5 facts about computer programming that will blow you away!
By Sebastian Okhanigbe
As modern technology has become a part of our normal lives, we have begun taking the convenience it brings for granted. If you are ready to know more about computer programming and its advances, then join me on this ride from the past.
Here are 5 facts about computer programming that will blow you away
1. There are currently over 700 computer language.
The tech industry is established upon the hundreds of coding languages that are used daily. computers cannot speak English, Chinese, Swedish or any other language originally except they have been programmed as such and this process is where a programming language comes into play. In fact, Wikipedia currently lists over 700 programming languages. however, it doesn’t feature some languages. now imagine there’s a country where the people only speak in computer languages. A country like Nigeria with about over 500 languages will still not exhaust all 700 computer languages.
2. The first computer virus wasn’t meant to be harmful.
In 1983 Fredrick Cohen, a famous American computer scientist designed a computer program that could infect other computers through storage disk. This was considered the first virus, and it closely resembles a biological virus that inserts its genetic code in other living cells to replicate itself. it was able to make copies of itself ready to infect other computers. The thing about Fred Cohen’s Virus, was that it was used as test to prove the concept so it didn’t cause any harm to the computer.
3. The first computer bug was a Moth.
It was Thomas Edison who first used the word “Bug” to describe a technical error. It was after about 70 years that the term became popular. In September 9, 1947, Grace Hopper a scientist with the US Navy, noticed a hindrance in the computer operations, then traced the problem and found a dead Moth was stuck between the relay contacts of the computer. She removed it and reported into the computer log where she wrote “First actual case of bug being found”.
4. Computer programming helped end World War II.
Alan Turing an English mathematician who developed the concept of computation and algorithm, used his invention to decipher the encrypted Nazis machine (ENIGMA) which was difficult to interpret. His algorithmic skills helped allies to win the war and saved countless lives.
the Association of Computer Machinery (ACM) named its award after him. this award (Turing Award) is given to individuals who contributed to the world of computer programming.
5. It took NASA less code to send a man to space than is used to run a smart phone
The computer program used by NASA in the 70’s for their spaceship, is still used today. Designing a new computer program, comes with a lot of testing and a high risk of failure so, there’s no need to change the old program that still works on their space shuttle since the old-fashioned they use is still efficient.
These are 5 interesting facts for you about computer programming you might have never known, but now you do!.
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