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The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering
book

The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering

by Capers Jones
November 2013
Intermediate to advanced
496 pages
13h 28m
English
Addison-Wesley Professional
Content preview from The Technical and Social History of Software Engineering

Chapter 7. 1980 to 1989: The Rise of Personal Computers and Personal Software

The 1980s witnessed a major business change in history. The arrival of the IBM personal computer and the continued expansion of the Apple line turned computers and software from pure corporate business tools into sophisticated personal tools. The hardware changes were accompanied by a huge expansion in new commercial software packages aimed at the personal computer market. Indeed, “commercial off-the-shelf” (COTS) software began to displace custom-built software in many industries on both mainframe and personal computers.

The explosion of personal computers had a negative impact on minicomputers, which had been a growing business up until this time. Mainframes and supercomputers ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780133365924Purchase book