Buzz
The journey of computing is a captivating one. In the past four decades, computers have evolved from being large, complex machines that required specialized expertise to operate, into compact devices that anyone can use in just a few hours. Below is a list of the 10 software breakthroughs that have had the most profound impact on the computing world.
10. The World Wide Web
On November 12, 1990, Sir Tim Berners-Lee penned a document laying out the fundamentals of what we now call the World Wide Web. Later that same year, he developed the first web server and browser (named WorldWideWeb) on a NeXT computer (a company founded by Steve Jobs after leaving Apple — it was this OS that Apple later based its OS X on when Jobs returned). The revolutionary influence of the web was something no one could have predicted. It's arguably one of the most groundbreaking ideas of modern times. The image above shows the world's first web server.
The World Wide Web grew so exponentially that it has now become the primary source of news and entertainment for countless individuals. It has already forced traditional industries, such as print media and film/music production, to completely rethink (or consider rethinking) their entire business models. Thanks to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the Englishman who invented the Web, you're now able to enjoy this list right here on List Universe!
9. Photoshop
Photoshop, developed by Adobe, was originally created by brothers John and Thomas Knoll. Few products achieve the status of becoming so commonplace that they turn into verbs; in the UK, people Hoover their carpets, Xerox documents, and now we Photoshop images. Photoshop remains the dominant image-editing tool, with no significant commercial competition to date. Adobe has grown into the global leader in media software.
8. Visicalc
Visicalc was the first widely successful spreadsheet application, developed for the Apple II (an early personal computer by Apple Inc.). Iconic operating systems often rely on crucial software, and Visicalc is a textbook example of this. It was the first program to perform tasks that were previously unthinkable with pen and paper, prompting thousands to recognize the necessity of owning a computer. Its success was so significant that people would walk into computer stores and request 'a Visicalc,' meaning an Apple II.
7. Wordstar
While Visicalc made its mark with numbers, Wordstar revolutionized the world of words. Wordstar introduced features that were truly groundbreaking at the time – for example, it could count the number of words in a document, and when printed on a daisywheel printer, it would print one line forward and the next backward, a clever technique that sped up the printing process.
Suddenly, small businesses had the ability to send printed letters—before this, unless they could afford full-time typists, letters were often written by hand. Authors quickly adopted this change; Jerry Pournelle (author) mentioned that after seeing Wordstar, he realized that in just a few years, typewriters would be obsolete. One unexpected outcome was that books became *much* longer!
6. CP/M
CP/M was a bit of an accidental creation. According to legend, Gary Kidall was working on an operating system at the Naval Research Labs and wanted to continue his work at home on his own, self-built computer.
Unfortunately, the machine at work was different from his home system, so the solution was to separate the machine-dependent portions of the operating system (like the disk controller and serial input/output) into a small subsection (the BIOS), while leaving the majority of the operating system untouched.
This concept made it relatively easy to 'port' (the process of adapting software to work in a different computing environment) CP/M to various computers, as long as the computer was based on the 8080 (or Z80) processor. Having a universal operating system allowed applications like Wordstar to thrive.
5. EMACS
In the early days of personal computing, programs were written using text editors—often Wordstar—then compiled and linked to produce the final program. EMACS was (and still is) an editing system for the UNIX operating system, offering the first programming environment. Although the compiler and linker were still present, they were hidden from view. Essentially, the programmer worked exclusively within EMACS; editing the program, then compiling and linking it with a single keypress.
EMACS can be customized to understand the syntax of various programming languages. Keywords are highlighted in different colors, and function parameters are automatically displayed—this has completely changed how programmers code. Today, virtually every programming language offers a similar environment, but it all began with EMACS. Emacs is one of the two main contenders in the traditional editor wars, with the other being vi [which is much better! -jfrater].
4. UNIX
UNIX demonstrates the power of giving talented individuals both time and resources. Ken Thompson was that talented individual, and he essentially created the first version of UNIX (originally named Unics) in order to make a game run more efficiently.
UNIX had the advantage over CP/M in that it could be easily ported to a variety of machines, and it wasn't tightly bound to specific hardware. While CP/M required an 8080/Z80 processor, UNIX could run on anything from a mobile phone to a supercomputer. This flexibility was due to UNIX being written in a high-level programming language (which we'll cover shortly). UNIX (and its modern derivative, Linux) is a programmer's paradise—it doesn't get in the way, offers powerful editors, reliable compilers, is highly adaptable, and perhaps most importantly, has a worldwide community of supporters and users.
Apple’s Mac OS X is built on UNIX (specifically BSD), and many breakthroughs in modern computing—such as virtual desktops and virtual memory—originate on UNIX systems. The image above shows the terminal on my Mac OS X machine, which provides access to the underlying UNIX system.
3. Xerox Alto Operating System
Without a doubt, the Xerox Alto Operating System is the most influential system ever created. Are you using a graphical user interface (such as Windows or Mac OS X) and a mouse? Are you connected to a network? Do you use WYSIWYG editing tools (like MS Word)? Do you print to a laser printer? Is your computer multitasking? All of these innovations began at the Xerox PARC research facility under Alan Kay in 1973. To put that year into perspective—1973, a decade before the Apple Lisa was launched. As you can see from the features of the Xerox Alto, it essentially set the foundation for modern computing.
So why aren't we all using Xerox Alto instead of Windows or Mac OS? In 1979, Xerox allowed some Apple engineers, including Steve Jobs, to visit Xerox PARC and inspect the Alto workstation in exchange for Apple stock. There's a valuable lesson here: If you invent a groundbreaking, high-tech product, it’s probably not a good idea to let your competitors get a close look at it.
2. Smalltalk
Smalltalk was the first truly successful object-oriented programming language. Prior to Smalltalk, programming languages primarily dealt with numbers and strings. Smalltalk changed this by allowing programmers to represent anything – from shapes and sounds to video – as objects. Imagine trying to write a drawing program without objects. You'd need different functions for every shape: one for circles, another for squares, and so on. With object-oriented languages, you only need one function to draw any shape and simply specify whether it’s a circle, square, or something else.
Smalltalk made application development significantly simpler. While it's not as widely used today, with languages like C++, C#, and Visual Basic dominating, they all follow the principles of object orientation.
One unintended consequence of object orientation is that executable files became much larger. It was with the introduction of object-oriented languages like C++ that software applications began to be distributed across multiple CDs.
1. C Programming Language
C, the foundational language behind UNIX, was created by Dennis Ritchie in 1972. Nearly the entire UNIX operating system and its applications are written in C or its derivatives, like C# and C++. Its simplicity makes it both easy to learn and easy to adapt to different systems, and C compilers are often written in C itself.
C is known for features such as extendability, its tight integration with hardware, strong variable typing, and function pointers. While these might seem technical to non-programmers, they allow the language to stay out of the way of the programmer, enabling them to focus on what they need to achieve.
The reach of C has expanded alongside UNIX's influence, with most applications across Windows, Linux, and Mac OS written in C, C++, or C#. Even languages like Visual Basic have adopted many of C's features.
