ABSTRACT
In the last 30 years of the 20th century, the world has undergone one of the most profound transformations in human history. Dubbed as the second industrial revolution, this extraordinary change is not only as fundamental as the first revolution of the 19th century, but is taking place at a much faster pace. This is especially true in the area of software, to which subject this book is devoted. Software is that mysterious commodity which makes computers work and which so few really understand. This revolution has by no means been confined to the realm of hardware, although such a misconception is still extremely common. The wide availability of cheap computing power presented software programmers with the opportunity to distribute the fruits of their creativity to a wide audience at a small fraction of the price of existing software. It is instructive to reflect on the culture that surrounded software development in those days.
