A Brief History of Computing, 2nd Edition

This lively and fascinating text traces the key developments in computation – from 3000 B.C. to the present day – in an easy-to-follow and concise manner. Topics and features: ideal for self-study, offering many pedagogical features such as chapter-opening key topics, chapter introductions and summaries, exercises, and a glossary; presents detailed information on major figures in computing, such as Boole, Babbage, Shannon, Turing, Zuse and Von Neumann; reviews the history of software engineering and of programming languages, including syntax and semantics; discusses the progress of artificial intelligence, with extension to such key disciplines as philosophy, psychology, linguistics, neural networks and cybernetics; examines the impact on society of the introduction of the personal computer, the World Wide Web, and the development of mobile phone technology; follows the evolution of a number of major technology companies, including IBM, Microsoft and Apple.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Computing in Early Civilisations
Chapter 2: What Is a Computer?
Chapter 3: Early Computers
Chapter 4: Developments in the 1950s-1970s
Chapter 5: Revolutions in the 1980s and 1990s
Chapter 6: IBM
Chapter 7: Technology Companies
Chapter 8: The Internet Revolution
Chapter 9: History of Programming Languages
Chapter 10: History of Software Engineering
Chapter 11: People in Computing
Chapter 12: Foundations (Boole and Babbage)
Chapter 13: Claude Shannon
Chapter 14: Alan Turing
Chapter 15: Artificial Intelligence