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> If I had to say one text that is the fundamental one, I would go with a paper: “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem” [1], by Alan Turing

Certainly that one, but I would add a couple of others:

"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Laws_of_Thought" (George Boole) - lays out boolean algebra; fundamental to everything in computing

"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Symbolic_Analysis_of_Relay_a... (Claude E. Shannon) - basically lays out the equivalence of switching circuits to boolean algebra, fundamental to electronic computing

Note in fact many of Shannon's works and research could be considered "fundamental"...



By the currently accepted definition of Computer Science (at the nexus of its core basis in mathematics and philosophy), I would say “On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem” by Alan Turing, without any close peer to date. It is the first paper that invoked the most all-encompassing idea of a computer (e.g. not necessarily having to be a physically realizable electronic computer, which one could consider more of a matter for engineering).

Its contents have had continued relevance as computer scientists study the properties and capabilities of non-deterministic computers.


Charles Petzold (who wrote "Code") has written a very good book which goes through Turing's paper in small sections:

The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour Through Alan Turing's Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine




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