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Sunny Singh Professor Camargo English 1101 April 01 2013 Computer Science Discourse Community In definition, computer science is a discipline that requires the understanding of computational processes (Lowther 1). The field of computer science is a unique one because of a specific type of writing, which is code. The shared public goals of people in this academic major are mostly to help people accomplish their daily tasks easier and to improve the world of technology (usually software/hardware related). The field is diverse, but most of the people build new software or design new tools that potentially makes a previous task that was tedious much easier to do. Although computer science is not limited to just programming, it is strongly associated with it. To effectively communicate with other programmers, programmers must make their code simple to read. There are various citation styles when it comes to programming which are instead called coding styles or code conventions. This is similar to the importance of citation styles in other discourse communities, where following a certain style of writing allows others to easily browse ones document. When naming files, variables, and methods in a program, there are different types of cases that can be applied (Stallman 1). Pascal case capitalizes every word and is usually used for files. Camel case is similar to pascal case, except the first word is lowercase while the rest are all capitalized. This type of case can be used for variables and methods. Some popular coding styles that make use of these naming conventions include GNU, Oracles code

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conventions, and Googles style guides. Code conventions and style guides give programmers a standardized way to make their code more concise. One cannot become successful overnight; it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make a change in society. Portfolios in computer science are important for educational and career purposes, and display creative work done by a programmer. When compared to resums, portfolios can show much more of the skills possessed by a student or potential employee; while resums say what skills a person has, portfolios actually show the skills with real-life demonstrations. An e-portfolio, which can also be a simple website or blog, is a type of portfolio that many computer majors must consider because of how well it can display a set of projects and programs that one has created. The purpose of an e-portfolio is to give students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, which are guided by their individual goals. (Bhattacharya 11). Many successful programmers in this field own a portfolio so that companies and other fellow programmers can quickly browse through and see what type of experience they have when it comes to using code to solve problems. A portfolio can show that dedication by letting others see what you have spent your time on (what projects you made, jobs you had, etc.). In an interview with Mr. Nirmal Singh, a business analyst and database administrator at Affinia Group, a couple of important types of writings were discussed. The first is something called a BRD, or a Business Requirements Document. A BRD essentially records all of the necessary requirements and high-level information that a business might want in the project at hand. This must be done before starting the project at all, and is a crucial step because everything that is discussed with the business is recorded. This is what is known as the waterfall methodology, and anything discussed within the BRD must then all be approved by the business (Singh 1). The second type of writing is similar to a BRD, and its called the design document.

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The design document lays out the architecture of the project and includes visuals like flowcharts. An example of a design document for a project requiring a database would be a list of all the tables/rows, and the sources of where the data would be coming from. Although the majority of the work in these projects revolve around programming and database management, the written documents that come first (BRD and design document) must be done properly for the project to succeed. In a business environment, these are the important types of writing being utilized in this field. Before one can even start their work (i.e. coding), the BRD and design document are written first which shows how important writing can be in this field. Most writing done in the field of computer science is code, but there are other types of important documents to write as well. When writing code, citation styles are important to follow, and a good portfolio can make that code shine. In big companies, requirements and design documents come in priority before any coding can be done. Through communication of code or written documents, computer science students and professionals learn to communicate well in order to make a change in society. These literacies come together to make computer science a unique and abstract field of study.

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Works Cited Bhattacharya M., Heinrich E., and Rayudu R. Work In Progress: E-portfolios in Computer Science and Engineering Education. 36th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference. Oct. 2006: 11-12. Print. Code Conventions for the Java Programming Language. Oracle. Sun, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. Lowther, John. What is Computer Science? MTU. n.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. Singh, Nirmal. Personal interview. 29 Mar. 2013. Stallman, Richard. GNU Coding Standards. GNU. n.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.