Isaac(ID:7278/isa006)Earliest List processing languageEarl Isaac, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, 1952 Earliest pure list/symbolic language, made use of "redundant dictionary" and sorting to process logical sequences such as "Dogs have fleas, midges have germs, fleas have midges." from symbols. References: Coding for digital computers is a process of translating from one language to another. A problem to be computed might be expressed in algebraic notation of several types or in one of several forms of logical symbolism. This notation or symbolism must be translated into the machine language. In many problems, particularly those involving iterative processing of many variables, the translation is reasonably direct and can be written out and checked with little difficulty. Some problems, however, require a great many instructions dealing with few variables and arranged in complex alternative paths. In these cases the translation process becomes formidable and the most extensive checking often fails to eliminate clerical errors. in Proc. ACM Toronto Meeting 1952 view details |