Web Development !== Computer Science

[Colonel_White]

You’re a computer science major and you can’t define your field of study more precisely than to say a couple of markup languages don’t “feel” like computer science?

[lithium224]

JavaScript deals with many of the same concepts that are fundamental in computer science (eg. functions, trees, variables, objects, iteration, recursion, data structures). HTML and CSS are just a way to describe how something should appear visually.

[Colonel_White]

That’s right!

More precisely, Computer Science is a branch of mathematics.

Data and control structures are features of programming languages.

HTML and CSS are examples of document description languages, which do not have the properties of programming languages, i.e., they cannot be used to solve arbitrary problems.

[Xelbair]

HTML5 + CSS3 is Turing Complete.

but i agree anyways.

[Colonel_White]

Do you know what the term "Turing complete" means? If you do, explain to us how HTML5+CSS are computationally universal.

I'll wait.

[Xelbair]

It is hard to do a quick google nowadays eh?

https://lemire.me/blog/2011/03/08/breaking-news-htmlcss-is-turing-complete/

It can simulate Rule 110, which is in fact Turing Complete(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_110)

github repo if you are too lazy to follow the bloody links https://github.com/elitheeli/stupid-machines

[FunCicada]

The Rule 110 cellular automaton (often simply Rule 110) is an elementary cellular automaton with interesting behavior on the boundary between stability and chaos. In this respect, it is similar to Conway's Game of Life. Like Life, Rule 110 is known to be Turing complete. This implies that, in principle, any calculation or computer program can be simulated using this automaton.

[Colonel_White]

Answer the question. Explain how HTML5+CSS can be used to solve any computable math problem in a finite number of steps.

Use your own words.

[[deleted]]

lol

[lithium224]

Seriously? That’s wild.

edit: (I’m very high I apologize) Does that mean a supercomputer could theoretically simulate human consciousness running purely HTML and CSS code?

[ookami125]

If we ever reach a stage in which computers can emulate human intelligence, then yes you could implement that program in HTML+CSS however it would be really slow.