Before computers : mechanizing arithmetic, counting, and sorting -- Early computers : automating computation -- Cryptography : sending secret messages -- Mathematical proofs : computers find truth -- Simulation : creating worlds inside a computer -- Weather : mapping the past, predicting the future -- Computer-inspired biology : making computers from living things -- Biology-inspired computing : learning from nature -- Recent developments.

This book examines the contributions that have been made to computer technology as well as the many ways in which scientists and mathematicians use computers in their daily work. This newly revised edition places a focus on the development of computer hardware and software, the theory underlying the design of computer systems, and the use of computers to advance science and mathematics.