Text 23. PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

1. Discuss the following questions in pairs:

1. What is a programming language?

2. Where were first programming languages created?

3. Are you familiar with any classifications of programming languages? Can you give examples of languages from this or that class?

4. Have you worked with any programming languages yet? What were the languages?

Task 2. A) Match the following words and word combinations with their Russian equivalents:

1.in sequence 2.to branch off 3.an integer 4.a character 5.to traverse 6.to master 7.tries-and-true 8.to standardize on 9.to favour 10.to interface

a. преодолевать, проходить b. принимать за стандарт c. проверенный, надежный d. подключать e. овладеть, усвоить, освоить f. целое число g. отходить от основного направления h. символ i. оказывать предпочтение j. последовательно

В) Replace the words in italics with their synonyms from part A). Translate the sentences into Russian:

i. It is disadvantageous to radically change programming languages because there already exists the store of reliable codes.

ii. Procedural languages specify the instructions that are executed in a given order, although sometimes a program can change the direction.

iii. Nowadays there is a variety of programming languages designed to connect Web pages.

iv. It is very difficult to learn all major programming languages, so programmers usually use only a few of them, and developers always adopt one or two existing languages as a standard.

v. Most programmers prefer “parallelized” versions of familiar languages rather than wholly new ones.

vi. In logic programming languages logical steps are constructed in such a way that the program can go through them to solve the problem.

vii.In procedural languages each type of data should be identified, for example, if it is a whole number or a symbol.

3. Read the text and give the main idea of each paragraph:

Thousands of different programming languages have been created since the beginning of the 20^th century, with many more being created every year. Most languages in use today are higher-level varying according to their nature.

The mainstream consists of languages that are procedural in nature. That is, they specify a main set of instructions that are executed in sequence, although the program can branch off or repeat a series of statements until a condition is satisfied. A program can also call a set of instructions defined elsewhere in the program. Constant or variable data is declared to be of a certain type such as integer or character before it is used. There are also rules that determine what parts of a program can access what data. Examples of procedural languages are Algol, BASIC , C, COBOL , FORTRAN , and Pascal.

A variant of procedural languages is the object-oriented language. Such languages (for example, C++, Java, and Smalltalk) still use sequential execution and procedures, but the procedures are “packaged” together with relevant data into objects. In order to display a picture, for example, the program will call upon a particular object (created from a class of such objects) to execute its display function with certain parameters such as location and dimensions.

Although the bulk of today’s software is written using procedural languages, there are some important languages constructed using quite different paradigms. LISP, for example, is a powerful language used in artificial intelligence applications. It was the first functional language and is written by putting together layers of functions that carry out the desired processing.

There are also “logic programming” languages, of which Prolog is best known. Here a chain of logical steps is constructed such that the program can traverse it to find the solution of a problem.

Since it is very difficult to master all major programming languages, most programmers are fluent in only a few languages and developers tend to standardize on one or two languages. The store of tried-and-true codes built up by the programming community makes it disadvantageous to radically change languages. Thus, FORTRAN and COBOL, although more than 40 years old, are still in considerable use today. C, which is about 30 years old, has been gradually replaced by C++ and Java, but the latter languages represent an object-oriented evolution of C, intentionally designed to make it easy for programmers to make the transition. (Smalltalk, which was designed as a “pure” object-oriented language, never achieved widespread use in commercial development.)

Similarly, when programmers had to cope with parallel processing (programs that can have several threads of execution going at the same time), they have tended to favor “parallelized” versions of familiar languages rather than wholly new ones.

While the basic elements of computer languages usually remain in the same recognizable forms, the way in which programmers experience their use of languages has changed considerably through the use of modern visual integrated development environments. A variety of languages have also been designed for tasks such as data management, interfacing Web pages, and system administration (scripting languages, awk, Perl, PHP, and Python).

4. Find English equivalents for the following phrases in the text:

1. постоянные или переменные данные

2. отобразить картинку

3. основная масса современного ПО

4. приложения по созданию искусственного интеллекта

5. «бегло» пользоваться несколькими языками

6. получить широкое распространение

7. оставаться в узнаваемой форме

5. Answer the questions using the information in the text:

1. What languages are further subdivided into procedural, functional, logic programming languages according to their nature?

2. What is the main feature of procedural languages?

3. How do object-oriented languages differ from procedural ones?

4. What is a functional language? Can you give example of such a language?

5. What are logic programming languages based on?

6. What examples of tried-and-true codes are mentioned in the text?

7. Why has the way programmers use programming languages changed?

6. Decide if the following statements are true or false. Correct the false ones:

1. COBOL and FORTRAN belong to the class of functional languages.

2. Object-oriented languages are a variant of procedural languages, that’s why they have much in common.

3. LISP is a language mostly used in artificial intelligence applications.

4. Java is the best known logic programming language nowadays.

5. Despite the fact that there exist many tested programming languages, programmers prefer to create wholly new ones.

6. Various languages for data management, interfacing Web pages, and system administration have been developed recently.

7. A) Find additional information about any of the languages mentioned in the text and complete the table below:

Text 23. PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES - student2.ru B) Present the information to the rest of the group without naming the language itself.

Text 24. WEARABLE COMPUTERS BECOME THE ‘SIXTH SENSE’

1. Discuss the following questions in pairs:

1. What is a wearable computer? Can you give a Russian equivalent to this word combination?

2. Is there any difference between a wearable computer and other small-sized devices (hand-held computers, palmtops, PDAs)?

3. How can you comment upon the title of the text “Wearable computers become the ‘sixths sense’”?

2. A) Match the following words and word combinations with their Russian equivalents:

1. a dawn 2. to embed smth into smth 3. a fascination with smth 4. supplemented 5. tactile 6. visually impaired 7. to overlay smth onto smth 8. mediated 9. situational awareness 10.to pave the way

a) слабовидящий b) опосредованный c) прокладывать путь, подготавливать почву d) накладывать на что-либо e) дополненный f) встраивать во что-либо g) осведомленность о происходящем вокруг h) рассвет i) восхищение чем-либо j) осязаемый

В) Translate the phrases from the text using the words and word combinations given above:

1. since the dawn of the computer age

2. to suggest embedding computers into people

3. public’s fascination with computer-supplemented humans

4. to transfer images into a tactile grid for visually impaired

5. to overlay graphics onto special glasses

5. to create a form of mediated reality

6. to give the user increased situational awareness

7. to pave the way for more advanced product in the future

3. Read the text:

Since the dawn of the computer age, people have dreamed of wearable computers directly integrated with our bodies. So, the computer would no longer sit on our desks, but be incorporated into our clothing or worn on the body. Such wearable computers would help us perform many daily tasks with their technological power, as if they were a sixth sense. Proponents of this idea have even suggested embedding computers directly into people, fusing man and machine to create cyborgs. These dreams are slowly turning into a reality thanks to research, technological advances and the public’s fascination with computer-supplemented humans.

Many people today have various hand held devices, laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). However, these devices can’t be called wearable computers, because the task of a true wearable computer is to facilitate a new form of human-computer interaction, which means that this computer should bealways on and always ready and accessible. In other words, a wearable computer should be a continuation of its user and work like a natural part of the body, not an external apparatus.

The field of wearable computing began in 1960’s. Early versions of wearable computers included card counters, calculator watches and a vest which transferred images into a tactile grid for the visually impaired. As computer technology developed, researchers began creating wearable computers that could perform a variety of more advanced tasks. Dr. Steve Mann, a professor of the University of Toronto, has finally created a unique design which allows to overlay graphics onto special glasses creating a form of ‘mediated reality’. The idea is to use an ultra compact computer, which is linked to a special pair of eyeglasses that capture audio and video and can display things like a computer monitor. Mann can interact with the computer through voice commands and it is with him all the time. The latest model is completely hidden from view.

Nowadays MIT media lab is one of the key researchers in the field of wearable computers. One of their most recent models combines a number of elements such as digital gloves, a head-mounted camera and a projector all connected to a mobile phone. The device can take input via the camera or the user through the gloves and display information through the projector. Like Dr. Mann’s work, this MIT device aims at creating a wearable computer that is like a ‘sixth sense’.

Researches have also formulated six basic characteristics of wearable computing, which should be 1) unmonopolizing of the user's attention (it does not cut you off from the outside world like a virtual reality game); 2) unrestricive to the user (you can do other things while using it, e.g. you can type while jogging); 3) observable by the user (it can get your attention continuously if you want it to); 4) controllable by the user (you can take control of it at any time you wish); 5) attentive to the environment (it gives the user increased situational awareness); 6) communicative to others (can be used as a communications medium when you want it to).

Of course you can’t just go out and buy a wearable computer like dr. Mann’s, but there are a few examples of wrist-work computers and special clothing embedded with technology that is now widely available. Jackets with the built-in controls for your mp3 player or jeans with their own keyboard are now a reality. These clothes are not really computers at all but they are a key element in wearable computers and pave the way for more advanced product in the future.

4. Find synonyms of these words in the text:

follower; to offer; admiration; to assist; outside; jacket; to be invisible; leading.

5. Answer the questions to the text:

1. What have the proponents of the idea of the ‘sixth sense’ suggested?

2. What is the task of a true wearable computer?

3. How did early wearable computers work?

4. Who has finally created a design of a modern wearable computer? What does the idea consist of?

5. What is the MIT media lab’s model of wearable computing?

6. How many characteristics does a true wearable computer have? What are they?

7. What examples of this technology are available to the public at present?

6. Decide if the following sentences are true or false. Correct the false ones:

1. Hand-held devices, laptops and PDAs are not the same as wearable computers because they don’t operate like a natural part of a human body.

2. In 1960’s researches designed a computer allowing to overlay graphics onto special glasses and create a form of ‘mediated reality’.

3. Dr. Steve Mann’s recent model combines digital gloves, head-mounted camera and a projector all connected to a mobile phone.

4. One of the key characteristics of a wearable computer is that it doesn’t monopolize the user’s attention and cut him off from the outside world.

5. Nowadays a person can buy clothes with built-in controls or a keyboard.

7. Fill in the gaps using the information from the text:

People have always dreamed of wearable computers embedded directly into human being as if they were a ______. In other words, a true wearable computer should work like a ______.

The field of wearable computing began in ______. Early versions of such devices included ______, ______ and a ______ transferring images into a tactile grid for the ______ ______. Finally, ______ created a design allowing to ______ and create a form of ______. At present ______ is one of the key researches in this field. Their model combines such elements as ______, a ______ and a ______.

There are ______ basic characteristics of a wearable computer. It is ______ of the user’s attention, ______ to the user, ______ by the user, ______ to the environment and ______ to others.

Text 25. WIRELESS LANs

1. Discuss the following questions in pairs:

1. What is a computer network?

2.What are the benefits of connecting computers and peripherals in a network?

2. Match the following words and word combinations with their definitions and translate them into Russian:

1. wireless

2. interference

3. transceiver

4. indoor

5. LAN

6. protocol

a) situated in

b) any undesired signal that tends to interfere with the reception of radio waves

c) a network contained in a relatively small area

d) communicating without connecting wires or other material contacts

e) a device which transmits and receives radio or electronic signals

f) a set of rules that allows the exchange of information over a network

3. Read the text:

Wireless networking refers to technology that enables two or more computers to communicate using standard network protocols, but without network cabling. The current term however is generally used to mean wireless LANs. This technology has produced a number of affordable wireless solutions that are growing in popularity with business and schools as well as sophisticated applications where network wiring is impossible, such as in warehousing or point-of-sale handheld equipment.

Typically, a wireless LAN uses a frequency band where each unit is on a slightly different frequency, so that all units can communicate without interference. Usually there is a network access point (dedicated Hardware Access Point (HAP) or Software Access Point) and a PC that contains a transceiver and serves as the network hub. The hub computer can also be connected to a high-speed Internet service via DSL or cable. It has an antenna allowing it to communicate with wireless PCs up to several hundred feet away, depending on building configuration.

Each computer on the wireless network has an adapter with a transceiver so it can communicate with the access point. The adapter can be built-in (as is the case with some handheld computers), or mounted on a PC card (for laptops) or an ISA card (for desktop PCs) or connected to a USB port.

Simple home wireless LANs can be set up as a “peer network” where any two units can communicate directly with each other without going through an access point or hub. Applications needing Internet access (such as e-mail and Web browsers) can connect to the PC that has the Internet cable or DSL connection.

Several protocols or standards have been developed for wireless LANs. The most common today is IEEE 802.11b, also called WiFi with speeds up to 11 mbps transmitting on 2.4 GHz band. Although that would seem to be fast enough for most applications, there are the alternatives, 802.11g (with speeds up to 54 mbps) and a new 802.11n that theoretically can offer speeds up to 540 mbps. Since IEEE 802.11n uses the unlicensed 5 GHz frequency range it is not susceptible to interference from other devices.

Another wireless protocol called Bluetooth has been embedded in a variety of handheld computers, appliances, and other devices. It provides a wireless connection at speeds up to 1 MB/second.

The range of the wireless network can vary depending on the environment. Typical indoor ranges are 150-300 feet, but can be shorter if the building construction interferes with radio transmissions. Longer ranges are possible, but performance will degrade with distance. Outdoor ranges are quoted up to 1000 feet. There are ways to extend the basic operating range of Wireless communications, by using more than a single access point.

Using suitable radio frequencies to carry data among computers on a local network has several advantages. The trouble and expense of running cables (such as for Ethernet) in older buildings and homes can be avoided. With a wireless LAN a user could work with a laptop in the garden while still having access to a high-speed Internet connection. Moreover, a wireless LAN can help workers who have to move around within the building do their jobs. Examples might include physicians or nurses entering patient data in a hospital.

4. Find sentences with the following phrases in the text. Arrange them as they appear in the text:

1. используя стандартные сетевые протоколы

2. допустимые беспроводные решения

3. полоса частот

4. точка доступа

5. одноранговая сеть

6. вмонтирован в карманные ПК

7.высокоскоростное интернет соединение

5. Answer the questions to the text:

1. What is wireless networking?

2. What frequency band does a wireless LAN use?

3. How does a wireless LAN work?