Chronicles of Computation
A Practical History of Software Engineering
This is a book that I wanted to write for some time. As programming involves more and more layers of abstraction, I want to look back at its roots. It’s an exploration of the history of software engineering, tracing the evolution of mathematical and computational tools from ancient times to the digital age.
Each chapter is a deep dive into a different era, revealing the inventors’ personal stories, the historical context, and the impact on society and future inventions.
The book is not just a historical account; it also provides Python code examples that explain the technologies discussed in each section. These code snippets allow hands-on experiments with these technologies.
I hope it is a fun read for anyone interested in the history of technology, mathematics, and computation.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 — The Early Mechanisms
- Stone Age Computing
- Sumerian Numerals
- The Abacus: An Ancient Calculator
- Sunken Treasure: The Antikythera Mechanism
- Navigating the Stars
- Roman Counting Boards
- Computing Pi in The Fifth Century
- The Power of Zero
- Al-Khwarizmi: Algorithms and Algebra
- Al-Battani: Astronomy and Trigonometry
- Napier’s Bones and the Birth of Logarithms
To be continued.
