The History of Programming

Question 1

Charles Babbage

Answer 1

Babbage is widely regarded as the “Father of the Computer” for designing the first mechanical computer. He designed the analytical engine in the 1830s. It included features like an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), control flow (via loops and conditionals), and memory - elements found in modern computers.

Question 2

John von Neumann

Answer 2

John von Neumann pioneered the modern method of computer programming in the 1950s. He introduced decision-making into the process, where computers could make if-then choices. He also developed the concept of the repeating loop and the subroutine.

Question 3

Grace Hopper

Answer 3

Grace Hopper developed the first compiler for a programming language in 1952, known as the A-0 System. This innovation transformed programming by allowing computers to understand and execute instructions written in human-readable code rather than machine code.

Question 4

FORTRAN

Answer 4

FORTRAN (short for Formula Translation) was developed in 1957 by John Backus and his team at IBM. It is widely considered the first high-level programming language, making programming more accessible by using algebraic notation instead of machine code.