A brief history of computing - Gerard O'Regan

The history of computing has its origins at the outset of civilization. As towns and communities evolved there was a need for increasingly sophisticated calculations. This book traces the evolution of computation, from early civilisations 3000 B.C. to the latest key developments in modern times.This useful and lively text provides a comprehensive introduction to the key topics in the history of computing, in an easy-to-follow and concise manner. It covers the significant areas and events in the field - from the ancient Egyptians through to the present day - and both gives the reader a flavour of the history and stimulates further study in the subject.Features:- Ideal for undergraduate courses, it offers many pedagogical features such as chapter-opening key topics, chapter introductions, exercises, chapter summaries, glossary, etc.- Offers detailed information on major figures in computing, such as Boole, Babbage, Shannon , Turing and Von Neumann- Includes a history of programming languages, including syntax and semantics- Presents an overview of the history of software engineering- Discusses the progress of artificial intelligence, with extension to such key disciplines as philosophy, psychology, linguistics, neural networks and cybernetics- Examines the history of the Internet revolution, World Wide Web and Dot-Com Bubble- Follows the evolution of a number of major technology companies such as IBM, Motorola and MicrosoftFocusing on the fundamental areas in the computing field, this clearly written and broad-ranging text will capture the attention of the reader and greatly benefit computer science students. In addition, it is suitable for self-study, and will also be of interest to the more casual reader.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 has published A Practical Approach to Software Quality and Mathematical Approaches to Software Quality.