The History of Computer Programming - Research Paper Example

Insert 26 March The History of Computer Programming Introduction Computer programming refers to process of creating instructions for computers to perform certain operations. It involves the use of programming languages to design, write, test, and maintain computer program source codes. Computer programming has advanced greatly since its inception. Computer codes developed through phases namely first generation code (machine language), second-generation code (assembly language) and third generation code (high level language). This discussion explores the history of computer programming over the years up to the present. History of Computer Programming Computer programming started in the 19th century, though scientists had started designing several devices such as calculators for various purposes before this period. Charles Babbage designed the first programmable computer in 1835, called the Analytical Engine. The Analytical Engine could be programmed to solve computational problems. Ada Lovelace designed the first program for the Analytical Engine and invented the programming loop and subroutine. Herman Hollerith invented the concept of data recording on machine readable media in the late 1880s. He used punched cards and invented two machines namely the tabulator and keypunch to process the cards (Campbell-Kelly and Aspray 45). In the 1940s, computer coding was done manually and then entered into the system as the systems were slow and had limited memory. Computer programming languages such as Plankalkul, C-10, and ENIAC were developed. A machine called Robinson was developed in 1940 by the British in order to decrypt the messages encrypted using the Enigma machine by the German military during World War II. Z3 was designed in Germany in 1941 by Konrad Zuse. He started developing Plankalkul (Plan Calculus) in 1945, which was the first algorithmic computer programming language. His machines were destroyed during the World War II and only the Z4 survived. Scientists from IBM and Harvaerd designed a programmable computer in 1944 called Mark I (O’Regan 124). In 1945, John Von Neumann invented the concepts of ‘shared-program technique’ and ‘conditional control transfer’. The shared program technique stated that complex instructions should control simple hardware instead of the simple hardware being wired for every program. The conditional control transfer enabled the development of loops with IF, THEN, and FOR statements. This concept also suggested that small code blocks could take any random order instead of the steps ordered chronologically. Von Neumann architecture was invented and it enabled the storage of computer programs in computer memory (Null and Lobur 41). Machine language was used to develop early computer programs. This involved the use of different instructions for every computer model to perform the same task. They used binary code. Assembly languages were later invented and they used text instructions instead of numbers. This language was faster and more convenient than machine language. In 1948, scientists used Claude Shannon’s mathematical theory for coding data and checking for its accuracy after it was transferred between computers. Claude Shannon recognized the bit to be the basic data unit and the fundamental computation unit. The Short Code language was developed in 1949 for electronic devices. This language required programmers to manually change its instructions into binary code (O’Regan 119). In the 1950s, several programming languages that are still used in the modern times were designed. They include LISP (List Processing), FORTRAN, and COBOL. Most modern concepts are derived from these languages. Most of the languages developed during this time were only used for a specific purpose and could not be used for any other purpose. COBOL was designed for business purposes while FORTRAN dealt with mathematical functions. During this decade, the ALGOL 6 algorithm was developed that enabled the creation of nested blocks (Pierce 10). Grace Hopper invented the A-O Compiler in 1951, which was the first high-level compiler. The A-O compiler enabled computers to use English-like words rather than numbers. The advent of compilers increased programming speed as they changed the statements into binary digits for the computer to understand. This task was originally done manually by the programmers (O’Regan 127). Herbert Simon and Allen Newell helped in establishing artificial intelligence when they invented the Logic Theorist software in 1955. This software enabled the use of rules of reasoning. Bob Patrick and Owen Mock developed the GM-NAA I/O system in 1956, which allowed for batch processing and facilitated faster processing. A new version of the A-O compiler was designed in 1957 by Sperry Rand. This compiler was called MATH-MATIC. FLOW-MATIC, which was the first English language compiler, was also developed in 1957(O’Regan 128). High-level programming languages were later developed and they allowed programmers to enter formulas directly. FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslator) is a high-level programming language that was invented in 1957. This language was meant to perform scientific computing. It included the statements GOTO, IF, and DO only. In 1958, LISP language was developed by John McCarthy. It was the first programming language developed for creating artificial intelligence programs. The ALGOL language was developed in 1958 and it led to the development of later languages such as C, Pascal, C++ and Java. It was the first language to use formal grammar. The later advancement of the ALGOL programming language made it very complex and therefore, simpler languages such as Pascal were adopted (O’Regan, 127). In 1959, COBOL (Common Business Oriented language) was developed for use in business. It only used text strings and number data types. These data types could be grouped into records and arrays. COBOL was developed with English-like statements to make it easy for businessmen to learn it (O’Regan 126). Several developments in computer programming occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. Computer programming languages such as C, Simula, Prolog, Smalltalk and ML were developed during this period. In the 1970s, there was a need to develop programming languages that handled different tasks rather than just one specific purpose. As a result, languages such as Prolog, Pascal Forth, C, and SQL were developed. C was an object-oriented language. SQL was a database query language with added programming constructs (Bartlett par 3). There were also developments in computer games. The first interactive computer game was created in 1962 by Shag Graetz, Slug Russell, and Alan Kotok who were MIT students. This game was called SpaceWar! BASIC programming language was developed in 1964 by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz, which was an easy language for the students. The development of Simula in 1965 by Ole-John Dahl and Kristen Nygaard advanced object-oriented programming languages. Simula had capabilities of grouping data into objects. A computer programming language for children called LOGO was developed in 1967 by Seymour Papert. In 1968, Pascal programming language was developed by Niklaus Wirth to be used as a teaching tool. Pascal combined the features of languages such as FORTRAN, COBOL, and ALGOL; this contributed to its success. This language incorporated CASE statements to enable the branching of instructions. It also used commands such as NEW and DISPOSE. C programming language was developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972. C was derived from languages like B and BCPL but was similar to Pascal. It has some of Pascal’s features such as the CASE statement. C was designed to program UNIX operating system. The language is also used to program Linux, Windows, and MacOs (O’Regan 128). In the 1980s, the focus of computer programming was on speed and the programmers were developing object oriented programming. C++, which used the concepts of both object orientation and system programming, was developed in 1983. Perl was also developed in 1987 and it enabled programmers to work with huge amounts of data in remote locations. Online computer programming languages, which were influenced by the internet, were developed in the 1990s. Programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, Ruby, Python, and PHP were developed. These languages enabled users to have quick access to data over the internet. There are several programming advances in the modern times which include Go, Windows Power Shell, and Factor. These mainly focus on graphic enhancement, compatibility, and the end user safety (Bartlett par 6). Conclusion It is clear from the above discussion that computer programming has been developing for very many years and will continue advancing in future. The first programming languages were designed to cater for only one purpose. However, with time, programming languages have been developed to serve multiple purposes. Computer programming code has developed over the years from machine code, assembly code, and high-level code. Works Cited Bartlett, Beth. The History of Computer Programming. Ehow Web. 2012. Available http://www.ehow.com/about_5068181_history-computer-programming.html. Campbell-Kelly, Martin, and Aspray William. Computer: A History Of The Information Machine.2nd ed. UK: Westview Press, 2004. Print Null, Linda, and Lobur Julia. The Essentials of Computer Organization and Architecture. 3rd ed. USA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2010. Print ORegan, Gerard. A Brief History of Computing. 2nd ed. USA: Springer, 2012. Print Pierce, Benjamin. Types and Programming Languages. USA: MIT Press, 2002. Print Read More