About the Project

What CompHist, The Incomplete History of Computer Science Is

CompHist covers computing from Leibniz’s stepped reckoner and Babbage’s engines to the current race between large language models. The articles are grouped into thirteen parts, from the origins of computer science through theory, hardware, software, networks, AI, industry, media, and society to the dead ends and a collection of trivia. All Articles lists every entry, and the search box in the top bar searches the full text.

The title is meant literally. The history of computing is far larger than any one person can write down, and the encyclopedia grows one article at a time. The basis for all articles is a “Zettelkasten” (collection of notes) with more than 10.000 notes on the history of computer science, the result of reading hundreds of books on this topic and documenting stories from computing pioneers I spoke to. My Zettelkasten helps to me to rapidly write articles

Stories with Sources

Every article is about people as much as about technology: who built a machine, what it cost them, and what happened afterwards. Failures get the same attention as successes. Many articles end with a Dead End section that explains why a technology was abandoned, and Part XII collects the projects that did not survive.

Every significant claim is backed by a link in the article’s Sources section. Where an article names a paper, a memoir, or a book, that work is cited directly. During my research, I came across many myths. Some of them are even cited very often. I make these myths visible in this project and give sources that debunk the myths. See my page on Myths and Misconceptions.

Fact Checking

I spent a lot of time to find at least two independent sources for the facts in the articles and I also validate the facts. If something is more an opinion than a fact, I may still mention the opinion, but it is clearly marked in the text. If you find anything in this project that you think is incorrect, please write me an email. My contact details are in the imprint linked at the bottom of every page.

Images

I own an extensive collection of photos of computers, phones, and other machines. However, this collections still needs to be organized in a way that it can be used for The Incomplete History of Computer Science. As of now, most photos and scans in this project come from freely licensed collections, mainly Wikimedia Commons, and are in the public domain or under a Creative Commons license. Author, source, and license of every image are listed on the page Image Credits.

How the Site Is Built

I write the articles in Markdown, based on an extensive “Zettelkasten” (collection of notes) with more than 10.000 notes on the history of computer science. The Markdown files are then converted into this website with the static site generator Hugo and the Hextra theme. I would really appreciate if I could find a volunteer with design experience that would help me to make the website more appealing and accessible. The contact details are in the imprint linked at the bottom of every page.

Follow Me on LinkedIn

Several times a week, I share posts on the history of computer science at LinkedIn, linking current events to articles in The Incomplete History of Computer Science. My followers like to discuss these articles and we often have interesting discussions that bring up new facets to add to an article. Follow me on LinkedIn.

Corrections and Suggestions

If you find a mistake, or know a piece of computing history that is missing here, please get in touch. The contact details are in the imprint linked at the bottom of every page.