Milestones in Computer Science and Information Technology

(Hardback)

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Description

Using the same approach as the popular Milestones in Science and Technology and Milestones in Health and Medicine, this unique reference features more than 600 concise entries describing the most significant advances in the field of computer science and information technology. Arranged in a convenient A-to-Z format, entries explain topics in a wide variety of categories, including hardware, software, theory, mathematics, programming, languages, memory, architecture, applications, and graphics. Each entry presents a history of the topic's milestones, describes its current status, and recommends a source for additional research. Entries link key developments and discoveries to notable researchers and companies, from the famous figures like Alan Turing and Bill Gates to lesser-known names like Gordon Moore and Zuse. More than 30 illustrations, helpful cross-references, four indexes, and selected sources for additional reading help users navigate this reference and supplement their research. Whether you're researching cutting-edge technologies such as MP3, data encryption, and Beowulf clusters, or historical topics like Fortran, Packard Bell, and the Alto computer, students from high school and college, scholars, and the general public can easily find the facts and dates surrounding the most significant developments in the history of computing.

Reviews

[t]horoughly informative and enjoyable....Recommended for all libraries.-Library Journal
[A] very useful one-volume reference book for general readers, even high school students....While this is clearly a book heavy on history, it is not a dull tome of past events only, for the author carefully describes many basic terms and devices that are very much part of the scene today.-Communication Booknotes Quarterly
[C]learly written and accessible, containg essential details without reliance on technical jargon....Recommended.-Library Media Connection
[T]his book is a good resource for general information....Recommended.-E-STREAMS
Reilly's highly readable coverage of everything significant in the history of computer science and information technology consists of 671 alphabetically arranged articles, each 250-500 words long. Entries, written in journalistic style, cover companies, hardware, software, programming languages, inventors/developers, theories, and concepts....Essential. Public, academic, and advanced high school libraries.-Choice
"thoroughly informative and enjoyable....Recommended for all libraries."-Library Journal
"A very useful one-volume reference book for general readers, even high school students....While this is clearly a book heavy on history, it is not a dull tome of past events only, for the author carefully describes many basic terms and devices that are very much part of the scene today."-Communication Booknotes Quarterly
"Clearly written and accessible, containg essential details without reliance on technical jargon....Recommended."-Library Media Connection
"This book is a good resource for general information....Recommended."-E-STREAMS
"[t]horoughly informative and enjoyable....Recommended for all libraries."-Library Journal
"[A] very useful one-volume reference book for general readers, even high school students....While this is clearly a book heavy on history, it is not a dull tome of past events only, for the author carefully describes many basic terms and devices that are very much part of the scene today."-Communication Booknotes Quarterly
"[C]learly written and accessible, containg essential details without reliance on technical jargon....Recommended."-Library Media Connection
"[T]his book is a good resource for general information....Recommended."-E-STREAMS
"Reilly's highly readable coverage of everything significant in the history of computer science and information technology consists of 671 alphabetically arranged articles, each 250-500 words long. Entries, written in journalistic style, cover companies, hardware, software, programming languages, inventors/developers, theories, and concepts....Essential. Public, academic, and advanced high school libraries."-Choice

Author Bio

EDWIN D. REILLY is Associate Professor of Computer Science, Emeritus, State University of New York, Albany. He is the coeditor of Encyclopedia of Computer Science, 4th ed., and Computer Graphics Companion, and coauthor of Vax Assembly Language Programming and Pascalgorithms.