Abstract :
Computer scientists have long worried about their subject. Is it a science, a branch of engineering or a part of mathematics? Some cynics have even maintained that it is not a subject at all, but a ragbag of topics which should only be considered in the context of specific applications. These difficulties of classification and confidence often crystallise in the initial part of university computer science courses where, in addition to the usual course on programming, an assortment of other topics is usually presented in a way which might lead the aspiring computer scientist to worry about the thread which pulls his subject together.
