01_Handout_1(10).docx

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING ========================= The History of Computing ------------------------ Early Civilizations =================== - The Babylonians =============== - This civilization thrived in Mesopotamia (Iraq) from about 2000 BC until about 500 BC. *Clay cunei...

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING ========================= The History of Computing ------------------------ Early Civilizations =================== - The Babylonians =============== - This civilization thrived in Mesopotamia (Iraq) from about 2000 BC until about 500 BC. *Clay cuneiform tables* with mathematical texts were found and deciphered in the 19th century, which contain tables for various mathematical operations such as basic arithmetic operations, cubes, and square roots. - The Egyptians ============= - Measuring time, measuring floods, calculating the land area, bookkeeping, and calculating taxes are examples of practical problems that were solved by Egyptian mathematics. Their numerical system used a base 10 number system which has distinct symbols for one, ten, a hundred, a thousand, a ten thousand, and a hundred thousand. - The Greeks ========== - Works by Pythagoras and Thales centered on Geometry were two of the most remarkable contributions to early Greek mathematics, approximately 500-600 BC. - The Romans ========== - The Romans were influenced by Greek culture and mathematics. The Roman number system was one of their most considerable contributions to computing which uses letters to symbolize numbers in which the number consists of a sequence of letters. - The Islamic Influence ===================== - Islamic mathematics originated in the Islamic world, where mathematicians and scholars reside in various countries in North Africa, the Middle East, and Spain. Notable Figures in Computing ---------------------------- Wilhelm Gottfried Leibniz (Step Reckoner) ========================================= Charles Babbage (The Difference Engine) ======================================= George Boole (Symbolic Logic) ============================= Grace Brewster Murray Hopper (COBOL) ==================================== Katherine Johnson (Human Computer) ================================== Gladys Mae West (GPS Technology) ================================