Introduction to the History of Computing: A Computing History Primer

Description

Tracing the story of computing from Babylonian counting boards to smartphones, this inspiring textbook provides a concise overview of the key events in the history of computing, together with discussion exercises to stimulate deeper investigation into this fascinating area. Features: provides chapter introductions, summaries, key topics, and review questions; includes an introduction to analogue and digital computers, and to the foundations of computing; examines the contributions of ancient civilisations to the field of computing; covers the first digital computers, and the earliest commercial computers, mainframes and minicomputers; describes the early development of the integrated circuit and the microprocessor; reviews the emergence of home computers; discusses the creation of the Internet, the invention of the smartphone, and the rise of social media; presents a short history of telecommunications, programming languages, operating systems, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and databases. Front Matter....Pages i-xxi What Is a Computer?....Pages 1-11 Computing in Early Civilizations....Pages 13-36 Foundations of Computing....Pages 37-53 The First Digital Computers....Pages 55-72 The First Commercial Computers....Pages 73-81 Early Commercial Computers and the Invention of the Transistor....Pages 83-91 The Invention of the Integrated Circuit and the Birth of Silicon Valley....Pages 93-100 The IBM System/360....Pages 101-107 Minicomputers and Later Mainframes....Pages 109-117 The Microprocessor Revolution....Pages 119-125 Home Computers....Pages 127-141 The IBM Personal Computer....Pages 143-149 A Short History of Telecommunications....Pages 151-161 The Internet Revolution....Pages 163-178 The Smartphone and Social Media....Pages 179-187 History of Programming Languages....Pages 189-211 History of Operating Systems....Pages 213-223 History of Software Engineering....Pages 225-247 History of Artificial Intelligence....Pages 249-273 History of Databases....Pages 275-283 Back Matter....Pages 285-296