History of computing

The study of how methods of computation, computers, and information-processing technologies developed over time, from early calculation aids to networked digital systems.

Abacus: A counting frame that represents numbers with movable beads for arithmetic. It exemplifies manual calculation long before electronic computers.
Turing machine: An abstract model of computation that manipulates symbols on an unbounded tape according to rules. It separated the logic of computation from the material design of any particular machine.
Charles Babbage: An English mathematician who designed the Difference Engine and Analytical Engine in the nineteenth century. His designs established an influential vision of programmable mechanical computing.
Census tabulator: A punched-card machine developed by Herman Hollerith to process statistical data for the 1890 United States census. It showed how electromechanical data processing could transform large administrative tasks.
Software industry: The economic sector that creates, sells, and maintains computer programs and related services. Separating software from hardware created a major new industry and profession.
Antikythera mechanism: An ancient Greek geared device that modeled astronomical cycles and predicted celestial events. Its intricate gears demonstrate an early use of mechanisms to automate calculation.
Stored-program computer: A computer design in which instructions and data reside in the same writable memory. This design made programs easier to change without rewiring the machine.
Alan Turing: A British mathematician whose work formalized computation and contributed to wartime codebreaking. His theoretical and practical work linked the foundations of computing with its early uses.
Colossus computer: A British electronic digital computer used during World War II to help decrypt German messages. Its wartime role made electronic computation a tool of intelligence and military analysis.
Open-source software: Software distributed under licenses that allow users to inspect, modify, and redistribute its source code. It offers a collaborative alternative to proprietary models that grew with commercial computing.

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