For questions about the history of programming and computing.
2
votes
2answers
89 views
Learning to program on punchcards
I'd like to try programming with punch cards once in my life. How can I do this?
I'm in my 30s, and grew up entirely in the PC era, programming on computers with screens and keyboards. I want to ...
0
votes
4answers
318 views
Who created the idea(s) of the first loop constructs?
while (1) {
if (1+1==2) {
print "Yes, you payed attention in Preschool!";
} else {
print "Wait... I thought 1+1=2";
}
As a developer, we all have to use loops ...
6
votes
4answers
332 views
Was classical BASIC ever used for serious software development? [closed]
Many of us, including me, started their programming life with programs written on home computers, something like
10 PRINT "ENTER RADIUS"
20 INPUT R
30 PRINT "CIRCUMFERENCE="; 2 * R * PI
40 PRINT ...
14
votes
1answer
146 views
Why did the Haskell committee choose monads to represent IO?
The Clean language uses uniqueness types to handle IO in a purely functional setting. Why did the Haskell committee go with monads instead? Were there other proposals for handling state that the ...
7
votes
4answers
231 views
Origin of structures and classes
What design and implementation issues did programmers have to solve when they decided first to use structures and classes?
When did this happened and who were the pioneers behind these ideas?
Note, ...
3
votes
2answers
224 views
Is the 14th line of The Zen of Python a reference to Dijkstra?
Python's Zen states on line 14 that:
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Is this a reference to the famous Dutch computer scientist Edsger W. Dijkstra?
-1
votes
2answers
289 views
Why is 24 lines a common default terminal height?
80x24 characters seems to be a very common default for terminal windows. This answer provides a very good historical reason as to why the width is 80 characters.
But why is the height commonly 24 ...
135
votes
7answers
13k views
Why is 80 characters the 'standard' limit for code width?
Specifically, why 80 and not 79, 81 or 100? What is the origin of this particular value?
36
votes
3answers
8k views
What were the “core” API packages of Java 1.0?
Reading about the Google v Oracle case, I came across these questions (apparently from the presiding Judge)
...
Is it agreed that the following is true, at least as of 1996?
The following ...
59
votes
2answers
2k views
What software programming languages were used by the Soviet Union's space program?
I got interested in the Soviet space program and was interested to discover that the software on the Buran spacecraft circa 1988 was written in Prolog.
Does anyone know what languages might have ...
1
vote
4answers
447 views
Why is a database represented as a cylinder in architecture drawings? [closed]
I'm a young upstart programmer and I've never actually seen a database. But computers in large part come in boxes, not in cylinders so I was wondering why they are always represented as a cylinder ...
1
vote
3answers
286 views
What was the most used programming language before C was created? [closed]
C is a language written between '69 and '73 according to WIkipedia. I imagine it made programming a whole lot easier and opened the gate for other programming languages.
My question, however, is what ...
10
votes
1answer
302 views
What did they call Object-Oriented Programming before Alan Kay invented the term?
Alan Kay claims that "I made up the term "object-oriented", and I can tell you I did not have C++ in mind." What he had in mind, of course, was Smalltalk. But he did not make up object-oriented ...
1
vote
5answers
280 views
False friends? Keyword “static” in C compared to C++, C# and Java
To me, the use of the keyword static in C and languages like C# and Java are "false friends" like "to become" in English and "bekommen" in German (= "to get" in English), because they mean different ...
3
votes
10answers
351 views
Recommendable reads about programming history? [closed]
As much as I love to code, as little do I know about the history of programming. I know some names (Turing, Ritchie, Linus) - but that's it. I know roughly what they did and I'm a bit ashamed. This, ...
6
votes
1answer
91 views
Strategy for restoring state via URL in web apps
This is a question about modern web apps, where a single page is loaded, and all subsequent navigation is done by XHR calls and modifying the DOM.
We can use libraries that manipulate the hash ...
2
votes
6answers
494 views
What was the first programming language written for computers?
Looking at so many programming languages we have today, each one being unique in it's own way, I've tried to figure out what the first programming language written for computers is.
Looking at the ...
2
votes
4answers
178 views
Which applications have driven the mass spread of floating point units? [closed]
Floating point units are standard on CPUs today, and even desktops might use them today (3D effects). However, I wonder which applications have initially driven the development and mass adoption of ...
17
votes
5answers
1k views
Why are several popular programming languages influenced by C? [closed]
The Top 10 programming languages, according to the TIOBE index seem to be heavily influenced by C:
1. Java
The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model ...
1
vote
0answers
57 views
Significant events in Computer Programming [closed]
I stumbled across this question while looking for information related to this subject, and I thought it was a shame that it got closed. After reading it, I think it would be more appropriate for this ...
3
votes
3answers
216 views
What is the origin of sessions, by whom and when were they created?
I know sessions are in PHP, ASP, ASP.NET and probably in many other languages. In most cases session solve a problem which the language itself fails to solve. I am wondering
Who created sessions and ...
4
votes
1answer
255 views
How to explain the history of programming to non-programmers?
Sorry if this question is not appropriate for this stack exchange site, I've never used this one before.
I am doing my senior project on computer programming. I'm going to be presenting the project ...
10
votes
3answers
271 views
Why didn't the C++ Standard adopt expression templates?
It's my understanding that expression templates as a technique were discovered significantly prior to the original C++ Standard in 1998. Why weren't they used to improve the performance of several ...
43
votes
6answers
2k views
Why the Select is before the From in a SQL Query? [closed]
This is something that bothered me a lot at school.
5 years ago, when I learned SQL, I always wondered why we specify first the fields we want and then where we want them from.
According to my idea, ...
4
votes
2answers
209 views
Who decided on the terminology downcasting and upcasting?
As far as I know, the terminology comes from how the inheritance hierarchy is traditionally displayed, with the extending types at the bottom, and the parent types at the top.
This is a bit ...
4
votes
2answers
223 views
In C++, were SFINAE and metaprogramming intentional or just a byproduct of templates?
SFINAE and template metaprogramming can do wonderful things and many libraries also use them considerably.
Historically both of these "magic concepts" were intentionally introduced/supported in C++ ? ...
12
votes
5answers
777 views
Why pointer symbol and multiplication sign are same in C/C++?
I am writing a limited C/C++ code parser. Now, multiplication and pointer signs give me really a tough time, as both are same. For example,
int main ()
{
int foo(X * p); // forward declaration
...
1
vote
1answer
179 views
Who first created or popularized the original XMLHTTPRequest / MSXML?
I'm trying to understand the origins of AJAX, and think MSXML and XMLHTTPRequest were the objects that started it all.
Which came first, and/or became the defacto way to create dynamic pages?
25
votes
14answers
2k views
Why isn't rich code formatting more common?
I was reading Code Complete and in the chapter on layout and style, he was predicting that code editors would use some sort of rich text formatting. That means, instead of code looking like this
...
19
votes
5answers
970 views
What is the history of why bytes are eight bits?
What where the historical forces at work, the tradeoffs to make, in deciding to use groups of eight bits as the fundamental unit ?
There were machines, once upon a time, using other word sizes, ...
3
votes
3answers
186 views
strcpy memcpy reason for parameter order
Answering a question about order of parameters it struck me that strcpy (and family) are the wrong way round. Copy should be src -> destination.
Is there a historical or architectural reason for the ...
4
votes
2answers
397 views
Do any languages use =/= for the inequality operator?
Wikipedia says:
Not equal
The symbol used to denote inequation — when items are not equal — is a slashed equals sign "≠" (Unicode 2260).
Most programming languages, limiting themselves ...
13
votes
5answers
675 views
Why is $ in identifier names for so many languages?
A lot of scripting languages like Perl, Awk, Bash, PHP, etc. use a $ sign before identifier names. I've tried to look up why but never had a satisfactory answer.
10
votes
1answer
261 views
What happened to Concurrent C?
I recently checked out a fantastic book from my college library. It is a bit old at 1989, but the language it describes sounds rather nice. And even while I may not be using it soon, I wanted to ...
2
votes
2answers
66 views
Where can I find an authoritative source documenting the relationships between standards bodies?
There seems to be a number of different so-called "standards" bodies interacting and/or competing with each other. For example, RFC 3629 references ISO/IEC 10646 and appears to be governed by the ...
25
votes
1answer
861 views
Where does the term “Red/Black Tree” come from?
A Red/Black Tree is one way to implement a balanced binary search tree. The principles behind how it works make sense to me, but the chosen colors don't. Why red and black, as opposed to any other ...
2
votes
2answers
152 views
Reasons for the build-technological fork between Java and UNIX/C/Fortran
When Java was developed, it's designers chose to discard an unusual amount of the conventional wisdom established in the UNIX and C oriented toolchains. For one (and in my view) the most major ...
26
votes
9answers
2k views
Why has C prevailed over Pascal?
My understanding is that in the 1980s and perhaps in the 1990s, too - Pascal and C were pretty much head-to-head as production languages.
Is the ultimate demise of Pascal only due to Borland's ...
15
votes
9answers
1k views
What were the reasons why Windows never had a decent shell? [closed]
I was reading a topic on SO: Why are scripting languages (e.g. ...) not suitable as shell languages?. Especially I liked the answer by Jörg W Mittag, from which I learned interesting things about ...
5
votes
3answers
277 views
Did concept of ViewModel exist before MVVM?
Today I was having a discussion with a colleague that ViewModel is a general concept and existed before MVVM pattern.
I believe ViewModel term is used anytime you create a class with Model like ...
8
votes
5answers
669 views
Who invented pointers?
Pretty simple question, but something I haven't been able to find out. Who was the first person to describe the idea of a pointer? The abstract concept itself?
56
votes
1answer
2k views
What task did Dijkstra give volunteers, which was mentioned in his paper “The Humble Programmer”?
In Dijkstra's paper "Humble Programmer", he mentions that he gave some volunteers a problem to solve:
“I have run a little programming experiment with really experienced volunteers, but something ...
1
vote
3answers
260 views
Sequel vs S-Q-L [closed]
Possible Duplicate:
What's the history of the non-official pronunciation of SQL?
I hear it every so often, "In sequel server...", and for some reason I cringe every time. Maybe it's ...
5
votes
1answer
174 views
Why is the dollar sign used to abbreviate the description of a cache? [closed]
What's the historical significance of abbreviating say, an L1 cache as L1$?
10
votes
2answers
434 views
What is the origin and meaning of the phrase “Lambda the ultimate?”
I've been messing around with functional programming languages for a few years, and I keep encountering this phrase. For example, it is a chapter of "The Little Schemer, which certainly predates the ...
20
votes
11answers
1k views
Is there a reason for initial overconfidence of scientists and engineers working on artificial intelligence in the 1960s?
I just started an AI & Data Mining class, and the book. AI Application Programming, starts off with an overview of the history of AI. The first chapter deals with the history of AI from the 1940s ...
10
votes
4answers
366 views
What was the first hierarchical file system?
"Directories containing directories and files" seems to have been around forever, but there must have been a first.
14
votes
5answers
473 views
What good reasons are there to capitalise SQL keywords?
There seem to be a lot of developers who write their SQL by capitalising the keywords:
SELECT column
FROM table
INNER JOIN table
ON condition
WHERE condition
GROUP BY clause
HAVING ...
8
votes
4answers
417 views
What features did c get from c++?
What features were added to C that were originally in C++?
When where they added and for what reason(what where the pro/con arguments)?
How do they differ in C as compared to C++?
Did the features ...
6
votes
5answers
278 views
Java without implementation inheritance
In a recent video on Java, Joshua Bloch states at 4 minutes 20 seconds into the video:
And then there's inheritance, and that was a marketing necessity. You know, we can argue whether you really ...
