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@@ -11,24 +11,21 @@ This initial version of the Tech Tree will consist almost entirely of copies of
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Please note that this document is currently a loose "wish list" of works that we may like to include, which we are making public for the purpose of actively soliciting further suggestions and input, rather than a finalized register of selected works. Note also that the prospect of copying works onto microfilm in a human-readable form implies both potential copyright issues and the practical consideration of acquiring a copyable digital version of the work in question. Certain publishers (Packt, O'Reilly, Springer, and Wiley) have indicated they are happy to work with us, while the status for most other publishers and copyright holders remains indeterminate.
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The proposed Tech Tree is loosely divided into the following sixteen sections:
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1._Fundamentals of computing and the Internet:_ the essentials of how computers work, and, at least as important to today's world, how they are connected together into a single planetary network which includes most of the computers on Earth.
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2._Algorithms and data structures_: processes, sets of rules, and methods of arranging data to solve common categories of problems in efficient ways. Metaphorically, algorithms are the intelligence in a software program, and data structures are its storage.
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3._Compilers, assembler, and operating systems:_ how written source code becomes the machine code which causes the electrical signals inside a computer to change in a controlled manner, and the theory of operating systems, the software which supports a computer's basic functions and provides the fundamental, low-level functionality that all other software ultimately calls upon.
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4._Programming languages:_ some of the world's most popular and widely used programming languages described in detail. While, fundamentally, any program can be written in any language, certain languages are better or worse at particular tasks.
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5._Networking and connectivity_: how computers connect to one another, via physical wires and radio signals, both one-on-one and in larger networks. Includes descriptions of the structure of the global "network of networks" known as the Internet, which connects most of the computers on Earth.
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6._Modern software development:_ the processes and procedures of dealing with software projects, tools, and services at scale, with constant monitoring and communication, at assured levels of quality.
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7._Modern software applications:_ in-depth description of applications such as Web development (the Web is, essentially, that part of the Internet used to display output and receive input from human beings); scientific research and analysis; image processing; pattern recognition and generation via neural networks; software distributed across many different computers; cryptocurrencies, which can be used as a platform for trustless decentralized software; and the new field of quantum computing.
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8._Hardware architectures:_ the concepts, structures, and layout of computer hardware. Hardware refers to physical electronic components; hardware architecture refers to how those components are structured and connected in order to run software; and software ultimately becomes ephemeral patterns of electricity within those physical components.
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9._Hardware development:_ how to build simple computers from collections of electronic components, along with technical descriptions of drones, robots, and digital cameras.
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10._Electronic components, transistors, semiconductor manufacturing_: those electronic components which predated computers, along with individual transistors, the component from which computers are made, and an overview of the technologies and processes of fabricating interconnected transistors at scale.
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11._Electricity, radios, and other industrial technologies:_ fundamental pre-computer technologies, regarding generating usable electrical power, transmitting it over wires, using it to convey information without wires over great distances via radio, and basic industrial metalworking.
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12._Pre-industrial technologies:_ technologies of eras which predated electricity.
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13._Women and technology:_ an overview of the oft-erased role of women in the development of software and other technologies.
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14._Languages_: a dictionary of English along with translational dictionaries intended to help readers convert from English to Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, and Spanish, the world's other four most-used languages.
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15._Arts, culture, and history_: human histories and changing human cultures, mostly through the lens of celebrated fictional narratives written over the last 150 years.
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16._Cultural context_: information about humanity at the time the Tech Tree was created; in particular, a snapshot of Wikipedia, a collectively generated repository of all sorts of information about our world. Due to Wikipedia's enormous size, this section is provided as encoded data, like the rest of the archive, rather than as visual/readable pages.
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The proposed Tech Tree is loosely divided into the following thirteen sections:
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1.[_Fundamentals of computing and the Internet:_](#fundamentals-of-computing-and-the-internet) the essentials of how computers work, and, at least as important to today's world, how they are connected together into a single planetary network which includes most of the computers on Earth.
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2.[_Algorithms and data structures:_](#algorithms-and-data-structures) processes, sets of rules, and methods of arranging data to solve common categories of problems in efficient ways. Metaphorically, algorithms are the intelligence in a software program, and data structures are its storage.
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3.[_Compilers, assembler, and operating systems:_](#compilers-assembler-and-operating-systems) how written source code becomes the machine code which causes the electrical signals inside a computer to change in a controlled manner, and the theory of operating systems, the software which supports a computer's basic functions and provides the fundamental, low-level functionality that all other software ultimately calls upon.
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4.[_Programming languages:_](#programming-languages) some of the world's most popular and widely used programming languages described in detail. While, fundamentally, any program can be written in any language, certain languages are better or worse at particular tasks.
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5.[_Networking and connectivity:_](#networking-and-connectivity) how computers connect to one another, via physical wires and radio signals, both one-on-one and in larger networks. Includes descriptions of the structure of the global "network of networks" known as the Internet, which connects most of the computers on Earth.
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6.[_Modern software development:_](#modern-software-development) the processes and procedures of dealing with software projects, tools, and services at scale, with constant monitoring and communication, at assured levels of quality.
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7.[_Modern software applications:_](#modern-software-applications) in-depth description of applications such as Web development (the Web is, essentially, that part of the Internet used to display output and receive input from human beings); scientific research and analysis; image processing; pattern recognition and generation via neural networks; software distributed across many different computers; cryptocurrencies, which can be used as a platform for trustless decentralized software; and the new field of quantum computing.
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8.[_Hardware architectures:_](#hardware-architectures) the concepts, structures, and layout of computer hardware. Hardware refers to physical electronic components; hardware architecture refers to how those components are structured and connected in order to run software; and software ultimately becomes ephemeral patterns of electricity within those physical components.
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9.[_Hardware development:_](#hardware-development) how to build simple computers from collections of electronic components.
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10.[_Electronic components, transistors, semiconductor manufacturing:_](#electronic-components-transistors-semiconductor-manufacturing) those electronic components which predated computers, along with individual transistors, the component from which computers are made, and an overview of the technologies and processes of fabricating interconnected transistors at scale.
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11.[_Pre-industrial technologies:_](#pre-industrial-technologies) technologies of eras which predated electricity.
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12.[_Fiction, culture, and history:_](#fiction-culture-and-history) human histories and changing human cultures, mostly through the lens of celebrated fictional narratives written over the last 150 years.
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13.[_Cultural context:_](#cultural-context) information about humanity at the time the Tech Tree was created; in particular, a snapshot of Wikipedia, a collectively generated repository of all sorts of information about our world. Due to Wikipedia's enormous size, this section is provided as encoded data, like the rest of the archive, rather than as visual/readable pages.
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The first seven sections are devoted to software, the purpose and content of the GitHub Arctic Code Vault, and its uses and applications. The next five sections describe the technologies required to construct computers on which software might run. The remaining three are intended to illustrate the human context in which these technologies have been developed, the stories the cultures of our era told, the languages in which we told them, and the factual background and descriptions of the world in which we lived.
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