Computing Foundations

Learning Path

This pack traces the intellectual lineage of computing from its earliest visionaries to the pioneers who made programming accessible. You’ll meet the people who imagined computers before electricity, proved what computation means mathematically, and transformed programming from machine code into human language.

The Victorian Visionaries (1830s–1850s)

Start with Charles Babbage, who conceived of programmable computing a century before electronics existed. His Difference Engine proved mechanical calculation was possible, and his Analytical Engine contained all the essential elements of a modern computer: memory, processor, and programmable instructions.

Then meet Ada Lovelace, who saw further than anyone into what computing could become. Her Notes on the Analytical Engine contain the first computer program and prophetically imagined machines composing music and manipulating symbols—not just numbers.

The Theoretical Breakthrough (1930s–1940s)

Alan Turing transformed computing from engineering into science. His paper On Computable Numbers introduced the Turing machine—a simple abstract device that defines what computation means. During WWII, he designed the Bombe at Bletchley Park to break Nazi Enigma codes, demonstrating that machines could solve problems beyond human capability.

Making Programming Human (1940s–1960s)

Grace Hopper bridged the gap between mathematical theory and practical programming. She programmed the Harvard Mark I, one of the first large-scale automatic computers, and wrote its manual. She created the A-0 System, the first compiler, and her work on COBOL democratized programming by using English words.

The Through Line

What connects these pioneers is vision beyond their time:

• Babbage imagined universal computation with gears and levers
• Lovelace saw that computation transcends mere calculation
• Turing proved what can and cannot be computed
• Hopper made programming accessible to non-mathematicians

Each stood on the shoulders of those before, and we stand on theirs.