Informatics: research subject and areas

The paper presents the point of view on the subject of informatics and its research areas, which are actual at the present stage (2017–2020). Informatics is considered as a science of extracting information from messages, creating information resources, programming machines behavior, and other activities associated with the construction and usage of human-machine environment for solving problems of modeling, design, interaction, learning, etc. Scientific products of informatics are considered as a methodological support of constructing a human-machine environment for solving problems in various areas. Definitions of key concepts of informatics are proposed (message, data, information, model of a concepts system, etc.). The research areas of current interest are determined: automated calculations; programming; human-machine environment for solving problems (s-environment); perception and representation of messages; interaction in s-environment; information resources and systems for solving problems in s-environment; information security and cryptography, etc.