FU Berlin, Fachbereich Mathematik und Informatik, Institut für Informatik

Vortrag des Informatik-Kolloquiums

From packet switching in California to the World Wide Web in Europe, the development of networking was fostered by an international array of scientific, technical, and governmental institutions seeking to fulfill some special needs. Beginning with some data about the introduction of packet switching for United States military and government communications desires, a picture will be presented of defense and technical personnel collaborations that ended in the introduction of the ARPANET. Almost simultaneously, other networks began in the United States Defense Department and around the world, creating problems of cross communications similar to earlier telephone systems. Introduction of the Internet concept eliminated most of the difficulties. With the Internet, broader patterns of worldwide communication and data exchange became possible, leading to the present World Wide Web. Some of the technical factors in and the social forces that led to the present networking system will be described.