Description
Book SynopsisOffers an examination of the development of computing machinery, from the seventeenth century through the early 1950s.
Trade ReviewWinner of the Award in Science, Phi Beta Kappa "The book is first-rate: it is written in a style that all can understand."--Nature "Herman Goldstine is himself a pioneer of the computer... [He] writes with disarming candor and good humor."--Scientific American
Table of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. v*Illustrations, pg. vii*Preface (1893), pg. ix*Preface, pg. xi*I. Beginnings, pg. 3*2. Cllarles Babhage and His Analytical Engine, pg. 10*3. The Astronolnical Ephemeris, pg. 27*4. The Universities: Maxwell and Boole, pg. 31*5, Integrators and Planin~c.ters, pg. 39*6. Michelsori, Fourier Coc~ffic~ientasn, d the Gibbs Phenomenon, pg. 52*7. Boolean Algebra: x2 = xx = x, pg. 60*8. Billings, IIollerith, and the. Census, pg. 65*9. Rallistics ancl the Rise of the Great Mathematicians, pg. 72*10. Blish's Differential Analyzer and Other Analog IJcvices, pg. 84*11. Adaptation to Scientific Needs, pg. 106*12. Renascenrbe and Triumph of Digital Means of Computation, pg. 115*1. Electronic, EAi~rtsp rior to the EN1AC, pg. 123*2. The Ballistic Research Laboratory, pg. 127*3. Differences between Analog and Digital Machines, pg. 140*4. Beginnings of the ENIA(:, pg. 148*5. The ENIAC as a Matl~errratical Instrument, pg. 157*6. Jolln von Nel~mann ant1 the Computer, pg. 167*7. Beyond the ENIAC, pg. 184*8. Tlte Structure of the EDVAC, pg. 204*9. The Spread of Ideas, pg. 211*10. First Calculations on the ENIAC, pg. 225*1. Post-EIIVAC Days, pg. 239*2. The Institute for Advanced Study Computer, pg. 252*3. Automata Theory and Logic Machines, pg. 271*4. Numerical Mathematics, pg. 286*5. Nun~ericalM eteorology, pg. 300*6. Engineering Activities and Achievements, pg. 306*7. The Computer and UNESCO, pg. 321*8. The Early Industrial Scene, pg. 325*9. Programming Languages, pg. 333*10. Conclusions, pg. 342*APPENDIX: World-Wide Developments, pg. 349*Index, pg. 363
