Posted in Database Management Systems, History, tagged CODASYL, Database, History, IT Pioneers, SQL on September 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
If you are asked to name the most important pioneer in database development, the name Edgar Codd is probably the first name that comes to mind. He pioneered the concept of relational database. But another person deserves credit as well. Nearly a decade earlier Charles Bachman did fundamental work, developing the first database management system.
(more…)Posted in IT Pioneers, Still-coding, tagged Coding, History, IT Pioneers, PL/1, Structured design on August 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I learned to code in 1963. Things were different then.
There were some obvious things, like 24 hour turnarounds on tests, and storing code on paper tape. Oh – and the computer had about .000000001 of the processor speed on my watch, but at the time we thought it was pretty cool.
I am beginning to sound like one of the four yorkshiremen so I will move on. I want to talk about the pioneers of structured programming and structured design,
(more…)Posted in History, IT Pioneers, Technology, tagged apple, cp/m, Gary Kildall, History, IT Pioneers, micro computers, superbrain, visicalc on June 25, 2023| 1 Comment »
I started coding in then 1960’s on a Ferranti Mercury. It was as big as a house and had less computer power than my watch. But at the time we thought it was pretty cool. Over the years, Moor’s Law turned out to be pretty accurate. The most powerful computers doubled in power about every two years. Commercial systems got smaller. From as big as a house, to the size of a room, to the size of a desk, then a largeish box in a rack.
But in the mid 1970’s something happened off the Moore’s Law track. They managed to fit all the components of a low-power computer on a single chip. They were mass produced and relatively cheap. The engineers that built it had in mind using them for process control, calculators or computer terminals.
Enter Gary Kildall
But a genius called Gary Kildall saw another potential use for these devices.
(more…)
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