Breakthroughs in Information and Communication Technologies Part I

Since the appearance of the first commercial digital computer, there have been many breakthroughs in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that have led to profound changes in the way we live. We heavily depend on computers today – from hailing cabs and sending mail to searching for information, performing advanced research, and a myriad of applications. This is due to numerous breakthroughs in ICT. In this series of articles, I first propose six criteria to classify an advancement in ICT as a breakthrough. I list fourteen breakthroughs in ICT in chronological order, describe briefly how each of them evolved, and explain why I consider each of them as a breakthrough. In this first part of a three-part series, I discuss five breakthroughs: FORTRAN, Integrated Circuits, Relational Database Management Systems, Local Area Networks, and Personal Computers.