A Brief History of Computing
The history of computing has its origins at the outset of civilization, and the need for increasingly sophisticated calculations has grown as towns and communities evolved.This lively and fascinating text traces the key developments in computation – from
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Gerard O’Regan
A Brief History of Computing Second Edition
Gerard O’Regan 11 White Oaks Mallow, Co. Cork Ireland
ISBN 978-1-4471-2358-3 e-ISBN 978-1-4471-2359-0 DOI 10.1007/978-1-4471-2359-0 Springer London Dordrecht Heidelberg New York British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Control Number: 2012934180 # Springer-Verlag London Limited 2008, 2012
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To my wonderful nieces and nephews Jamie, Tiernan, Cian, Aoife, Lorna, Daniel and Niamh
Preface
Overview The objective of this book is to provide an introduction into a selection of key events in the history of computing. The computing field is a vast area, and a truly comprehensive account of its history would require several volumes. The aims of this book are more modest, and it aims to give the reader a flavour of some of the important events in the history of computing. It is hoped that this will stimulate the interested reader to study the more advanced books and articles available. The history of computing has its origins in the dawn of civilisation. Early hunter gatherer societies needed to be able to perform elementary calculations such as counting and arithmetic. As societies evolved into towns and communities, there was a need for more sophisticated calculations. Our account commences with the contributions of the Egyptians and Babylonians. We then move swiftly onwards to more modern times. Along the journey, we consider some early computers such as Zuse’s machines, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer and ENIAC. We move forward to consider developments such as the SAGE air defence system, the IBM 360 and the PDP family of minicomputers. Revolutions in computing such as the invention of the personal computer and the invention of the World Wide Web are considered. We also discuss a selection of programming languages and the history of the software engineering field. Finally, we consider a selection o
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