computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

, interactive computing refers to

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

which accepts input from the user as it runs. Interactive software includes commonly used programs, such as

word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word ...

s or

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in c ...

applications. By comparison, non-interactive programs operate without user intervention; examples of these include

compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that Translator (computing), translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primaril ...

s and batch processing applications that are pre-programmed to run independently. Interactive computing focuses on real-time interaction ("dialog") between the computer and the operator, and the technologies that enable them. If the response of the computer system is complex enough, it is said that the system is conducting

social interaction A social relation is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more conspecifics within and/or between groups. The group can be a language or ...

; some systems try to achieve this through the implementation of

social interface Social interface is a concept from social science (particularly, media ecology (Marshall McLuhan) and sociology of technology). It can be approached from a theoretical or a practical perspective. As a concept of social interface theory, social in ...

s. The nature of interactive computing as well as its impact on users, are studied extensively in the field of computer interaction.

History of interactive computing systems

Ivan Sutherland is considered the father of interactive computing for his work on Sketchpad, the interactive display graphics program he developed in 1963. He later worked at the ARPA Information Processing Techniques Office under the direction of J. C. R. Licklider. There he facilitated ARPA's research grant to Douglas Engelbart for developing the NLS system at SRI, based on his visionary manifesto published in a 1962 report, in which Engelbart envisioned interactive computing as a vehicle for user interaction with computers, with each other, and with their knowledge, all in a vast virtual information space. In a 1965 report, Engelbart published his early experiments with pointing devices, including the

computer mouse A computer mouse (plural mice; also mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of the Cursor (user interface)#Po ...

, for composing and editing on interactive display

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or computational science, scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating syste ...

s. Engelbart's work on interactive computing at SRI migrated directly to Xerox PARC, from there to

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

, and out into the mainstream. Thus, the tree of evolution for interactive computing generally traces back to Engelbart's lab at SRI. In December 2008, on the 40th anniversary of his 1968 demo, SRI sponsored a public commemorative event in his honor.

Current research

The need for constant user interaction in interactive computing systems makes it different in many ways from batch processing systems. Areas of current research include the design of novel programming models and achieving information security and reliability in interactive computing. IPython is a software system for scientific interactive computing, supporting data visualization,

event-driven programming In computer programming, event-driven programming is a programming paradigm in which the Control flow, flow of the program is determined by external Event (computing), events. User interface, UI events from computer mouse, mice, computer keyboard, ...

and a number of related GUI toolkits. The Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Interactive Computing formed in 2007, offering masters and doctoral degrees via collaboration with more than 40 faculties. The Tangible Media Group of MIT, led by Professor Hiroshi Ishii, seeks to seamlessly couple the dual world of bits and atoms by presenting a dynamic physical form to computation.Tangible Media Group official webpage
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References

Human–computer interaction

History of interactive computing systems

Current research

See also

References