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Giants of Computing

A Compendium of Select, Pivotal Pioneers

  • Textbook
  • © 2013

Overview

Authors:
  1. Gerard O’Regan

    1. SQC Consulting, Mallow, Ireland

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  • Provides an overview of a selection of individuals who have made important contributions to the field of computing

  • Presents the key contributions and brief biographical information on figures from a broad range of sub-disciplines and historical periods

  • Highlights the richness of the field of computing, and the wealth of contributions made by historical and contemporary figures

  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (61 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Background

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 1-7

  3. Howard Aiken

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 9-11

  4. Gene Amdahl

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 13-16

  5. Archimedes

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 17-19

  6. John Atanasoff

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 21-23

  7. Charles Babbage

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 25-30

  8. John Backus

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 31-34

  9. Gordon Bell

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 35-38

  10. Tim Berners-Lee

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 39-42

  11. Dines Bjørner

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 43-46

  12. George Boole

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 47-52

  13. Fred Brooks

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 53-57

  14. Vannevar Bush

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 59-62

  15. Vint Cerf

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 63-65

  16. Alonzo Church

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 67-70

  17. Noam Chomsky

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 71-74

  18. Edgar Codd

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 75-79

  19. René Descartes

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 81-85

  20. Tom DeMarco

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 87-90
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Keywords

About this book

It has been upon the shoulders of giants that the modern world has been forged. This accessible compendium presents an insight into the great minds responsible for the technology which has transformed our lives. Each pioneer is introduced with a brief biography, followed by a concise account of their key contributions to their discipline. The selection covers a broad spread of historical and contemporary figures from theoreticians to entrepreneurs, highlighting the richness of the field of computing. Suitable for the general reader, this concise and easy-to-read reference will be of interest to anyone curious about the inspiring men and women who have shaped the field of computer science.

Reviews

From the reviews:

“Giants of Computing is most useful as a reference work, but it could also serve as a supplemental course resource or possibly a core text in a class on the history of computing. … the author provides selected examples of pivotal contributions, such as mathematical formula or code samples. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries.” (S. A. Patton, Choice, Vol. 51 (7), March, 2014)

“The author has given us a mini-biography of 59 ‘giants’ of computing, with a brief account of their major achievements. … the book is absolutely delightful and will provide the reader with many interesting and enjoyable evenings. There are even two quizzes for readers who wish to test their knowledge of people and events in computing.” (James Van Speybroeck, Computing Reviews, October, 2013)

Authors and Affiliations

  • SQC Consulting, Mallow, Ireland

    Gerard O’Regan

About the author

Dr. Gerard O'Regan is a CMMI software process improvement consultant with research interests including software quality and software process improvement; mathematical approaches to software quality; and the history of computing. He is the author of the Springer titles "Mathematics in Computing", "A Brief History of Computing", "Introduction to Software Process Improvement", "Mathematical Approaches to Software Quality" and "A Practical Approach to Software Quality".

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