History of The Development of Computer Programming

Computers, as much as it might seem, have not been around for long period of time. Changing the human society since the 20th century, they have impacted the world in many ways and is a step forward into the future for mankind. Having many purposes, one of them is programming.

Programming plays a huge part in today’s world. It is the reason for all things technological we have today possible. The computer industry is dominated by men in today’s world and now programs have been established trying to get more girls involved into programming. There are many things to know and learn to become a programmer. The industry holds endless fascination because it is always changing as times goes on and technology gets more advanced. Programmers throughout time since the first invention of the computer have invented and imagined the endless possibilities through computer programming. Computers have been around since the 1930s, but were very expensive and usually took up a whole room. In the 1940s-1950s, only a few universities and companies could afford them, so they were programmed to compute. Computer programming is the process of writing instructions that get executed by computers. The instructions are known as code. Programming is the process, while coding is the instructions. The code solves a problem or performs a task. The computer understands a language that is used for the computer and programmer to communicate. Coding requires a lot of math, and most of the people who started the ideas around programming were mathematicians.

Charles Babbage, a mathematician, in London UK, sparked ideas in the programming world. Towards the end of the 19th century he invented the first mechanical computer, known as the analytical engine. Before that, he dreamed of a machine that was capable of performing calculations, but the cost for that was a large budget. Parliament rejected his idea and refused to give him money. He was told to finish what he started, the analytical engine. He never completed the calculating engine after having the better idea to build the analytical one. He also never got the money to build the analytical one either. His ideas would later inspire others to build more advanced computers in the early 1900s. Ada Lovelace then wrote the software for the analytical engine which wasn’t built at the time. She was also mathematician, and worked very closely with Babbage. She was intrigued by his ideas. An Italian man had written a book about the analytical engine. Ada had then translated the book from Italian to English and learning everything she could and even added her own thoughts.

The 1950s was when programming really took off, during World War II. While the Germans had Enigma machines to protect their communication, the British had Alan Turing. He did top-secret work breaking military codes the Germans used. With the help of his coding team, they cracked the Enigma code. They invented a machine that reduced the work of code breaking called the Bombe. Also during the war, British man Tommy Flowers, who wasn’t a mathematician, was an engineer in the British Post Office. He worked with telegraph relays and used them to build a programmable computer. Programming languages are used to give instructions to a computer in a way that it can interpret it. The first language was known as short code invented during the 1950s. Fast forward to today, there are a plethora of programming languages. Common ones are Java, Python, and C++.

All coding languages have their own distinct features, just like the languages we use to speak with. Some languages are more important, relevant, and in demand to learn than others. Arguably the most popular and most useful language is Java. Java is a general purpose, high level language with several features. It is not typically what a beginner would start off learning with and is often the language of choice for AP Computer Science courses in high school. It is also object oriented meaning it forces programmers to plan out their code in order and beforehand to have a better flowing program. The language was originally known as Oak and developed in 1990 to add capabilities to another programming language C++. C++ is similar other than the fact it not as advanced. Many programming languages were based off each other. C++ was an extension to the language C before Java existed. C was developed in 1972 and helped many other programming languages get their starts. For example, C++, Java, C#, Pearl, and so much more. Aside from all the C based languages, there is Python. Python is another popular language but different to Java. Although Python is also an advanced language, it is simpler to learn and interpret than compared to Java. It was developed in the late 1980s and was released to the public in 1991. HTML is considered to be one of easiest languages for beginners. It is web based and often used in engineering, designing, marketing, and customer services. Each of the many languages are used for programming different things. Programming has created many of the things we have today. From things to games, computer software, apps, websites, and even NASA. Humans rely on many of these that would have not been created without programming. All of these different things are coded with different languages. From everything technology, games are often associated with programming the most. One popular game coded in Java is Minecraft.

Minecraft has been played by millions around the world. The world of gaming has inspired many people to code, especially boys. Our technological devices we use today are programmed to their finest and still constantly improving. For example, Microsoft and Apple, which came from the C language. Apple developed the language, Swift, which is used for iOS software. Coding can not only just be used to make technological things, you can also help the world in a way too. Only just a few years ago, bionic limbs were just things we saw on TV and in games. Now, through programming, we can create life-changing prosthetic limbs. Smart software is programmed for 3D printing and through coding there is fluid movement. Coding can also be used to conserve our environment. Artificial intelligence and complex databases can accurately document animal growth, falling numbers in population, and even threatening natural disasters. Computer programming is also used for making money.

As time goes on computer programming will add a whole lot more jobs to our industry- the vast majority of which will be taken by men. Men have always been dominant in the computer industry. Remember Ada Lovelace? Well, she was technically the world’s first computer programmer. Computers were once a women’s thing. Back in the 1940s, not too long ago, women were computer programmers. During World War II women would work war jobs while men were away overseas. They did calculations on trajectories to determine angles for soldiers to fire at. They worked as “computers”. Two men had designed an actual computer, called the ENIAC, to calculate trajectories faster. The men had hired six “computers” to perform calculations with the ENIAC. This led to women creating some of the things we have today. Computer storage and software application were created by women. They carved the path for many computer workers years to come. They still had it rough. They weren’t allowed into the ENIAC room because there wasn’t security and had to code using paper diagrams of the machine. They had to figure everything out themselves. Women received no recognition for their efforts. The men who designed the ENIAC received awards they did not fully deserve. Because they were women it was assumed that the work they did must’ve not been difficult. Despite all of this they taught others to code after the war being the first modern programmers. After World War II computer jobs were booming. There were jobs than people qualified to fill them. More men were pulled into the computer industry than women. Women were given low level jobs that men did as well due to their not as advanced knowledge away at war. Stereotypes kept the jobs’ pay and prestige low which were made by none other than men. Grace Hopper, a woman, used these gender stereotypes to encourage women to get into the field. The stereotypes about the field eventually shifted enough to the point where computer programming was seen as better suited for men.

Nowadays the computer industry is trying to get more girls involved. Women have developed many misconceptions about the computer science industry. Computer science in general is one of the few jobs where women can earn the same salary as men. This is a huge step forward for not just computer science, but for women in general. There has since been a decline of women’s interest in computer science. It is reported that two-thirds of elementary school children are interested in science; but by the time middle school is entered the percentage of girls interested falls dramatically. Girls in highschool and college taking computer courses often report feeling they are falling behind the boys in their class. There are lack of role models for young girls to look up to that are women in computer science with many of the leaders in the field being men. Many programs have been created for girls to create an interest for computer science. One of the popular programs is Girls Who Code. The industry hopes to make a more diverse community where hopefully girls will take the lead.

Computer programming is such an important part of our everyday lives. From our phones, games, and even environment, programming will take over the world. Having started not too long ago, there is so much to learn. All the unique languages used to code is what makes programming such an interesting and versatile job. There are many things to create from something small to a massive project. The industry is dominated by men but hopefully girls will take charge in the near future. As technology advances the possibilities of what you can do with computer programming will never end.