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Advanced computing can refer to high-end computers and processes, or to advanced computer skills. High performance computing (HPC) involves using supercomputers for complex simulations, such as in engineering or astrophysics. Advanced computer skills courses may cover topics like Photoshop or Windows operating systems. Programming and network configuration are not typically considered advanced computer usage. Power users are those who get the most out of their machines.
Advanced computing is a broad term used to describe a specific type of high-end computer and the processes undertaken on it, or a set of skills used on personal computers. Both meanings are quite different, and there is no strict definition of the phrase, so what one person means when they say advanced computing might be very different from what another person is saying. Generally, if a course is offered in this subject it is referring to advanced computer skills, while an agency promoting advanced computing will likely be targeting high-end computer science.
High performance computing, or HPC, is a meaning of advanced computing. In this sense, it refers to the use of supercomputers, or clusters of computers that function as supercomputers, to undertake massive projects. While modern computers have great processing power, all but the most powerful of them can take long periods of time to perform their most complex functions. Typically, this type of calculation is used for simulations, often in engineering.
For example, an engineering group working on a new wing design could use advanced computing to simulate the fluid dynamics involved. With strong enough simulation, they can then virtually prototype new designs, tweaking small changes until they find the ideal design, at which time they can actually start manufacturing the product. Similarly, astrophysicists could use advanced computing to model something they believe happens inside stars. Or chemists and biologists could use advanced computers to calculate new protein structures or map a genome.
A totally different use of this phrase refers to those computer skills that most users do not have. Many skills that fall under this topic wouldn’t actually be considered advanced by high-level computer users, but courses offered such as regional or college employment programs will often still use the phrase.
For example, most computer users do only a few things with their computer: write documents, send email, listen to music, browse the web, and play games with photos. Within each of these things, they probably know just how to do the bare minimum to get the result they want. Advanced computer science would teach a wider range of skills and deepen each one.
A course offered at a local college that teaches students how to use Photoshop, for example, could be called an advanced computer science course. Likewise, a class that delves into getting the most out of the Windows operating system might also refer to itself in this way. Interestingly, much more advanced skill sets, such as programming or large-scale network configuration, would rarely, if ever, be referred to as advanced computer usage, as users of these skills would likely use a more specific term. An advanced computer user can sometimes also be called a power user, indicating that he gets more power out of his machine.
