19 July 2010

Ever Wondered where the word "Debugged" origionated from?

The world's first computer bug was just that, a bug, a moth to be exact.

In 1945 Grace Murray Hopper and her team were working on the Harvard University Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator.

On September 09 1945 the computer started experiencing problems and a moth was found between the points of Relay #70 in Panel F.

The moth was affixed to the computer log and they reported that they debugged the machine, thus coining the term 'debugging'.

For the record; the term 'bug' was used by Edison to report problems with his inventions, but it's origin may go back even farther.



8 comments:

  1. Not that the term has ever really bugged me much, but the history of the word is pretty interesting ...

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  2. I learnt about this in school
    I remember writing grasshopper in my tests
    hehe

    but um I thought it was Mark 1 and it ran for 15 yrs before the bug incident
    lol

    brought back memories
    lol

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  3. Flash:
    Lord byrons daughter Ada Bryon (later Countess Lovelace) is considered to be the first computer programmer even tho the machine (Analytic Engine) she designed programs for was never made. This was because Charles Babbage the inventor could not convince to the British govt to provide funding as they had already invested ten yrs worth of funds into his first machine, the difference engine, and it was never finished.

    I could go on
    hehehe

    I store way too much junk in my head

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  4. You know.. Ive always said to my kids that you learn more by making errors in tests.. its a good way to learn. So long as you take the time to find out where you went wrong.. usually a person will remember getting it wrong and why. Your remark confirms that Im not the only one who feels that way.

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  5. thanks.. Im googling the analytic Engine now! lol

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  6. It's very true
    I remember Babbage because I used to write cabbage in the tests
    hehe
    I was a cheeky brat

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  7. To err is human...

    For a real cock-up, you need a computer!

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  8. saw one of dem gurl bandz, name of angie and the linas playing the other night, some originals, some copies.. they did this tune, but changed the lyrics to 'don't bug me when i'm blogging'....

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