Geek Trivia: Mother of invention

by Jay Garmon | Feb 13, 2007 12:00:00 AM

Tags: Jay Garmon, Gender and diversity, PRODUCTIVITY, Development tools, Programming languages, ENIAC Eve, Geek Trivia Newsletter, TechRepublic Inc., Women, Fortran, Programmer, Programming, Computer, COBOL, Betty Holberton, UNIVAC, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Human Resources

11 comment(s)

Takeaway: Which original ENIAC programmer helped develop COBOL and Fortran?

For all those computer geeks out there who will spend yet another Valentine's Day in the presence of a computer rather than a significant other, it's time to change the game. Toss off the shackles of this Hallmark-addled so-called holiday, and celebrate a far more important and entertaining occasion: ENIAC Eve, a compu-centric holiday for all the technophiles of the world.

On Feb. 15, 1946, the world's first programmable electronic computer�the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC)�was unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania. And so, we christen the day before as ENIAC Eve, an anniversary of the last night the world did not formally know the joys and wonders of programmable electronic computing.

Now, let's not forget that 1946's definition of programming is fairly well-removed from the definition of programming today. Rather than simply composing code in a favorite hacking app, ENIAC programmers had to physically reprogram the computer by resetting switches and removable cables.

Moreover, despite weighing about 27 tons, ENIAC initially had no way of storing a program, so any change in function required a full physical reprogramming session. (The year 1948 saw some of these issues resolved when ENIAC received a primitive ROM system, as proposed by physicist John von Neumann.)

This kind of programming sounds like a job for the prototypical and proverbial manly 1940s-era engineer, eh? Not quite. A half-dozen women are responsible for the bulk of ENIAC's programming: Fran Bilas, Betty Jennings (later known as Jean Bartik), Ruth Lichterman, Kay McNulty, Betty Snyder (later known as Betty Holberton), and Marlyn Wescoff. Their work on ENIAC earned each of them a place in the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame.

If ENIAC is the direct ancestor of all modern computers, then these women are the intellectual and professional forerunners of all modern programmers. The debt we owe some of these women doesn't stop there, however, as at least one of them pioneered software advances still in use today.

This particular ENIAC programmer went on to develop the technical standards that led to the creation of both the COBOL and Fortran programming languages.

WHICH ORIGINAL ENIAC PROGRAMMER HELPED DEVELOP COBOL AND FORTRAN?

Which of the six women who were the original primary programmers for ENIAC went on to lay the groundwork for both COBOL and Fortran?

Betty Holberton is our esteemed programmer. Holberton was one of the many ENIAC contributors who followed J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly into the private development of future computers, including BINAC and UNIVAC I, the first commercially available computer. It was on these projects that she'd make indelible�if often overlooked�contributions to the field of computer science.

For BINAC, Holberton developed the C-10 instruction set, considered by some (including Admiral Grace Hopper, the acknowledged "Mother of COBOL") to be the forerunner of all modern programming languages. For the UNIVAC I project, Holberton wrote the statistical analysis programs for the computer's first client�the U.S. Census Bureau, which employed the UNIVAC in its tabulations for the 1950 census. Apocryphally, it was also Holberton who suggested all UNIVAC units be gray instead of black.

These accomplishments earned her a place on the standards groups that set out to develop COBOL and Fortran, and they later made her the sole member of the ENIAC sextet to win the Augusta Ada Lovelace Award, the highest honor available in the field of computer programming. It probably didn't hurt that the iconic Admiral Hopper referred to Holberton as the best programmer she had ever encountered and credited her programming work with directly enabling Hopper's own creation of the first software compiler.

But her expertise didn't stop with software. Holberton also influenced the development of key components of UNIVAC's hardware.

Ironically, for all her numeric accomplishments, Holberton was one of the few ENIAC staffers who didn't have a degree in mathematics or physics. Discouraged by a math professor in college, Holberton instead studied journalism. Perhaps that was why much of her work focused on making computers easier to use�with keyboard inputs rather than manual switches and obscure punch cards. That's not just an admirable legacy�that's some historic Geek Trivia.

Get ready for the Geekend

The Trivia Geek's blog has been reborn as the Geekend, an online archive of all things obscure, obtuse, and irrelevant�unless you're a hardcore geek with a penchant for science fiction, technology, and snark. Get a daily dose of subcultural illumination by joining the seven-day Geekend.

The Quibble of the Week

If you uncover a questionable fact or debatable aspect of this week's Geek Trivia, just post it in the discussion area of the article. Every week, yours truly will choose the best post from the assembled masses and discuss it in a future edition of Geek Trivia.

This week's quibble comes from the February 7 edition of Geek Trivia, "It's not easy being Wint-O-Green"�the Classic Geek that marked the conclusion of the Trivia Geek's extended leave. TechRepublic member kemosabe18 disputed the fact that Wint-O-Green Life Savers spark when chewed.

"We actually tested this theory at our church. The whole congregation participated but sadly no sparks. We debunked this myth for what it is. Maybe it can spark, but not a single person, [in a group of] around 1,000, chewing with their mouth open in the dark could produce one single spark. Maybe if you crushed it with a rock. As for me, I call shenanigans."

Apparently, this is a common church-going ritual, as member boomchuck1 had the opposite experience.

"This is a real effect. I recall, in the '60s, trying it since I was heavily into Wint-O-Green Life Savers. [I] actually demonstrated it for our pastor at our church one time. It has to be quite dark to see the sparks, but they are there. He harassed me about it for years!"

We've also replicated the effect here in the Geek Trivia labs, but thanks for sharing the sacrament of Wint-O-Green with us all�and keep those quibbles coming.

Falling behind on your weekly Geek fix?

Check out the Geek Trivia Archive, and catch up on the most recent editions of Geek Trivia.

Test your command of useless knowledge by subscribing to TechRepublic's Geek Trivia newsletter. Automatically sign up today!

The Trivia Geek, also known as Jay Garmon, is a former advertising copywriter and Web developer who's duped TechRepublic into underwriting his affinity for movies, sci-fi, comic books, technology, and all things geekish or subcultural.

11 comment(s)