1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9911054605103321

Autore

Aspray William

Titolo

The Making and Meanings of a Computing Reference Work : Exploring the Encyclopedia of Computer Science / / by William Aspray, David Hemmendinger

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham : , : Springer Nature Switzerland : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2026

ISBN

3-032-07417-7

Edizione

[1st ed. 2026.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (135 pages)

Collana

SpringerBriefs in History of Computing, , 2662-3013

Disciplina

004.09

Soggetti

Computers - History

Literature - History and criticism

Computers and civilization

Technology - Sociological aspects

Education - Data processing

Cultural property

History of Computing

Literary History

Computers and Society

Science, Technology and Society

Computers and Education

Cultural Heritage

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

1. An Encyclopedia of Computer Science -- 2. Audience -- 3. Stance and Style -- 4. Content -- 5. The Editorial Process.

Sommario/riassunto

This manuscript is about an artifact, the Encyclopedia of Computer Science (ECS). From the time that computer science was mature enough to have its own reference book until printed reference books began to be eclipsed by online products—that is, roughly the final quarter of the 20th century—ECS was the premiere reference work for this field. A second purpose of this book is to introduce with this important case study a theoretical examination of how one can study the history of a professional field through a deep examination of its reference tools



(encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, yearbooks, etc.). To better understand ECS, an examination was conducted on the extensive literature about the history of encyclopedias and then used it to ask probing questions about ECS.