SCIENTIFIC AND METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF INFORMATICS AS A SUBJECT FIELD (Naukovo-metodolohichni zasady informatyky yak predmetnoyi haluzi)

An extensive review on the development of subject and methodology of informatics is contained, with reference to its earliest origins found in theses and ideas of ancient (Aristotle) and medieval thinkers, works of G. Leibniz, mechanic calculating machines (arithmometers), earliest electronic computing machines; the two paradigms, technocratic and scientific, by which informatics is defined as an engineering discipline or natural (empiric) scientific discipline; national (Ukrainian) and international definitions of informatics and the associated terminology, like computer science or scientific information; treatment of informatics as an applied discipline and an economic sector (industry). But to have the subject of informatics clearly outlined, informatics should be compared with the related fields, such as cybernetics, which underwent the periods of rise, ideological attacks and renaissance in the USSR. By analyzing the abundant retrospective information, the conclusion is made that the subject of informatics covers the scientific notion of 'information' and methods of its presentation, processing and applications in form of knowledge. The notion of 'object of informatics' is a broader one that covers information processes and systems, information models, computing methods for information processing and computer software, results of processing, analysis and evaluation of information. Also, tasks and methodological grounds of informatics as a scientific field are outlined.