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Concept

Compiler

Technique

A compiler is software that translates computer code written in one programming language into another, most familiarly from a language people write into instructions machines execute. Grace Hopper's team at Remington Rand wrote the compiler for the A-0 language in May 1952 and coined the term; the FORTRAN compiler completed in 1957 by John Backus's team at IBM is generally credited as the first unambiguously complete compiler, and every high level language since has stood on the idea. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Origin Year
1952 1
May 1952, the A-0 compiler written by Grace Hopper's team, which also coined the term; the 1957 FORTRAN compiler is generally credited as the first unambiguously complete one.
Core Principle
Translate a whole program from the language people write into the language a machine runs, checking and transforming it along the way. 1
Connections

Associated With

Grace Hopper, Pioneers

Her team wrote the A-0 compiler in May 1952 and coined the term compiler.

Source Wikipedia: Compiler
John Backus, Pioneers

The 1957 FORTRAN compiler by his IBM team is generally credited as the first unambiguously complete compiler.

Source Wikipedia: Compiler
Monica S. Lam, Pioneers
Source Wikipedia: Monica S. Lam

In Field

Programming Language Theory, Fields

Invented By

Grace Hopper, Pioneers

Grace Hopper's A-0 System (1952), which translated symbolic mathematical code into machine code, is widely credited as one of the first compilers; she went on to lead work on the COBOL compiler.

Source The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital RevolutionWalter Isaacson
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Compiler
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction and History sections
    In computing, a compiler is software that translates computer code written in one programming language (the source language) into another language (the target language).
  • Introduction
    a compiler is software that translates computer code written in one programming language (the source language) into another language (the target language)
  • History section
    May 1952: Grace Hopper's team at Remington Rand wrote the compiler for the A-0 programming language (and coined the term compiler to describe it).
View the Source
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
Walter Isaacson, Simon and Schuster, 2014Invented By: Grace Hopper
Wikipedia: Monica S. Lam
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Monica S. Lam, Career section
Quote, Associated With: Monica S. Lam, Career section
Previously, Lam led the SUIF (Stanford University Intermediate Format) Compiler project, which produced a widely used compiler infrastructure known for its locality optimizations and interprocedural parallelization.
View the Source
Frequently Asked Questions

If Grace Hopper's team wrote a compiler in 1952, why is the 1957 FORTRAN compiler called the first complete one?

The 1952 A-0 compiler introduced the term; the 1957 FORTRAN compiler is generally credited as the first unambiguously complete one.

Hopper's team at Remington Rand wrote the compiler for the A-0 language in May 1952 and coined the term compiler to describe it, so the idea and the word date from then. The FORTRAN compiler that John Backus's team at IBM completed in 1957 is generally credited as the first unambiguously complete compiler. The two claims answer different questions: 1952 marks the first compiler and the name, while 1957 marks the first one usually judged complete.
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