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Introduction to the History of Computing

A Computing History Primer

  • Textbook
  • © 2016

Overview

Authors:
  1. Gerard O'Regan

    1. Mallow, Ireland

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  • Provides a broad introduction to the History of Computing
  • Discusses the foundations of the field of computing, and the earliest computers developed in the United States, England and Germany
  • Includes pedagogical features such as key topics, chapter summaries, and exercises at the end of each chapter
  • Reviews the history of programming languages, operating systems and software engineering

Part of the book series: Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science (UTICS)

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Table of contents (20 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. What Is a Computer?

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 1-11

  3. Computing in Early Civilizations

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 13-36

  4. Foundations of Computing

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 37-53

  5. The First Digital Computers

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 55-72

  6. The First Commercial Computers

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 73-81

  7. Early Commercial Computers and the Invention of the Transistor

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 83-91

  8. The Invention of the Integrated Circuit and the Birth of Silicon Valley

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 93-100

  9. The IBM System/360

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 101-107

  10. Minicomputers and Later Mainframes

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 109-117

  11. The Microprocessor Revolution

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 119-125

  12. Home Computers

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 127-141

  13. The IBM Personal Computer

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 143-149

  14. A Short History of Telecommunications

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 151-161

  15. The Internet Revolution

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 163-178

  16. The Smartphone and Social Media

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 179-187

  17. History of Programming Languages

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 189-211

  18. History of Operating Systems

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 213-223

  19. History of Software Engineering

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 225-247

  20. History of Artificial Intelligence

    • Gerard O’Regan
    Pages 249-273
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Keywords

About this book

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.

Reviews

“The work is conceived of as a text for an undergraduate computer science class. Basic definitions are covered, and the book is more comprehensive than other standard history of computing works because it covers analog and pre-digital computing innovations. The text then is written for a basic student introduction, which includes an abstract, key topics, review questions, and summary for each chapter. Also included are abundant pictures, illustrations, graphics, and references for each topic reviewed.” (G. Mick Smith, Computing Reviews, November, 2016)

Authors and Affiliations

  • 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 such Springer titles as A Brief History of Computing, Pillars of Computing, Giants of Computing, Mathematics in Computing, Introduction to Software Quality, Introduction to Software Process Improvement, and Mathematical Approaches to Software Quality.

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