The Difference Engine - Hardcover
A portrait of early nineteenth-century mathematician Charles Babbage describes his efforts to construct the first computing machine more than one century before the invention of the modern computer. 22,500 first printing.
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Technology historian and Assistant Director of London's Science Museum, Doron Swade, investigates the troubles that plagued 19th-century knowledge engineers in The Difference Engine: Charles Babbage and the Quest to Build the First Computer.
About the Author:
The author is in a unique position to appreciate the technical difficulties of the time as he led a team building a working model of a Difference Engine in time for Babbage's 1991 bicentenary using contemporary materials. The meat of the book is comprised of the story of the first computing machine design as gathered from the technical notes and drawings curated by Swade. Though Babbage certainly had problems translating his ideas into brass, the reader also comes to understand his fruitless, drawn-out arguments with his funders. Swade had it comparatively easy, though his depictions of the frustrating search for money and then working out how best to build the enormous machine in the late 1980s are delightful.
It is difficult--maybe impossible--to draw a clear, unbroken line of influence from Babbage to any modern computer researchers, but his importance both as the first pioneer and as a symbol of the joys and sorrows of computing is unquestioned. Swade clearly respects his subject deeply, all the more so for having tried to bring the great old man's ideas to life. The Difference Engine is lovingly comprehensive and will thrill readers looking for a more technical examination of Babbage's career. --Rob Lightner
Doron Swade is Assistant Director and Head of Collections at the Science Museum in London.
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- PublisherViking
- Publication date2001
- ISBN 10 0670910201
- ISBN 13 9780670910205
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages342
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The Difference Engine: Charles Babbage and the Quest to Build the First Computer
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ISBN 13: 9780670910205
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THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE Charles Babbage and the Quest to Build the First Computer
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ISBN 13: 9780670910205
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. 1st Edition. This copy is in new, unmarked condition quarter bound in black cloth to white paper covered boards with bright gilt titling to the spine. This copy is bright, tight, white and square. The unclipped dust wrapper is in new condition, it has been covered in clear, removable, mylar, protective film. International postal rates are calculated on a book weighing 1 Kilo, in cases where the book weighs more than 1 Kilo increased postal rates will be quoted, where the book weighs less then postage will be reduced accordingly. A portrait of early nineteenth-century mathematician Charles Babbage describes his efforts to construct the first computing machine more than one century before the invention of the modern computer. Technology historian and Assistant Director of London's Science Museum, Doron Swade, investigates the troubles that plagued 19th-century knowledge engineers in The Difference Engine: Charles Babbage and the Quest to Build the First Computer. The author is in a unique position to appreciate the technical difficulties of the time as he led a team building a working model of a Difference Engine in time for Babbage's 1991 bicentenary using contemporary materials. The meat of the book is comprised of the story of the first computing machine design as gathered from the technical notes and drawings curated by Swade. Though Babbage certainly had problems translating his ideas into brass, the reader also comes to understand his fruitless, drawn-out arguments with his funders. Swade had it comparatively easy, though his depictions of the frustrating search for money and then working out how best to build the enormous machine in the late 1980s are delightful. It is difficult--maybe impossible--to draw a clear, unbroken line of influence from Babbage to any modern computer researchers, but his importance both as the first pioneer and as a symbol of the joys and sorrows of computing is unquestioned. Swade clearly respects his subject deeply, all the more so for having tried to bring the great old man's ideas to life. The Difference Engine is lovingly comprehensive and will thrill readers looking for a more technical examination of Babbage's career. Ref YYY 4. Seller Inventory # 032504
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(2001)
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