Computer Bug History
Diann
History of Computer “Bug”
Many of us in the twentieth century have used computers. They have become part of our every day lives. Computers can be used to pay our bills, talk and send pictures to our loved ones, and research any topic we want to learn about. Sometimes there can be a problem with our computers. The problem could be something called a “bug.” The word “bug” means an industrial defect or a glitch in the computer system. Bug could also mean an insect (1).
One pioneer by the name of Admiral Grace Hopper, (she was known for inventing COBOL), enjoyed telling a story about a glitch in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator while it was being tested at Harvard University (3). She wasn’t present at the time, a technician pulled an insect out from between the contacts of one of its’ relays. On September 9, 1945, the machine was experiencing problems. Investigating the problem the technician found a moth trapped between the points of Relay #70 and Panel F. The actual bug sits in a display case at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in, Dahlgren, Virginia (2). The word went out that the moth had been removed hence the word debugged was born.
In early days of telegraphs bug referred to a variety of semi-automatic telegraph keyers. It took some practice to ensure one didn’t introduce extraneous dots into the code by holding the key down too long. The Vibroples Keyers even had a graphic of a beetle on them (1). In Thomas Edison’s time the word bug was also being used as an industrial defect. There is a handbook from 1896, Hawkins’s New Catechisms of Electricity, thel, Audel and co., which states, “The term “bug” is used to a limited extent to designate any fault or trouble in the connections or working of electric apparatus (1).”
Radio technicians used bug to describe a device that converts electromagnetic field variations into acoustic signals. The first version had a coil of wire with two wire ends sticking out and bent back resembling a roach with antennas. Bug could also refer to the interference of the radio itself.
The next time your electronic equipment doesn’t work correctly do some investigating there might be a moth trapped inside.
http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/B/bug.html
http://history.navy.mil/photos/images/h96000/h96566kc.htm
http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/tek1/grace_hopper_portraits.htm
History of Computer “Bug”
Many of us in the twentieth century have used computers. They have become part of our every day lives. Computers can be used to pay our bills, talk and send pictures to our loved ones, and research any topic we want to learn about. Sometimes there can be a problem with our computers. The problem could be something called a “bug.” The word “bug” means an industrial defect or a glitch in the computer system. Bug could also mean an insect (1).
One pioneer by the name of Admiral Grace Hopper, (she was known for inventing COBOL), enjoyed telling a story about a glitch in the Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator while it was being tested at Harvard University (3). She wasn’t present at the time, a technician pulled an insect out from between the contacts of one of its’ relays. On September 9, 1945, the machine was experiencing problems. Investigating the problem the technician found a moth trapped between the points of Relay #70 and Panel F. The actual bug sits in a display case at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in, Dahlgren, Virginia (2). The word went out that the moth had been removed hence the word debugged was born.
In early days of telegraphs bug referred to a variety of semi-automatic telegraph keyers. It took some practice to ensure one didn’t introduce extraneous dots into the code by holding the key down too long. The Vibroples Keyers even had a graphic of a beetle on them (1). In Thomas Edison’s time the word bug was also being used as an industrial defect. There is a handbook from 1896, Hawkins’s New Catechisms of Electricity, thel, Audel and co., which states, “The term “bug” is used to a limited extent to designate any fault or trouble in the connections or working of electric apparatus (1).”
Radio technicians used bug to describe a device that converts electromagnetic field variations into acoustic signals. The first version had a coil of wire with two wire ends sticking out and bent back resembling a roach with antennas. Bug could also refer to the interference of the radio itself.
The next time your electronic equipment doesn’t work correctly do some investigating there might be a moth trapped inside.
http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/B/bug.html
http://history.navy.mil/photos/images/h96000/h96566kc.htm
http://www.jamesshuggins.com/h/tek1/grace_hopper_portraits.htm
posted by Rockcastle Group | 10:53 AM
|
0 comments
