From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.6 (2021-04-09) on ip-172-31-74-118.ec2.internal X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.8 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_50,FREEMAIL_FROM autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.6 X-Received: by 2002:a05:6214:20ed:b0:435:b4ca:2f1e with SMTP id 13-20020a05621420ed00b00435b4ca2f1emr1330584qvk.78.1646859975924; Wed, 09 Mar 2022 13:06:15 -0800 (PST) X-Received: by 2002:a25:2e50:0:b0:629:1c69:aa61 with SMTP id b16-20020a252e50000000b006291c69aa61mr1497317ybn.213.1646859975707; Wed, 09 Mar 2022 13:06:15 -0800 (PST) Path: eternal-september.org!reader02.eternal-september.org!border1.nntp.dca1.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!news-out.google.com!nntp.google.com!postnews.google.com!google-groups.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2022 13:06:15 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: Injection-Info: google-groups.googlegroups.com; posting-host=202.67.103.232; posting-account=S_MdrwoAAAD7T2pxG2e393dk6y0tc0Le NNTP-Posting-Host: 202.67.103.232 References: User-Agent: G2/1.0 MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: <32c959a2-0554-42fa-92f4-2c94d9a05848n@googlegroups.com> Subject: Re: Not only a language... From: Robin Vowels Injection-Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2022 21:06:15 +0000 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Xref: reader02.eternal-september.org comp.lang.ada:63597 List-Id: On Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 12:55:17 PM UTC+11, 25.BX943 wrote: > On 2/27/22 2:55 AM, Robin Vowels wrote: > > On Sunday, February 27, 2022 at 5:24:01 PM UTC+11, 25.BX943 wrote: > >> On 2/25/22 11:42 AM, mockturtle wrote: > >>> Now also a GPU is named after Ada Lovelace > >>> https://www.pcgamer.com/nvidias-next-generation-ada-lovelace-gpus-are-rumored-to-consume-scary-amounts-of-power/ > >> That's nice ... but does it have anything to do with > >> her thoughts on computing machines ? :-) > >> > >> Babbage knew how to build a computer - but he was fixated > >> on using them to create math tables for navigation and such. > > . > > That's how it started, but he progressed to develop > > an "analytical engine" -- a computer, for which Ada Lovelace > > wrote programs. > Timeline ... she came in as he was trying to raise money > for the 'analytical engine'. I think he'd sold exactly two > of his 'difference engines' (to the Royal Navy I think) > but nobody else was interested. Those were VERY complicated > devices in and of themselves, very expensive to make. > > Babbage dropped in on Ada's hubby with a sales pitch. She > sat in on his overly-tekkie description of the AE. The next > morning she'd written a small program for the hypothetical > device (it had one small bug). Her interest piqued, she > struck up a closer association with Babbage (as pen-pals > and 'biz partners' apparently, nothing naughtier was ever > mentioned). She wrote up what amounted to sales ads for > the thing - which tended to be half her own expositions > on the subject. > > However Babbage never really did seem to see the wider > possibilities of his AE. He still saw the use as doing > practical math - just with more flexibility than the > old DE. . That was important enough in itself, and anything more would have been of no interest to those Babbage was trying to interest as backers. . > Ada was the only one who seemed to grasp the > more exotic implication - anything that *could* be > represented as numbers could be manipulated/analyzed/ > transformed by such a machine. > > So, while Babbage is the god of computers, Lovelace is > the goddess of modern "computing". Babbage's vision was > severely limited by the hardware of the era - gears and > cogs and cams. Lovelace's vision was not dependent on > the hardware, you can easily code her programming examples > into Python or Pascal, 'C' ... or Ada ... and they work. > > Alas her life was rather short - some disease, maybe cancer - > and she spent her last couple of years totally doped-up and > unable to pursue her ideas. > > In any case, they both had it right - but Babbage was the > one thwarted by the tech. A remarkable set of people, just > 100 years too early. The proto Woz and Jobs ??? > > Oh, and let's not forget that Babbage got his idea for the AE > from the Jacquard loom when he visited Jacquard's factory - > another inspired bit of tech. And yes Jacquard had his own > 'systems programmer' in the back room, the only guy who knew > how the control cards should be punched - the machine was > probably HIS idea, but he gets no credit and nobody even > seems sure of his name ... the boss slapped HIS name on it > and that's all anyone remembers (sound familiar ? :-)