FREE COMPUTING HISTORY · 520 BCE–1316
Rules before machines
Notation, algorithms, cryptanalysis, and programmable sequences appear before electronic machines.
520 BCE–1316
Notation, algorithms, cryptanalysis, and programmable sequences appear before electronic machines.
- Pāṇini: The Aṣṭādhyāyī: a systematic grammar with interacting rules and metarules
- Euclid: The Elements: geometric proofs, number theory, and the greatest common divisor procedure
- Archimedes: Geometric bounds, large finite number descriptions, and mathematical mechanics
- Heron of Alexandria: Mechanical automata, pneumatic devices, and measurement procedures
- Brahmagupta: Systematic arithmetic with zero and signed quantities; algebra and geometry
- al-Khwārizmī: Systematic algebraic equation procedures and writing on Indian calculation
- Al-Kindi: A cryptanalytic treatise describing frequency analysis and its limitations
- al-Jazarī: Illustrated descriptions of clocks, automata, and hydraulic devices
- Leonardo Fibonacci: Liber Abaci: arithmetic with Hindu-Arabic numerals, practical problems, and algebra
- Ramon Llull: The Art: symbolic figures and combinatorial methods for organizing arguments