1. Introduction

The chapter “Introduction” describes the goal of the book and the period of time covered by the presentations. It conveys an overview of new and exciting findings of objects (above all calculating machines) and documents and provides insight into their origins. The book focuses on the history predating the emergence of analog and digital computer technology and the early history of their development, automaton construction (automaton figures and musical automatons), and selected scientific instruments from the areas of astronomy, surveying, and measurement of time. Special attention is given to the non-English-speaking countries. It is not the intention of the book to present the entire history without interruption. Instead, the emphasis is on the highlights and the most significant achievements. Overviews in the form of tables facilitate the study of the material. Lines of development depict coherent relationships. Instead of a treatment of the most recent era in computer science, the subjects of digital transformation and artificial intelligence are discussed at length. Numerous step-by-step operating instructions for analog and digital calculating devices round out the volume.