Brief History of Computing

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 textbooks as Concise Guide to Formal Methods, Concise Guide to Software Engineering, Guide to Discrete Mathematics, and Introduction to Software Quality

• 1. What is a Computer ?.- 2. Early Civilisations.- 3. Foundations of Computing.- 4. The First Computers.- 5. Early Commercial Computers.- 6. Transistors and Semiconductors.- 7. Early Mainframes.- 8. The IBM 360 and later Mainframes.- 9. DEC and Minicomputers.- 10. The Microprocessor.- 11. Home Computers.- 12. The IBM Personal Computer.- 13. History of Operating Systems.- 14. The Birth of Software Industry and Human Computer Interaction.- 15. History of Programming Languages.- 16. History of Software Engineering.- 17. A Short History of Telecommunications.- 18. The Internet Revolution.- 19. The Smart Phone and the Facebook Revolution.- 20. A Miscellany of Innovations.- 21. History of Databases.- 22. History of Artificial Intelligence.- 23. Ethics and Professional Responsibility.- 24. Legal Aspects of Computing.

“It is indeed a perfect source of information for this audience. The book will also be interesting to nonprofessionals enthused about the history of computing … overall, they will enjoy this book.” (V. Kreinovich, Computing Reviews, December 28, 2021)