Gérard Berry is professor of computer science at the Collège de France where he holds the chair in Algorithms, machines, and languages. He is a recipient of the Golden Medal of the CNRS.
Whereas information technology and its applications have caused a revolution which is transforming entire realms of our society, it is striking to note just how badly it is understood in France and in Europe. Which explains the difficulty we have in anticipating the consequences of it, for example, the Uber phenomenon which took many political leaders by surprise, or security problems (viruses, malware attacks..) that can occur in strategic realms (health, banking…).

The goal of this work is precisely to remedy those lacunae and to understand the way of thinking inherent to computer science, its functioning, and its concepts, and why it is profoundly transforming our world by making it digital. Highly illustrated with many examples and diagrams, this book enables the reader to grasp algorithmic thinking, the true key to information technology, by way of digital photography, mechanics and its transformations, as well as the computerization of science.

For the first time, a book that explains everything about information technology, its world, its functioning, its applications, and the revolution that it represents.