Introduction to the History of Computing: A Computing History Primer

301 Pages·2016·9.42 MB·English

by  Gerard O’Regan

Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science
Gerard O'Regan
Introduction
to the History
of Computing
A Computing History Primer
Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science
Series Editor
Ian Mackie
Advisory Board
Samson Abramsky, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Karin Breitman, Pontifi cal Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
Chris Hankin, Imperial College London, London, UK
Dexter Kozen, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
Andrew Pitts, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Hanne Riis Nielson, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby,
Denmark
Steven Skiena, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, USA
Iain Stewart, University of Durham, Durham, UK
‘Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science’ (UTiCS) delivers high-quality
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More information about this series at h ttp://www.springer.com/series/7592
Gerard O’Regan
Introduction to the
History of Computing
A Computing History Primer
Gerard O’Regan
Mallow , CK , Ireland
ISSN 1863-7310 ISSN 2197-1781 (electronic)
Undergraduate Topics in Computer Science
ISBN 978-3-319-33137-9 ISBN 978-3-319-33138-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-33138-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016938793
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
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To
Pilar Cuitino Tride
In memory
of a beautiful week in Valparaiso

Pref ace
Overview
The objective of this book is to provide a concise introduction to the history of
computing. The computing fi eld is a vast area and a comprehensive account of its
history would require several volumes. The goals of this book are more modest, and
it aims to give the reader a fl avour of some of the important events in the history of
computing and to stimulate the reader to study the more advanced articles and books
that are available.
Organization and Features
The fi rst chapter provides an introduction to analog and digital computers and the
von Neumann architecture which is the fundamental architecture underlying a digi-
tal computer. Chapter 2 considers the contributions of early civilizations to the com-
puting fi eld, and we discuss the achievements of the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks
and Romans and the Islamic civilization.
Chapter 3 provides an introduction to the foundations of computing, and we
discuss the binary number system and the step reckoner calculating machine, which
were invented by Leibniz. Babbage designed the difference engine as a machine to
evaluate polynomials, and his analytic engine provided the vision of a modern com-
puter. Boole was an English mathematician who made important contributions to
mathematics and logic, and Boole’s symbolic logic provided the foundation for
digital computing.
Chapter 4 discusses the fi rst digital computers including the Atanasoff-Berry
computer developed in the United States, the ENIAC and EDVAC computers devel-
oped in the United States, the Colossus computer developed in England, Zuse’s
computers developed in Germany and the Manchester Mark I computer developed
in England.
Chapter 5 discusses the fi rst commercial computers including UNIVAC devel-
oped by EMCC/Sperry in the United States, the LEO I computer developed by
J. Lyons and Co. in England, the Z4 computer developed by Zuse KG in Germany
and the Ferranti Mark I computer developed by Ferranti in England.
vii
viii Preface
Chapter 6 discusses early commercial computers including the IBM 701 and 704
computers. We discuss the SAGE air defence system, which used the AN/FSQ-7
computer, which was developed by IBM. We discuss the invention of the transistor
by William Shockley and others at Bell Labs and early transistor computers.
Chapter 7 discusses the invention of the integrated circuit by Jack Kilby at Texas
Instruments and subsequent work by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductors on
silicon-based integrated circuits. Moore’s law on the exponential growth of transis-
tor density on an integrated circuit is discussed, as well as its relevance to the com-
puting power of electronic devices.
Chapter 8 is concerned with the development of the IBM System/360 and its
infl uence on later computer development. The System/360 was a family of main-
frame computers, and the user could start with a low specifi cation member of the
family and upgrade over time to a more powerful member of the family. It was the
start of an era of computer compatibility, and it set IBM on the road to dominate the
computing fi eld for the next 20 years. It was a massive $5 billion gamble by IBM,
and it moved the company from its existing product lines to the unknown world of
the System/360.
Chapter 9 discusses later mainframes and minicomputers, including DEC’s
PDP-1, PDP-11 and VAX-11/780 minicomputers, which were popular with the
engineering and scientifi c communities. We discuss Amdahl’s mainframe comput-
ers such as the Amdahl 470 V/6 and the intense competition between IBM and
Amdahl. DEC became the second largest computer company in the world in the late
1980s, but it was too slow in reacting to the rise of the microprocessor and the revo-
lution in home computers.
Chapter 10 is concerned with the revolutionary invention of the microprocessor
and discusses early microprocessors such as the Intel 4004, the 8-bit Intel 8080 and
the 8-bit Motorola 6800. The 16-bit Intel 8086 was introduced in 1978, and the
16/32-bit Motorola 68000 was released in 1979. The 8-bit Intel 8088 (the cheaper
8-bit variant of the Intel 8086) was introduced in 1979, and it was chosen as the
microprocessor for the IBM personal computer.
Chapter 11 discusses home computers such as the Apple I and II home comput-
ers, which were released in 1976 and 1977, respectively. We discuss the Commodore
PET computer, which was introduced in 1977, and the Atari 400 and 800 comput-
ers, which were released in 1979. The Commodore 64 computer became very popu-
lar after its introduction in 1982. The Sinclair ZX 81 and ZX spectrum computers
were released in 1980 and 1981, respectively, and the Apple Macintosh was released
in 1984.
Chapter 12 discusses the introduction of the IBM personal computer, which was
a major milestone in the computing fi eld. IBM’s goal was to get into the home com-
puter market as quickly as possible, and this led IBM to build the machine from
off-the-shelf parts from a number of equipment manufacturers. IBM outsourced the
development of the operating system to a small company called Microsoft, and Intel
was chosen to supply the microprocessor for the IBM PC. The open architecture of
the IBM PC led to a new industry of IBM compatible computers.
Preface ix
Chapter 13 presents a short history of telecommunications, and it focuses on the
development of mobile phone technology. The development of the AXE system by
Ericsson is discussed, and this was the fi rst fully automated digital switching sys-
tem. We discuss the concept of a cellular system, which was introduced by Bell
Labs, as well as the introduction of the fi rst mobile phone, the DynaTAC, by
Motorola.
Chapter 14 describes the Internet revolution starting from ARPANET, which was
a packet-switched network, to TCP/IP, which is a set of network standards for inter-
connecting networks and computers. These developments led to the birth of the
Internet, and Tim Berners-Lee’s work at CERN led to the birth of the World Wide
Web. Applications of the World Wide Web are discussed, as well as successful and
unsuccessful new technology companies. The dot-com bubble and subsequent burst
of the late 1990s/early 2000s are discussed.
Chapter 15 discusses the invention of the smartphone and the rise of social
media. It describes the evolution of the smartphone from PDAs and mobile phone
technology, and a smartphone is essentially a touch-based computer on a phone.
The impact of Facebook and Twitter in social networking is discussed. Facebook is
the leading social media site in the world, and it has become a way for young people
to discuss their hopes and aspirations as well as a tool for social protest and revolu-
tion. Twitter has become a popular tool in political communication, and it is also an
effective way for businesses to advertise its brand to its target audience.
Chapter 16 presents a short history of programming languages, starting from
machine languages to assembly languages, to early high-level procedural languages
such as FORTRAN and COBOL, to later high-level languages such as Pascal and C
and to object-oriented languages such as C++ and Java. Functional programming
languages and logic programming languages are discussed, and there is a short dis-
cussion on the important area of syntax and semantics.
Chapter 17 presents a short history of operating systems including the IBM
OS/360, which was the operating system for the IBM System/360 family of com-
puters. We discuss the MVS and VM operating systems, which were used on the
IBM System/370 mainframe computer. Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie devel-
oped the popular UNIX operating system in the early 1970s. This is a multi-user and
multitasking operating system and was written almost entirely in C. DEC developed
the VAX/VMS operating system in the late 1970s for its VAX family of minicom-
puters. Microsoft developed MS/DOS for the IBM personal computer in 1981, and
it introduced Windows as a response to the Apple Macintosh. There is a short dis-
cussion on Android and i OS, which are popular operating systems for mobile
devices.
Chapter 18 presents a short history of software engineering from its birth at the
Garmisch conference in Germany. The IEEE defi nition of software engineering is
discussed, and it is emphasized that software engineering is a lot more than just
programming. We discuss the key challenges in software engineering, as well as a
number of the high-profi le software failures. The waterfall and spiral lifecycles are
discussed, as well a brief discussion on the Rational Unifi ed Process and the popular