Milestone-Proposal talk:Grace Hopper's Compiler and Programming Language Work, 1952-1959: Difference between revisions

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===Re: approval -- [[User:Jason.k.hui|Jason.k.hui]] ([[User talk:Jason.k.hui|talk]]) 02:30, 7 December 2021 (UTC)===
===Re: approval -- [[User:Jason.k.hui|Jason.k.hui]] ([[User talk:Jason.k.hui|talk]]) 02:30, 7 December 2021 (UTC)===


Note that Janina had comments and questions that were emailed to the proposer.  These need to be resolved before expert reviews should be conducted.  As such, my approval as advocate is on hold.
Note that Janina had comments and questions that were emailed to the proposer.  These should be resolved prior to the experts conducting their reviews.  As such, my approval as advocate is on hold.

Revision as of 02:31, 7 December 2021

Initial review of proposal -- Jason.k.hui (talk) 13:58, 16 August 2020 (UTC)

Participated in a phone call with the proposer back in March 2020. The following is a follow-on email sent on 3/17/2020:

Kate - Good to speak with you earlier. See http://ieeemilestones.ethw.org/Helpful_Hints_on_Citations,_Plaque_Locations for helpful hints on putting together a milestone plaque citation. You can take a look at my proposal at http://ieeemilestones.ethw.org/index.php/Milestone-Proposal:Interactive_Video_Games. Please revise your citation based on what we discussed. Also, send copies of the supporting materials to the History Center.

Responded to an email from the proposer on 8/16/2020:

Kate - I revisited your proposal, and the citation is still not compliant to the milestone guidelines that we had discussed in our call back in March as well as in my follow-up email on 3/17. The maximum number of words in a citation for the plaque is 70; you're currently at 105 words, which is well over the limit. Also, the citation should describe the technical achievement, not the person. Please go back to my March email and also look at citations from completed milestones in ETHW for guidance. I also need electronic copies of the supporting reference materials that you sent over to the History Center. These actions need to be completed within the next month or so as the History Committee will be having a series of virtual meetings to approve milestones. The aim is to have all History Committee-approved milestones to the IEEE Board of Directors ahead of their November WebEx meeting.

General Comments to the proposal -- E.tejera (talk) 04:37, 24 May 2021 (UTC)

The way the proposal is presented it oriented for the recognition of a specific person, Grace Hopper and not the achievement. In order for this proposal to move forward it is recommended that significant changes be made to adjust to present guidelines to submit proposals, and specially the Milestone Citation.

nomination -- JaninA (talk) 05:38, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

This is a new version of the nomination, with a new Milestone title but with the same number, submitted on 12 October 2021.

Re: nomination -- Jason.k.hui (talk) 15:24, 12 November 2021 (UTC)

Advocate responded to Milestone proposer via email on 11/7/2021. The following is the message:

In terms of the proposal, it's much improved, but there are still things to resolve. The citation cites "The first Compiler was invented..." I think we need to be careful about citing firsts. Browsing the Internet, the first practical compiler was written by Corrado Bohm in 1951. The first implemented compiler was written by Grace Hopper. I don't think you need to cite Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA in the citation as the plaque will be mounted at the University of Pennsylvania. I believe the third sentence goes into work done by Grace Hopper, but at a later date (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLOW-MATIC). FLOW-MATIC was an early programming language, but the citation notes it as a compiler. How is the compiler tied to FLOW-MATIC? Note that FLOW-MATIC was developed from 1955 to 1959, but the range of years is cited as 1946 through 1957.

Hi Jason, Please review this Milestone as soon as possible. I made corrections and updated it. Next week on Tuesday, November 23, is the deadline to get this on the IEEE History Committee agenda for November. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Your feedback is most welcome and important. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Robert, Can we change the name from Grace Hopper Milestone to The Compiler Milestone? How can we combine the two?

Re: Re: nomination -- Jason.k.hui (talk) 01:16, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

The following correspondence was sent via email and is noted here for reference:

Hi Kate and Jason,

Since I'm included in this conversation, please allow me to suggest some streamlining for the 72-word (in Word) citation. With a 70-word limit, an appreciation for the general audience, and a respect for brevity inspired by Japanese Milestones and Strunk and White, consider the following "less is more" alternative, particularly given that many of the words have numerous characters:

The computer language compiler translated human-readable English keywords or commands into machine-readable instructions or code, thus creating well-defined communication between human programmers and computers. It also made possible programs written for different computers rather than a single machine. Between 1955-1959, UNIVAC’s Flow-Matic Compiler shaped the creation of COBOL, a programming language that formed the basis for the world’s information technology industries. (61 words)

Among other edits, I've 1. Deleted the first year since the title states the timespan. The three words could be restored, making it 64 in all. 2. Matched "human-readable" and "machine-readable"--people with no connection to computing will appreciate the relationship between the two more than the use of "machine-ready". 3. Eliminated the second "thus" and added "also" since flexibility across computers or platforms is not obvious from the consequence in the previous sentence. 4. Spelled out "IT" and replaced the cash value with the lasting fact of global impact.

With best wishes for a Milestone for the ages, Alex

Alexander B. Magoun, Ph.D., Outreach Historian

On Tue, Nov 16, 2021 at 1:08 PM Kate McDevitt <kmtr1011@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Jason,

Please review before I add it to the milestone if that is ok with you?

The computer language compiler, invented in 1952, translated human-readable English keywords or commands into machine-ready instructions or code thus creating well-defined communication between human programmers and computers. Thus, making it possible in time to write programs for multiple computers rather than a single machine. Between 1955-1959, the Flow-Matic Compiler for UNIVAC shaped the creation of COBOL, a major programming language, which formed the basis for the commercial multi-billion-dollar IT infrastructure and industry.

The compiler was named A-0 then it was B-0 and then Flow Matic. I will correct the range of dates to 1952 to 1959.

Review of milestone citation 11/20/2021 -- Jason.k.hui (talk) 01:28, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

The proposer has modified the citation to read:

The Compiler translated human-readable English keywords or commands into machine-readable instructions or code, thus creating well-defined communication between human programmers and computers. It also made possible programs written for different computers rather than a single machine. Between 1955-1959, UNIVAC’s Flow-Matic Compiler shaped the creation of COBOL, a programming language that formed the basis for the world’s multi-million-dollar information technology industries.

The following are a couple of suggested changes:

1) In the first sentence, update "Compiler" to "compiler"

2) In the third sentence, update "UNIVAC's Flow-Matic" to "UNIVAC I's FLOW-MATIC" and delete "multi-million-dollar"

In addition, update the title of the milestone from "The Compiler 1952" to "The Compiler, 1952"

Re: Review of milestone citation 11/20/2021 -- E.tejera (talk) 02:18, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

I have another minor suggestion for change:

Change "Between 1955-1959," with "Between 1955 to 1959," or "Between 1955 and 1959,"

Whichever suits better.

Please change the title of this 2020-3 Milestone title from Grace Hopper Milestone to The Compiler Milestone. I am unable to make the change. Thank you, Kate McDevitt, the Proposer

Re: Review of milestone citation 11/20/2021 -- Jason.k.hui (talk) 15:39, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

The proposer has made the modifications to the citation and title as suggested. As advocate, I approve this proposal moving forward for the IEEE History Committee's consideration.

approval -- JaninA (talk) 03:41, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

Expert's opinions are not included yet as alerted by email. My comment added now for transparency.

Re: approval -- Jason.k.hui (talk) 02:30, 7 December 2021 (UTC)

Note that Janina had comments and questions that were emailed to the proposer. These should be resolved prior to the experts conducting their reviews. As such, my approval as advocate is on hold.