The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering

Preface

I was born prior to World War II and therefore just before the dawn of the computer era. From growing up, I have personal recollections of the announcement of the transistor being invented and of reading about integrated circuits. I also remember the arrival of television and later of color television.

When I attended the University of Florida, there were no on-campus computers, no computer science programs, and no software engineering programs. In fact, engineering students still used slide rules, and there was an active debate about whether new electronic calculators could be used for exams.

There were no personal computers, no personal music players, no social networks other than fraternities and sororities, and certainly no smartphones. ...