This book offers fascinating insight into the great minds behind the computing technology that has transformed modern life. From theoreticians to entrepreneurs, each pioneer is introduced with a brief biography, and a concise account of their contributions.

It has been upon the shoulders of giants that the modern world has been forged. This accessible compendium presents an insight into the great minds responsible for the technology which has transformed our lives. Each pioneer is introduced with a brief biography, followed by a concise account of their key contributions to their discipline. The selection covers a broad spread of historical and contemporary figures from theoreticians to entrepreneurs, highlighting the richness of the field of computing. Suitable for the general reader, this concise and easy-to-read reference will be of interest to anyone curious about the inspiring men and women who have shaped the field of computer science.

Provides an overview of a selection of individuals who have made important contributions to the field of computing Presents the key contributions and brief biographical information on figures from a broad range of sub-disciplines and historical periods Highlights the richness of the field of computing, and the wealth of contributions made by historical and contemporary figures Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

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 the Springer titles "Mathematics in Computing", "A Brief History of Computing", "Introduction to Software Process Improvement", "Mathematical Approaches to Software Quality" and "A Practical Approach to Software Quality".

Inhalt

Background.- Howard Aiken.- Gene Amdahl.- Archimedes.- John Atanasoff.- Charles Babbage.- John Backus.- Gordon Bell.- Tim Berners-Lee.- Dines Bjørner.- George Boole.- Fred Brooks.- Vannevar Bush.- Vint Cerf.- Alonzo Church.- Noam Chomsky.- Edgar Codd.- René Descartes.- Tom DeMarco.- Edsger Dijkstra.- George Devol.- Larry Ellison.- Don Estridge.- Michael Fagan.- Tommy Flowers.- Robert Floyd.- Bill Gates.- James Gosling.- C.A.R Hoare.- Heman Hollerith.- Watts Humphrey.- Kenneth Iverson.- Ivar Jacobson.- Steve Jobs.- Gary Kildall.- Donald Knuth.- Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.- Ada Lovelace.- John McCarthy.- John Mauchly.- Marvin Minsky.- Gordon Moore.- Grace Murray Hopper.- Ken Olsen.- David Parnas.- Dennis Ritchie.- Dana Scott.- John Searle.- Claude Shannon.- William Shockley.- Richard Stallman.- Bjarne Stroustrup.- Alan Turing.- John von Neumann.- Thomas Watson Sr. and Jr..- Joseph Weizenbaum.- Frederick Williams.- Niklaus Wirth.- Ed Yourdon.- Konrad Zuse.- Epilogue.- Test Yourself Quizzes.- Glossary.