Chapter 2. 1930 to 1939: The Foundations of Digital Computing

The early years of the 1930s witnessed original papers leading to the design of digital computers. By the end of the decade, several working digital computers proved that electronic computers were possible. Also during this decade, the probability of a major war led to large government investments in military analog computers for fire control, torpedo launches, and bombsights.

The First Innovators of Modern Computing

The decade from 1930 to 1939 was an era without software as we know it today. But it was a very fruitful era in terms of both the invention of the underlying logical ideas behind software and also the design of physical computing devices.

Toward the end of this decade, ...

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