

Origins in astronomy

The approach was taken for astronomical and other complex calculations. Perhaps the first example of organized human computing was by the Frenchman Alexis Claude Clairaut (1713–1765), when he divided the computation to determine timing of the return of Halley's Comet with two colleagues, Joseph Lalande and Nicole-Reine Lepaute.

Computer (magazine)

Computer is an IEEE Computer Society practitioner-oriented magazine issued to all members of the society. It contains peer-reviewed articles, regular columns and interviews on current computing-related issues. The magazine can be categorized somewhere between a trade magazine and a research journal, drawing on elements of both. Computer provides information regarding current research developments, trends, best practices, and changes in the computing profession. Subscriptions of the magazine are provided free of cost to IEEE Computer Society members.

Computer covers all aspects of computer science. Since 2009, it has a digital edition too. The current editor is Sumi Helal of the University of Florida. Impact factor for 2013 was 1.438/

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Computer 2000

Computer 2000 was Europe's leading provider of IT products to resellers between 1983 and its merger with Tech Data in 1998.

History

The company was founded in 1983 by German entrepreneur Axel Schultze. The company had $2.5 Million in sales in 1984, and expanded from Germany into other European countries by creating subsidiaries and acquiring local distributors. In the early 1990s, Computer 2000 expanded into Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. Within 15 years, the company grew to 2,500 employees and roughly $5 Billion in sales before merging with US-based Tech Data in July 1998. The companies had similar philosophies and products, but acted in different geographic regions.

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Technology demonstration

A technology demonstration or Demonstrator model is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of showcasing the possible applications, feasibility, performance and method of an idea for a new technology. They can be used as demonstrations to the investors, partners, journalists or even to potential customers in order to convince them of the viability of the chosen approach, or to test them on ordinary users.

Computer technology demonstrations should not be confused with demoscene-based demos, which, although often demonstrating new software techniques, are regarded as a stand-alone form of computer art.

Computers and gaming

Technology demonstrations are often used in the computer industry, emerging as an important tool in response to short development cycles, in both software and hardware development.

Demo (P-Model single)

P-Model made a demo in 1979 to obtain a recording contract; it features 2 songs, each one being composed by Susumu Hirasawa and Yasumi Tanaka, P-Model's main songwriters at the time. The band negotiated with 8 record labels, in the end, they chose to sign a contract with Warner-Pioneer, all P-MODEL releases from 1979 to 1981 (3 albums and 3 singles) were handled by Warner-Pioneer, including IN A MODEL ROOM, the album where both of these songs were included. Hirasawa also gave a copy to Plastics keyboardist Masahide Sakuma after a Plastics show after asking him to produce In a Model Room, which Sakuma accepted. Due to the demo nature of the recordings, they are rawer and punkier than the studio recorded versions. The demo was released by Hirasawa's SYUN label in 1994 as a bonus for those who bought both OOPARTS and Pause, the first release of the SYUN label (due to its nature, the demo received a catalogue number outside of the standard numbering convention of the SYUN label). The demo was remastered by Hirasawa and re-released on the Ashu-on [Sound Subspecies] in the solar system box set on 10 May 2002; it was put on CD 13, with SCUBA RECYCLE, Air On The Wiring and the In a Model Room outtake WHITE SHOES.