Secret wartime projects in code-breaking, radar and ballistics produced a wealth of ideas and technologies that kick-started the development of digital computers. This is the story of the people and projects that flourished in the post-war period. By 1955 computers had begun to appear in the market-place. The Information Age was dawning and Alan Turing and his contemporaries held centre stage. Their influence is still discernable deep down within today's hardware and software.

This book covers the way computing was handled before the arrival of electronic computers. It discusses manual information processing and early technologies. The book describes the development of software technology, the professionalization of programming, and the emergence of a software industry.