A computation is an operation that begins with some initial conditions and gives an output which follows from a definite set of rules. The most common example are computations performed by computers, in which the fixed set of rules may be the functions provided by a particular programming language.

The field of computer science studies the nature of computation and its uses, among other things. A set of rules used to carry out a computation is known as an algorithm.

This entry contributed by Todd Rowland

Wolfram, S. "The Notion of Computation." Ch. 11 in A New Kind of Science. Champaign, IL: Wolfram Media, pp. 637-714, 2002.

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Rowland, Todd. "Computation." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource, created by Eric W. Weisstein. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Computation.html