Theoretical computer science'Theoretical computer science' is a subset of general computer science and mathematics that focuses on more mathematical topics of computing and includes the theory of computation.It is difficult to circumscribe the theoretical areas precisely. The ACM's Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory (SIGACT) provides the following description:In this list, the ACM's journal Transactions on Computation Theory includes coding theory and computational learning theory, as well as theoretical computer science aspects of areas such as databases, information retrieval, economic models, and networks. Despite this broad scope, the theory people in computer science self-identify as different from the applied people . Some characterize themselves as doing the (more fundamental) 'science(s)' underlying the field of computing. Other theory-applied people suggest that it is impossible to separate theory and application. This means that the so-called theory people regularly use experimental science(s) done in less-theoretical areas such as software system research. It also means that there is more cooperation than mutually exclusive competition between theory and application.