Milestones:Grace Hopper's Compiler and Programming Language Work, 1952-1959

This is a temporary page. The final version of this page can be found on the Engineering and Technology History Wiki

Title

A-0 Compiler and Initial Development of Automatic Programming, 1951-1952

Citation

During 1951-1952, Grace Hopper invented the A-0 Compiler, a series of specifications that functioned as a linker/loader. It was a pioneering achievement of automatic programming as well as a pioneering utility program for the management of subroutines. The A-0 Compiler influenced the development of arithmetic and business programming languages. This led to COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) becoming the dominant high-level language for business applications.

Street address(es) and GPS coordinates of the Milestone Plaque Sites

200 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, GPS Latitude: 39.95239 - Longitude: -75.190489, 200 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, GPS Latitude: 39.95239 - Longitude: -75.190489

Details of the physical location of the plaque

The Milestone will be on a wall in the lobby of the University of Pennsylvania the Moore Engineering School. The milestone plaques come with four mounting holes in the back. There are four at the corners: 2.75 inches/6.5 cm in from the corners (as measured on the diagonal) or 1.95 inches/4.596cm in from the edges. The holes are threaded to take the studs. Please see https://ieeemilestones.ethw.org/Plaque_mounting_details

How the intended plaque site is protected/secured

It is a secure location by security cameras and campus security guards. It is open seven days a week.

Historical significance of the work

The historical significance of the compiler is the importance of how it affected the modern computer: A compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in mathematical programming into a computer language such as English. The compiler is primarily used for programs that translate source code from a high-level programming language to a lower-level language to create an executable program.[3] The invention of the compiler led to the Information Age and the beginning of the IT industry. Grace Hopper was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer. She was a pioneer of computer programming, and she invented and coined the term "compiler." Hopper popularized the idea of machine-independent programming languages. In 1957, FLOW-MATIC was used in the UNIVAC, the first commercial computer. Flow-Matic led to the development of COBOL, patented in 1960. Her work also led to the implementation of standards for testing computer systems and components, most significantly for early programming languages such as FORTRAN and COBOL. Hopper worked on many teams and programs, her inventions were promoted/demonstrated by many lecturers at the University of Pennsylvania, and she was often referred to as “Amazing Grace.” She retired from the Navy as Rear Admiral, and her importance is widely recognized and appreciated worldwide.

Features that set this work apart from similar achievements

The feature that set the compiler apart from similar achievements is it was the missing link in computer programming. The compiler was an executable program that translated source code into a binary form known as object code or machine code for the first time.

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_compiler_construction

Significant references

https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/5487/Grace-Hopper-completes-the-A-0-Compiler/ https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/6293/COBOL-is-introduced/ https://news.yale.edu/2017/02/10/grace-murray-hopper-1906-1992-legacy-innovation-and-service https://www.computer.org/profiles/grace-hopper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/5487/Grace-Hopper-completes-the-A-0- Compiler/ https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/6293/COBOL-is-introduced/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Grace-Hopper https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/it/2015/01/mit2015010062/13rRUxCitFF (IEEE) https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/5487/Grace-Hopper-completes-the-A-0-Compiler/

https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/6293/COBOL-is-introduced/

https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/800025.1198367

Supporting materials

Images of Dr. Grace M. Hopper can be found at https://www.hagley.org/research/news/hagley-vault/we-re-posting-ca-1967-photograph-today-recognition-115th-anniversary, https://www.hagley.org/research/news/hagley-vault/were-posting-photograph-june-1957-today The two letters that are required were forwarded to Robert Colburn, Research Coordinator