Hello !

Hello sir.

My name is Cénovice¹⁾. I come from nowhere and I need to learn 2 or 3 things in computer science.

Okay.

First of all, and this will be your first lesson, here we do not use formal address (vous)! Indeed, our school is not a center of neo-liberal indoctrination.

Do you think you can adapt ?

I think so !

Tell me more about yourself and your teaching ?

My name is Owl, George Owl²⁾. I have no age. I live in Virtualsburg, in the heart of the internet. I am a hacker, and I will be the one teaching you. My teaching will be done page by page, where I will try to teach only one simple thing or a basic principle each time.

My course will take the form of a discussion. We will progress by starting with simple general information mixed with history. This will help you enter the world of computer science and understand some basics. Gradually, we will move to more concrete topics. There will always be general information and history included. Part of this teaching will be specifically oriented towards using Wikis and especially the DokuWiki software, which is the platform used for this course. This will be necessary because, at some point, you will need to interact. Indeed, there is theory, but also some practice. My lessons will also be enriched with illustrations, references, videos, and I will even invite other speakers to make it more fun and engaging. This training will be quite long but very rich. Therefore, I count on you to note down anything I explain poorly or that you have misunderstood so I can improve the course. The first interactions will come later; for now, you should note your questions with references so you can present them to me when appropriate. The sequence of pages and chapters follows a logical order. I strongly recommend you to follow the course in the order presented.

I hope you will enjoy it and find it truly useful. Note that this course is primarily for your personal education and private management of computing. However, the fundamentals and functioning of computing are strictly the same everywhere. So, everything presented here will also be valid in your professional environment.

The first thing, which will be the hardest, will be to forget the dogmas taught by schools, bad practices, preconceived ideas, and advertising, and to return to the real, practical, and scientific world of computing. You will need to forget all that to learn what I will teach you and to be able to think correctly with solid elements, because currently, computing is increasingly influenced by fantasies that lead, for example, to increasingly stupid political decisions in this field. This is measured in billions of public money. There is nothing trivial when it comes to computing, and lacking knowledge can lead to serious consequences !

WOW, that might involve a lot of work !

I will never be fully ready for it, but I am jumping in !

Moreover, if your teaching is as fun and silly as this introduction, I will learn more easily. And, if I turned to you, it’s because I believe you will teach me truly useful and interesting things.

Beware, kid, you're jumping into the unknown !

For now, in the first part, you won’t have to interact. It will mainly be reading. However, for this learning, I invite you to have a notebook and a pen (or a pencil) to take notes. These notes will be useful for the rest of your learning. Feel free to use colors and draw diagrams to illustrate what you will learn.

Say, can I introduce you to friends ? Are there any restrictions to benefit from your teaching ?

Yes, you can bring all your friends ! This is a teaching, so it is naturally under a free license. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the content of this training is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike (version 4.0 or later) International (CC BY-SA 4.0) and/or the Free Documentation License (version 1.3 or later) published by the Free Software Foundation; without inalienable sections, cover pages, or back pages (GNU FDL 1.3). Note that most images come from https://openclipart.org and are under the CC0 1.0 Universal license, thus in the public domain.

There is a minor restriction: if you want to reuse this course to share it, you must mention the authors and license your version under the same terms. Sharing what you received under the same conditions is a respectful gesture towards others. Failing to do so would be disrespectful. These conditions foster a virtuous circle of solidarity and freedom, maintaining respect and equality among all.

There are no other access restrictions. This course is free to ensure everyone can access it. There are no restrictions based on age, gender, sexual orientation, skin color, or other absurdities. Only disrespectful individuals might be excluded from interactions. I have no time for them. However, they will still have access to reading.

Note that these legal aspects will also be part of your education.

It’s free and virtuous ! Is this not in contradiction with the capitalist and selfish world we live in ?

Yes, completely. That’s why it’s so important to change this model based on tyranny and lies. Every initiative like this is essential and has an impact on our world.

Yes, I understand well. Are there any more elements I should know ?

Yes, still on the legal side: the art. 19, para. 1, let. b of the Swiss Law on Copyright applies. This law allows, within certain limits, the legal use of “works” protected by copyright. Items possibly under this law are not for commercial use and are strictly reserved for this teaching.

I didn’t know this was possible.

Finally, I also need to know the authors if I want to export and share this teaching while respecting the license.

I see you pay attention to what I tell you. Indeed, you will need it !

Here is the list of authors and contributors :

Well, that being said, are you ready to dive into the world of computer science ? Click here to start!