COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCES

BY BRUCE G. BUCHANANBR> Department of Computer Science
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pa.

" Are computer-based text editors more efficient for reading and writing than conventional paper documents? Many factors influence the answer, seven of which were reported in a recent study. Advanced workstations offer enough advantages over personal computers, partly because there is more flexibilty in the user interface. Neither is superior to paper for reading (or proofreading); results with workstation-based editors on writing tasks are more encouraging, but still not conclusive.

W.J. Hansen, C. Haas, "Reading and writing with computers: a framework for explaining differences in performance," Communications of the ACM, 31 (9), 1080-9, September 1988.

" Chess has long been considered a good test of computers' problem-solving skills. A report on last year's tournament (with two annotated games) reviews results in this area of computing.

M. Newborn, D. Kopec, "Results of...

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