There are moments that expand what we think is possible in software development, and thus change the fabric of everything we do as developers. Certain historic documents capture the most crucial paradigm shifts in computing technology, and they are priceless. This article looks back over the past century (nearly) of software development, encoded in papers that every developer should read.
On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem
First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC
Specifications for the IBM Mathematical FORmula TRANSlating System, FORTRAN
Go To Statement Considered Harmful
New Directions in Cryptography
The Gnu Manifesto
Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System
TensorFlow: A System for Large-Scale Machine Learning
Here is the archetype of a paradigmatic document. Turing’s writing has the character of a mind exploring on paper an uncertain terrain, and finding the landmarks to develop a map. What’s more, this particular map has served us well for almost a hundred years.
