Class (computer programming)

In object-oriented programming, a class is an extensible program-code-template for creating objects, providing initial values for state (member variables) and implementations of behavior (member functions or methods). In many languages, the class name is used as the name for the class (the template itself), the name for the default constructor of the class (a subroutine that creates objects), and as the type of objects generated by instantiating the class; these distinct concepts are easily conflated.

When an object is created by a constructor of the class, the resulting object is called an instance of the class, and the member variables specific to the object are called instance variables, to contrast with the class variables shared across the class.

In some languages, classes are only a compile-time feature (new classes cannot be declared at runtime), while in other languages classes are first-class citizens, and are generally themselves objects (typically of type Class or similar). In these languages, a class that creates classes is called a metaclass.

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.

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/

External links

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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Class (education)

A class in education has a variety of related meanings.

It can be the group of students which attends a specific course or lesson at a university, school, or other educational institution, see Form (education).

It can refer to a course itself, e.g., a class in Shakespearean drama.

It can be the group of students at the same level in an institution: the freshman class; or the group of students which graduates from the institution at the same time: the Class of 2005 (cf. alumnus/a). The term can be used in a slightly more general context, such as "the graduating class."

It can also refer to the classroom, in the building or venue where such a lesson is conducted.

In some countries' educational systems (such as Taiwan's), it can refer to a subdivision of the students in an academic department, consisting of a cohort of students of the same academic level. For example, a department's sophomores may be divided into three classes.

In countries such as the Republic of Ireland, India, Germany, and in the past Sweden, the word can mean a grade: 1st class is ages 4–5, 2nd class is ages 6–7, 3rd class is ages 8–9, 4th class is ages 9–10, 5th class is ages 10–11, 6th class is ages 11–12, and 9th class is ages 14–15.

Social class

Social class (or simply "class"), as in a class society, is a set of concepts in the social sciences and political theory centered on models of social stratification in which people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle, and lower classes.

Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and social historians. However, there is not a consensus on the best definition of the "class," and the term has different contextual meanings. In common parlance, the term "social class" is usually synonymous with "socio-economic class," defined as "people having the same social, economic, or educational status," e.g., "the working class"; "an emerging professional class." However, academics distinguish social class and socioeconomic status, with the former referring to one’s relatively stable sociocultural background and the latter referring to one’s current social and economic situation and, consequently, being more changeable over time.

470 (dinghy)

The 470 (Four-Seventy) is a double-handed monohull planing dinghy with a centreboard, Bermuda rig, and centre sheeting. The name is the overall length of the boat in centimetres (i.e., the boat is 4.70 metres long). The hull is fibreglass with integral buoyancy tanks. The 470 is equipped with spinnaker and trapeze, making teamwork necessary to sail it well. It has a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, and is designed to plane easily.

The 470 is a popular class with both individuals and sailing schools, offering a good introduction to high-performance boats without being excessively difficult to handle. It is not a boat designed for beginners; however, its earlier designed smaller sister, the 420, is a stepping stone to the 470. The 470 is an International Sailing Federation International Class and has been an Olympic class since the 1976 games. The Class was initially an open class, but since the 1988 games there have been separate events for men and women.

History

The 470 was designed in 1963 by the Frenchman André Cornu as a modern fibreglass planing dinghy to appeal to sailors of different sizes and ages. This formula succeeded, and the boat spread around the world. In 1969, the class was given international status and it has been an Olympic class since 1976. In 1988, the first Olympic women's sailing event used the 470.