What is widely known today as Digital Humanities (DH) has variously been called humanities computing and conceived by scholars to serve different purposes. For instance, Charles Henry, in his earliest work, suggests that computing in the humanities ab initio concerns itself with language-based statistical counting of literary text. While this is common, users experienced a degree of seclusion or restriction, and it was often limited to a select group of people. In essence, the introduction and/or use of computers for literary exercises or textual research in the humanities experienced delays, and where available, it was limited to a select group of people. To resolve this challenge, Henry suggests a tripartite solution. First, language should be conceived beyond its literary component, but as a complex of mental activities involving the swinging of worlds together; cognitive science and the biology of science.

John Unsworth further refined Henry’s position by explicitly naming the field “humanities computing”. By now, the computer has become a modeling tool. He argues that the computer has moved beyond a subordinate tool, such as a typewriter, phonograph, or telephone, to become a major instrument used not only for literary appreciation but also as a medium of communication among humans.

Indeed, by 1999, humanities computing began to be discussed and conceived not as an element, a literary tool, or cognitive importance but as an institutional body – a discipline. Its extension into information technology further made this conversation both solid and enthralling. While no degree was noted to be offered yet in humanities computing, attention was given to it. However, after 2004, humanities computing transformed into Digital Humanities. By this time, its tentacles transcended the humanities and became interdisciplinary, as scholars and practitioners connected, collaborated, and disseminated knowledge by using the technological tools the internet and social media provided to conduct research and share findings with wider audiences. Beyond that, since the transition to DH, scholars have been able to overcome challenges and limitations in knowledge dissemination by attending conferences that bring together practitioners and academia, as well as making outcomes available through open access.