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Grace Brewster Murray Hopper was a United States Navy rear admiral and an American computer scientist. She was one of the first programmers who participated in programming the Harvard Mark I the computer and invented one of the early linkers. She also devised the theory of programming languages which are machine-independent. After this, Grace Hopper’s invention extended to creating the FLOW-MATIC programming language based on this theory and extended her studies to create a high-level programming language named COBOL, which is still used today.
Early Life
On December 9, 1906, Grace Hopper was born in New York, America. She attended preparatory school in New Jersey when she was a kid. Later on, Grace Hopper was admitted to Vassar College and earned her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics. Before joining the Navy, Hopper got her PhD in mathematics from Yale University. She then joined as a professor of mathematics at Vassar College. Although she attempted to join the Navy during World War II, she was rejected for being 34 years old. She, therefore, enlisted in the Navy Reserves.
Grace Hopper Invention
The Grace Hopper invention list promoted ground-breaking scientific revolutions. Those are-
FLOW-MATIC: Grace Hopper takes the credit for inventing the FLOW-MATIC and A-OI, both automatic programming and formula translation languages that helped in developing the early computers for business machines which allowed users to express workflows even if they had not learnt machine language. She developed the very first compiler for a computer programming language which facilitated using English words instead of symbols and numbers. Facts about Grace Hopper state that this innovation made machine learning more accessible for laymen.
Pager and RAM: In 1952, she invented the compactification technique, which allowed computers to store all data in memory without taking up much space. She innovated the way of using fewer bits by exploiting similarities in large files. This innovation led to another groundbreaking method of diving memory in proportional segments which could be independently and randomly accessed – this process is also referred to as paging. This was later known as RAM or Random Access Memory- a concept to access stored information in a much faster way.
Linker: Even though early computers could store and process internal data, they could not link pieces together. That’s when Hopper came up with an essential tool of programming languages, Linker, which can minimise the size of a large executable program and call library routines, resolve external references, and remove dead code or merge sections of code.
Coining the term “Bug”: Hopper first described the flaw in computer hardware as a bug instead of the technical term ‘GLITCH’ coined by Dr Thomas Edison. She did so while finding and fixing a moth which was found on the Harvard University Mark II Computer.
A-OI Compiler: After the development of the assembly language, Hopper created an A-OI compiler which could translate business language to machine language to run programs on a computing system even when the operating system is not working or unavailable.
Inconsistency Detectors: Hopper also invented the first “inconsistency detector”. This is crucial for compilers and operating systems to detect and test compiler-generated code for errors. This tool could find problems which were not capable of being found by programmers.
Due to Grace Hopper’s commendable inventions and accomplishments in computing, digital data processing was able to replace manual computing. The impact ranged from technical advancements in healthcare and medicine to entertainment, communication, transportation and commerce. She also applied her knowledge, experience and expertise in naval technology, where shipboard efficiencies were improved. In 1983, Hopper retired from the Naval Reserve after 60 years of service. She then turned to research speech organisation systems. She received her first patent in 1986 for the speech organising systems. She kept on inventing until her death at age 85 due to pneumonia on January 1st, 1992.
Awards and Achievements
Department of Defence Distinguished Public Service Award, 1980 for work regarding COBOL
National Medal of Technology, 1983
Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award, 1985
IEEE Computer Pioneer Award along with Seymour Cray, 1986
Achievement Award from NSA, 1986
IEEE Intelligent Systems’ AI Hall of Fame, 1987
Special Lifetime Presidential Certificate of Appreciation for innovative contributions to commercial computing, military preparedness and national security, 1990
National Medal of Technology, 1994
Lifetime Achievement Award by the Computer History Museum, 1998.
Apart from these, the United States Navy installed a missile destroyer named USS Hopper (DDG-70) in her honour. The ship’s motto was “Fearless and Fair”.
Conclusion
Hopper’s legacy remains with us due to her efforts in promoting various ideas like common business language and creating a diversified environment for people outside the field of computing and enthusiasts to pursue their passions with the guidance of their mentors. This led to various technological advancements apart from her own contributions where she went on to chane the Grace Hopper computer definition forever.
