Brian Randell Knihy

Percy Ludgate published the world's second design of a programmable digital computer over a hundred years ago and died in Dublin a hundred years ago this year. His published papers lay un-noticed for another sixty years until unearthed and highlighted by Professor Brian Randell. Both Ludgate and his machine then remained shrouded in mystery for a further fifty years. This book presents much of the original material, plus lifts the veil with extensive new information on the family, life and work of Percy Ludgate, including two very significant discoveries.

Systems engineers face the challenge of making the design and construction of dependable computing systems more predictable and cost-effective. Dependability is a systems issue, as various aspects of a computing system, including its specification, design, and construction, influence overall reliability. This book examines the connections and gaps between often-separate topics that significantly impact system dependability. It covers four main areas essential for producing dependable computing systems: fault prevention, fault tolerance, fault removal, and fault forecasting, with a focus on real-time and distributed computing systems. The content reflects the latest research from a team of leading European researchers, stemming from two major ESPRIT Basic Research Projects on Predictably Dependable Computing Systems. These projects, spanning over six years and involving around forty researchers at a time, generated over two hundred published papers. The book offers a curated selection of this work, providing a comprehensive overview of the projects and highlighting their major research achievements.