The function and influence of the computer is pervasive in contemporary society. Today's computers process the daily transactions of international banks, the data from communications satellites, the images in video games, and even the fuel and ignition systems of automobiles.
Computer software is as commonplace in education and recreation as it is in science and business.
There is virtually no field or profession that does not rely upon computer science for the problem-solving skills and the production expertise required in the efficient processing of information. Computer scientists, therefore, function in a wide variety of roles, ranging from pure theory and design to programming and marketing. The computer science curriculum at Columbia places equal emphasis on theoretical computer science and mathematics and on experimental computer technology. The vast amount of disk space is backed up by a 2.1TB DLT7000 and a 600GB Exabyte robotic tape unit. Undergraduate Program Computer science majors at Columbia study an integrated curriculum, partially in areas with an immediate relationship to the computer, such as programming languages, operating systems, and computer architecture, and partially in theoretical computer science and mathematics.