HISTORY of COMPUTER SCIENCE (Digest)

RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES SIBERIAN BRANCH INSTITUTE OF COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND MATHEMATICAL GEOPHYSICS Book Series HISTORY OF COMPUTER SCIENCE (Digest) NOVOSIBIRSK RUSSIA 2009 681.3(0.91) 22.18+32.81 B 77 Book Series \History of Computer Science" (Digest) / Ed. by Ya. Fet.{{Novosibirsk: Inst. of Comp. Math. and Math. Geoph. SB RAS Publ., 2009. {{52 p. The book series \History of Computer Science" presents the results of investigations on the history of computing which are carried out at the Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics (former Computing Center) of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. In this booklet, brief information is collected (Annotation, Preface, and Contents) concerning each of the published books of the series \History of Computer Science". The booklet is addressed to specialists in computer science, and general readers interested in the history of computing. ISBN 978-5-901548-37-0 °c ICM&MG SB RAS, 2009 Contents Introduction ............................... 4 Essays on the History of Computer Science in Russia ....... 6 Preface . 6 Contents . 9 Alexey Andreevich Lyapunov ..................... 13 Preface . 13 Contents . 15 Kolmogorov and Cybernetics ..................... 18 Preface . 18 Contents . 21 Leonid Vital'evich Kantorovich: a Man and a Scientist. Vol. 1 ................... 22 Preface . 22 Contents . 28 Leonid Vital'evich Kantorovich: a Man and a Scientist. Vol. 2 ................... 31 Contents . 31 History of Computer Science in Russia: the Scientists and Their Schools ................................ 37 Preface . 37 Contents . 40 From the History of Cybernetics ................... 43 Preface . 43 Contents . 46 Axel Ivanovich Berg (1893{1979) ................... 47 Preface . 47 Contents . 50 Introduction In this booklet we are presenting brief information on the book series \History of Computer Science" which is under development in the Institute of Computation Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics (former Computing Center) of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. The Siberian Branch, from the very beginning, was considered a highly professional mathematical and cybernetic institution where the scientists will use every possible means of computational mathematics and advanced digital computers in order to ¯nd so- lutions of the most important theoretical and applied problems. During a de¯nite period the Novosibirsk Academic Village rep- resented a kind of a metropolis of Computer Science in our country. Looking back, at the history of formation and development of cybernetics in Russia, one can suppose that it was not a casual chance that the initiative of research and teaching the History of Computer Science appeared exactly hear, in Siberian Branch. And the results of these investigations are systematically published here. At present, our book series \History of Computer Science" include the following eight volumes: Essays on the History of Computer Science in Russia (1998). Alexey Andreevich Lyapunov (2001). Kolmogorov and Cybernetics (2001). Leonid Vital'evich Kantorovich: a Man and a Scientist. Vol. 1 (2002). Leonid Vital'evich Kantorovich: A Man and a Scientist. Vol. 2 (2004). History of Computer Science in Russia: the Scientists and Their Schools (2003). From the History of Cybernetics (2006). Axel Ivanovich Berg (2007 ). Introduction 5 Each of the mentioned books (as well as the whole collection) presents a unique source of essays, reminiscences, documents, and photos depicting the most important events in course of development of Computer Science in our country. Most heroes of these books are members of Russian Academy of Sciences, Laureates of the highest Russian and International Awards. Essentially, the contents of the present books cover all sections of Computer Science, and all periods of its development. Thus, our Book Series allows to reconstruct the authentic history of Russian Computer Science. Naturally, our books are published in low number of copies, and it is hard now to ¯nd them. Moreover, they are written in Russian language! Thus, we decided to prepare this booklet which will permit, for English speaking reader, to make some acquaintance with this Series. Ya. Fet Essays on the History of Computer Science in Russia Essays on the History of Computer Science in Russia / Edited by D. Pospelov and Ya. Fet. {{ Novosibirsk: Scienti¯c Publ. Center of RAS, 1998. {{664 pp. + 16 pp. of photos. (In Russian). ISBN 5-7692-0101-0. The book is a collection of various materials concerning the period of ori- gin of computer science in Russia. Papers by leading specialists are included analyzing the ways of development of cybernetic movement in our country, as well as memoirs of the participants of those events, essays on most dis- tinguished scientists and scienti¯c schools, reprints of some important papers of the 50s and 60s. A series of archive materials is published related to the activities of famous scientists of those days: A. I. Berg, L. V. Kantorovich, A. N. Kolmogorov, A. A. Lyapunov, and others. The book is intended for scientists as well as for general readers interested in the history of computer science. Preface The dramatic history of the struggle for cybernetics in our country followed by the recognition of the new science, its subsequent rapid development in the 60s which assured a front-rank position of the Russian computer science, as well as the later events in the history of cybernetics and computer science in Russia all deserves to enter the annals of the history of science. The birth of cybernetics is usually associated with the publication, ¯fty years ago, of Norbert Wiener's book \Cybernetics or control and communication in the animal and the machine". In fact, 1998 may be considered an anniversary year in more than one sense: it has been 50 years since Wiener's book was published, 40 years since it was ¯rst translated into Russian, and 40 years since the publication of the ¯rst original Russian monograph on cybernetics, the \Signal" by I. A. Poletaev. Therefore, the appearance of the present collection seems to be rather timely. Included in it are authentic documents of the epoch, Essays on the History of Computer Science in Russia 7 of which some have previously been published in various books and periodicals, while others were preserved during those long years in the private archives of the participants of those historic events. It is through the memoirs penned by a variety of authors that we have tried to recapture the atmosphere of those years and delin- eate the ¯gures of prominent scientists of those times (A. I. Berg, V. M. Glushkov, L. V. Kantorovich, A. N. Kolmogorov, A. A. Lya- punov) whose common e®orts secured the proper standing of cybernetics and, later, of the computer science in Russia. The idea of this book was ¯rst conceived by M. G. Haase-Ra- poport. He was one of those who stood at the very origins of Russian cybernetics to which he devoted his whole life. He participated in all crucial events of those years, while his unique \scienti¯c diaries" {{dozens of large format notebooks in which Modest Georgievich used to record everything related to the science he served {{have now become a priceless source of our knowledge of those times. He shared his plans with us and invited us to take part in their implementation. In order to enrich the book with collective memoirs of the people who were in the midst of things, Haase-Papoport organized in 1983 a special seminar on the history of cybernetics which was held regularly at the Polytechnic Museum in Moscow. Many of the \pioneers" of our cybernetics appeared at the sessions of this seminar to discuss outstanding scientists, individual scienti¯c schools, or speci¯c events. The audio recordings of the seminar as well as Modest Georgievich's \scienti¯c diaries" allowed us to bring the spirit of those old times back to the reader. Modest Georgievich did not live to see the completion of this book. However, we have always tried to follow his vision in the course of our work. We have also made use of his drafts and ideas as well as of the materials from his huge archive which is still waiting for an inquisitive researcher. To the memory of Mod- est Georgievich Haase-Rapoport, a true knight of the science, we dedicate this book. 8 History of Computer Science The completion of this book would have been impossible with- out the help of many people involved in the history of Russian science. Numerous documents became accessible to the editors when they were provided with the opportunity to study the private archives of A. A. Lyapunov, L. V. Kantorovich, and I. A. Po- letaev. The fact that these documents now appear in print is due to the e®orts of the children of these scientists, Nataliya Alex- eevna Lyapunova, Vsevolod Leonidovich Kantorovich, and Andrey Igorevich Poletaev. Susanna Stepanovna Maschan who had for a long time worked with A. I. Berg was kind enough to familiarize the editors with a series of previously unknown materials on the role that A. I. Berg had played in the evolution of cybernetics in our country. As a rule, most people who participated in the events of those times readily responded to our invitation to take part in the prepa- ration of materials for this book. Thanks to their interest and en- thusiasm, the essays and memoirs by O. S. Kulagina, I. A. Melchuk, R. I. Podlovchenko, V. A. Ratner, A. A. Titlyanova, V. A. Uspen- sky, and V. A. Zalgaller now appear in this collection. V. A. Us- pensky, furthermore, presented important materials concerning A. N. Kolmogorov and his attitude toward the cybernetics. In- cluded are also several essays on the development of mathematical and structural linguistics within the \culture medium" of cybernetics. These essays have been written by the protagonists of the process, Vyach.

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