• Chapter 7: Behind the Net: The Untold History of the ARPANET and Computer Science
  • PART I: The history of ARPA leading up to the ARPANET
  • Part II. The Network Working Group
  • PART III. About RFC's as "Open" Documentation
  • Part IV: Conclusion
  • Fundamental to the ARPANET, as explained by the Completion Report, was the discovery of a new way of looking at computers. The developers of the ARPANET viewed the computer as a communications device rather than only as an arithmetic device.(52) This new view made the building of the ARPANET possible. This view came from the research conducted by those in academic computer science. Such a shift in understanding the role of the computer is fundamental to advancing computer science. The ARPANET research has provided a rich legacy for the further advancement of computer science and it is important that the significant lessons learned be studied and used to further advance the study of computer science.
  • Special thanks to Alexander McKenzie of BBN, Stephen Crocker of TIS, and Vinton Cerf of CNRI for making research materials available.